*Makes two Challot
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups lukewarm water, divided 1 packet (¼ ounce) active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1 egg 3 egg yolks ¾ cup honey 2 tablespoons canola oil 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 teaspoons salt 5-7 cups flour 3 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼ inch dice ¼ cup sugar 2 tablespons turbinado sugar (optional) 1 egg 1 tablespoon cold water
Directions:
Pour ¼ cup of the lukewarm water (about 110°F) into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar to the bowl, whisk to dissolve. Allow the yeast to activate and become expanded and foamy, about 10 minutes. Once your yeast has activated, add remaining 1¼ cup lukewarm water to the bowl along with the egg, egg yolks, honey, canola oil, vanilla and salt. Use a whisk to thoroughly blend the ingredients together. Begin adding the flour to the bowl by half-cupfuls, stirring with a large spoon each time flour is added. When mixture becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to knead. Continue to add flour and knead the dough until it’s smooth, elastic, and not sticky. The amount of flour you will need to achieve this texture varies - only add flour until the dough feels pliable and “right.” Turn the dough out onto a smooth surface and knead a few more times.
Place a saucepan full of water on the stove to boil. Wash out the mixing bowl that you used to mix the challah dough. Grease the bowl with canola oil. Push the dough back into the bottom of the bowl, then flip it over so that both sides are slightly moistened by the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place the bowl of dough on the middle rack of your oven. Take the saucepan full of boiling water and place it below the rack where your dough sits. Close the oven, but do not turn it on. Let the dough rise for 1 hour. Take the dough bowl out and punch it down several times to remove air pockets. Place it back inside the oven and let it rise for 1 hour longer.
During this final rise, prep your apples. Toss the apple diced pieces with ¼ cup of sugar. If you’d like, you can add ½ tsp of cinnamon to the sugar to give the apples an apple-cinnamon flavor. Take the dough out of the oven; it should have doubled in size during this final rise. If it has not fully risen, return it to the oven till it's had a chance to properly rise. When the dough is ready, flour a smooth surface. Punch the dough down into the bowl a few times, then turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Knead the dough a bit, adding flour as needed to keep it from feeling sticky. Create a large indent in the middle of the dough ball. Dump your apples into the indent; knead the apples into the dough until fairly evenly distributed. Divide the dough into two equal halves. Put one half of the dough on a smooth, lightly floured surface. Leave the other half of the dough in the bowl covered by a moist towel. Cut the dough on the floured surface into four equal portions. Roll each section into strands about 16-18 inches long with tapered ends. Braid the four strands in the traditional 4-Braid Challah technique.
After the challah has been braided, place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Let the braid rise 30 to 45 minutes longer. You’ll know the dough is ready to bake when you press your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, rather than bouncing back. While this challah rises, you can braid the other half of the dough in the same way. Your second challah will rise as the first one bakes. Prepare your egg wash by beating the egg and water until smooth. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of the mixture onto the visible surface of your challah. Reserve the leftover egg wash. Sprinkle the top of the challah with 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, if you wish.
Each challah needs to bake for about 45 minutes total by doing the following: bake the challah for 20 minutes, after 20 minutes, take the challah out of the oven and coat the grooves of the braid with another thin layer of egg wash (these areas tend to expand during baking, exposing dough that will turn white unless they are coated with egg wash), turn the challah around, so the opposite side faces front, and return it to the oven for 20-25 minutes longer. For this last part of the baking process, keep an eye on your challah—it may be browning faster than it's baking. Once the challah is browned to your liking, take it out and tent it with foil, then place it back in the oven. Remove the foil for the last 2 minutes of baking time. Once baked through, remove the challah from the oven. Test the bread for doneness by turning it over and tapping on the bottom of the loaf—if it makes a hollow sound, and it's golden brown all the way across, it’s done. Because of the apples in this challah, it may take a bit longer to bake than your regular challah recipe. Err on the side of letting it cook longer to make sure it's baked all the way through. You can also stick an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the challah-- when it reads 190°F, it is baked all the way through. Let challah cool completely on a wire cooling rack before serving. Bake the second challah in the same way.
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