After her in-person baking classes at Zingerman’s Bakehouse were canceled due to Covid-19, West Bloomfield teen Emma Salle and her family decided to try out this Ann Arbor retail and wholesale bakery’s virtual class offerings.
“After one class, we decided to keep doing them since they are seriously so fun,” Salle said. “There are not many activities that my family and I have in common, but baking has always been a way we can spend time together.”
So far, Salle and her family have taken online classes in pies, cakes, chocolate, fruit tarts, cinnamon rolls, puff pastries, cream puffs, sugar cookies and pasta; however, Salle said the challah one was “extra fun” because she had the opportunity to work with yeast.
“I love that there’s so many science-based factors that come to play when working with yeast,” she explained. “If you miss any of the steps, it can affect the outcome, so making challah takes a lot of thinking and patience.”
According to Zingerman’s Bakehouse Historian Lee Vedder, the challah we have come to know and love today is “a braided soft bread enriched with eggs, oil and honey that was first made by Ashkenazi Jews in 15th-century Central Europe.” Vedder said the braiding was an adaptation from a local Teutonic solstice bread and its strands that resemble arms intertwined came to symbolize love, truth, peace, creation, freedom, harmony, family connection, unity and justice.
Even though it has a shorter shelf-life, Salle said she does advise using organic flour when making challah. (The Salles used the Zingerman’s brand, which is sold at Plum Market in West Bloomfield). Additionally, she said weighing the ingredients yields more accurate results versus using volume measurements.
“It’s been really great to be part of the Zingerman’s community, especially on Facebook as everyone, from all over the world, shares their recipes and baking stories with one another,” Salle said.
For more information about Zingerman’s Bakehouse classes, visit bakewithzing.com.
Ingredients
Challah Loaf
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¾ cup/165 grams water (room temperature)
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5 XL egg yolks (room temperature)
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2 tbsp + 1 tsp/30 grams corn oil
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2.5 tbsp/55 grams honey
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1.5 tsp/5 grams instant yeast
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3 cup + 3 tbsp/455 grams all-purpose flour
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½ tsp/9 grams sea salt
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½ to ¾ cup rye flour
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¼ cup cornmeal
Egg Wash
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1 XL egg
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½ tbsp water
Method
For conventional ovens, preheat the oven and baking stone to 350°F one hour prior to baking. *Convection setting is not recommended for this.
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In a large bowl, add the water, egg yolks, corn oil, honey, yeast and half of the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes a thick batter.
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Add the remaining flour and sea salt and mix until the dough becomes a shaggy mass. Scrape the dough out of the mixing bowl onto the work surface.
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Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes. Scrape down the work surface as necessary; the dough will become smooth and elastic during the kneading process.
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Put the dough into a lightly-oiled container and cover with plastic. Ferment the dough for one hour at room temperature.
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After one hour of fermentation, turn the dough out of the container and divide into five or six pieces. (Salle did six). Preshape each piece of dough and let rest for five minutes covered with plastic.
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After five minutes of rest, shape each piece into a 10-inch long cylinder with pointed ends. Toss the shaped pieces in medium rye flour. The rye flour won’t get absorbed into the dough, so you’ll be able to see the definition of the shape.
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Shape the loaf into the braid. Place the braid onto the cornmeal-covered surface or a parchment lined sheet tray and brush with egg wash. Cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap.
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Let the braid proof for 1½ hours, or until it is at least 1 ½ times its original size.
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Brush the loaf with egg wash a second time and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 190 degrees fahrenheit. Remove from the oven and cool.
Pull Quote:
“If you miss any of the steps, it can affect the outcome, so making challah takes a lot of thinking and patience.”