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1kg white flour (7-1/3 cups)
In one small bowl place the yeast, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 cup of water. Mix to dissolve.
In another bowl mix together oil, water, 1 cup sugar and salt. Mix until almost completely dissolved. Put the flour in a very large bowl. Add the mixtures from the two smaller bowls. Mix with a large mixing spoon until a dough is formed and all the flour is absorbed. Cover bowl with a towel.
Let rise for 1 hour, in a warm place if possible (heat your oven to 95°F and then turn it off if you want).
Divide into 5 portions (for 5 loaves). Braid each and place in challah pans.
I have to comment here. This is the part that scares most people away from making
challah. The most important thing to remember is that you should place enough flour on the surface where you are working and roll the pieces of dough that your trying to shape, in the flour until you can handle it without it being sticky. No one ever told me this and I consider it the "secret" to not being "yeast dough un-intimidated."
Preheat oven to 415°F. Let shaped loaves rise for 15 minutes, smear with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise for 15 more minutes. Place the
challah in the oven and immediately drop temperature to 350°F.
Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from pan while still hot, if possible.
Poster's Notes:
You can substitute dry yeast for the fresh yeast (I'm just not sure how much, but I'm sure there is a standard amount to use per pound/kilo of flour when making bread).
Also, it is very important to have good challah pans. I have bakery quality pans that do not need greasing and I love them. If you don't have bakery quality pans, make sure to grease the pans first.
Posted by Sonya Poss
Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A
1kg whole wheat flour (I prefer to use whole wheat pastry flour, but you can substitute regular whole wheat flour or even another kilo of white flour) (7-1/3 cups)
2 cubes of fresh yeast (1 cube per kilo)
1 cup oil
1 cup water
1 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar
1/8 cup salt
4-1/2 cups plus 1 cup warm water
This recipe is so easy to make, that since I started making it 1.5 years ago, I make it almost every Friday afternoon before Shabbat. It has become an integral part of our Shabbat preparations.