8-Plait Challah Bread Challenge // BekahBakes

In my last baking post, I asked for a baking challenge and my friend Joy replied with:

    "I dare you to make challah bread - I saw it on the Great British Baking Show and it was so funny how everyone was messing up (not that you will)."

    Intrigued and excited, I re-watched that Great British Baking Show episode - ahem, for research purposes - and it was hilarious. The contestants were only given two hours to recreate Paul Hollywood's (what a name) famous 8-plaited loaf. Towards the end, some of the contestants completely abandoned the intricate plaiting and just mushed the strands of bread together...

    However I did see some articles that stated how the show didn't even mention the origins of challah bread. So to give credit where it is due, here is a brief background of what challah bread is! 

    Challah bread was originally known as "any bread that is made for a Jewish ritual" according to the New York Times. Challah bread symbolizes the manna that the Israelites received when leaving Egypt during Old Testament times. In Jewish culture, this is a reason why bread is significant to holidays and celebrations. Now, challah bread is associated with its visually stunning plaits and braids. These plaits can have deeper meanings; twelve humps in a loaf can represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Cultural food can be one of the most beautiful representations of a nation and its history - and something that all people are usually easily captivated by! I bet you would agree with me. 

    Let's dive into this beautiful and fun recipe! It was my first time making bread, since anything with yeast was always daunting to me. Also, I usually don't have much time or patience! But now, I somewhat have both, but not for long...The semester starts in almost a week *screams* 

Note:

ALL CREDIT goes to The Cooking Foodie. I found this simple YouTube tutorial, and I'm merely relaying the information. It was an amazing recipe! 

the  I N G R E D I E N T S 

3.5 cups flour 1 tbsp instant dry yeast 3.5 tbsp white sugar 2 eggs ¼ cup canola oil 1 cup - 2 tbsp warm water 1 tsp salt

the   B R E A D - M A K I N G 

    

After adding the dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and one egg together, it was time to prove. I didn't know what proving was until it was mentioned all the time in the GBBS. It's a step in yeast-filled recipes that allows the dough to rest, so that it rises and gets a good bake! Usually you want the dough to rise to twice its volume. I'm not going to lie, seeing it rise after one hour was so fascinating. I guess science is kind of cool...

the 8 - S T R A N D  P L A I T

                             

Once the dough has had its first proof, knock the air out of it. This is the beginning of the fun part!

Then, cut the dough into halves. Each half will be cut into equal quarters, so that we get 8 pieces of dough. Each piece of dough will be rolled out into strands that are shown in the picture above. 

The plaiting can seem tricky because 8 strands is way more than a typical 3 strand braid. However, the instructions are actually quite simple! You just have to make sure you don't forget which step you are on. These are Paul Hollywood's instructions for this plait: 

1. 8 under 7 over 1 2. 8 over 5 3. 2 under 3 over 8 4. 1 over 4 5. 7 under 6 over 1 Repeat steps 2-5

The key thing to remember is that once you move a strand, it becomes the number strand according to its position from left to right. For example, if you move #8 over #5, it is no longer #8 but is now #5. #8 in the beginning will not always be #8. I found this extremely helpful tutorial by a person who actually was a contestant on the GBBS! It would help a lot to see him do it visually, because the first couple of steps seem a bit odd. It eventually comes together and becomes this beautiful-looking loaf.

My loaf was a bit uneven but surprisingly became more leveled out in the oven. 

Look at how intricate it is! 

After it has been braided, let the dough prove for another hour.

The second egg in the recipe was for this egg wash! Beat it and glaze it all over so it gets this gooey, marvelous shine. Lastly, sprinkle some sesame seeds - yummm.

the F I N A L  B A K E

WOAH. One look at this picture and I can already smell the aroma of baked bread wafting throughout the house again! Just look at how gorgeous and delicious this challah bread is. The inside really reminded me of a soft, Korean-bakery bread. This loaf was h u g e (but I devoured it quickly), so next time I would create two loaves instead of one. This was a simple, fool-proof recipe that you have to try. I can cross this off my summer bucket-list now! Let me know if this tempted you to make this stunning challah bread:)

MATTHEW 4:4

 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’"

- thecreatingwarrior