Challah, usually braided and typically eaten on Jewish holidays. The dough is enriched with eggs and oil, while using sugar or honey for some sweetness. The fun and exciting part comes from the braiding the dough. A simple 3-stranded braid would be gorgeous enough as the centerpiece for your dinner table. But a 4, or 6 stranded challah would really impress your guests. You can also coil the long braided loaf into a circle.
| Grape Sourdough Starter | Dough |
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- Start with the starter. Stem grapes into a medium mixing bowl. Crush with hands and cover with a plastic wrap. Use a fork or wooden toothpick to gently poke some holes along the top and set aside for 3-4 days at room temperature. After 3-4 days there should be bubbles in the grape juice/must, indicating fermentation has begun.
- Measure 240 grams of strained grape juice and pour in a 1-quart glass jar. Stir in 120 grams of rye flour to make a thick, porridge like mixture. Set aside for 24 hours at room temperature.
- Measure 1 cup starter, discard any extra. Add in 110 grams of filtered water and 110 grams of rye flour. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.
- Repeat the following day. Some activity should be noticeable: the mixture should be starting to bubble. Repeat twice more. You will need to discard some of the mixture each day.
- The starter is full of bubbles and ready for use to make bread. If you won't be using the starter for several days, put the jar, with the lid covered loosely, into the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. If you are going to use the starter in the next day or two, just leave it out and feed it every 12 hours or so.
- Prepare the dough by mixing the starter, eggs, egg yolk, honey, oil, water, and the salt. Stir. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour sparingly, until the dough is smooth, satiny, has lost most of it's stickiness, and is fairly firm. Cover and allow it to rise until tripled in volume.
- Punch down the dough, knead briefly and cut into 4 equal pieces. Divide one piece into 3 equal portions. Form each of them into strands of about 30-cm in length, tapered so the center of each piece is thicker than the ends. You should now have three thick and three thin strands.
- Braid the three thick strands into a loaf and set aside. Braid the three smaller strands into a smaller loaf. Lightly indent the top center of the larger loaf down its length. Wet it slightly with water. Put the smaller loaf on top of the indention. Beat egg white with a tablespoon of water. Brush this egg wash all over the loaf and allow them to rise until doubled.
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Brush the loaf with the egg wash again and sprinkle the top with oatmeal bran. Place it into the oven, bake about 35 minutes.
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51 comments:
I really enjoy fresh baked Challah, the sourdough does sound wonderful. Thanks for posting the recipe.
That challah looks so fluffy and moist! I love challah bread, and this one looks amazing! Great recipe! - Zomick's bakery
Great recipe. Thank you :)
Amazing Challah, and thank you for sharing the recipe.
Angie,
What a spectacular challah recipe! I am not familiar with wild grape sourdough starter but will look it up..
Must do ! Thank you for great inspiration Angie !
Challah bread is always so terrific! Love its flavor and texture. This looks like an excellent recipe -- thanks!
I love baking with sourdough but I don't have a wild grape sourdough starter. I'm curious if it has a different flavor than my standard sourdough starter. I might have to try making a wild grape starter
I really like challah, but I didn't know you can also make it with sourdough starter! Amazing recipe ☺
I love bread its my weakness this is a masterpiece
I love challah, but have never made a version with a braid on a braid! You've inspired me again, Angie!!!
Don't know why I can't view the photos in this post. Challah bread sounds interesting.
Oh this challah looks absolutely delightful.. Love the recipe..
Angie, love the grape starter you're using here. I love sourdough bread and this one looks and sounds wonderful!
I've never heard of a sourdough challah with a grape starter. This sounds so interesting. I'm going to have to try this. By the way for some reason none of your photos are showing up. I don't know if it's an issue with my PC or something on your end. Have a great week!
Hi Angie, I'm having the same issue has Vicki. I can't see any of your photos. Sounds delicious though :)
@Vicki Bensinger Really? They look fine on my site. I have no idea what happened :-((
@SavoringTime in the KitchenI have no idea what happened..and they seem okay on my side. I am using Google Photo.
Wow!!...it looks perfect....I love challah and your bread looks very soft!......Abrazotes, Marcela
Angie, your braided loaf looks beautiful. It’s really labour of love.
Your challah has the perfect texture, Angie! Love the idea of a sourdough version with grapes!
It looks amazing, so well risen and beautifully plaited. It's gorgeous!
Such a beautiful loaf of Challah. One of my favorite breads ever! Your grape starter is so impressive. I tried this years ago and had trouble with it. I must give it another go. Yum! :-) ~Valentina
Beautifully baked, fluffy and moist. Starter sounds unique,love the recipe.
Today I can see your beautiful photos, Angie! There are still just a few posts where they don't show up so I'm sure it's just a temporary glitch :)
So interesting using grape to make sourdough starter...and I love the idea of making challah with it...
Your challah looks so beautiful, I wish I could have a slice of it.
Have a wonderful week Angie!
This looks great! Wish I could make it.
@SavoringTime in the Kitchen I am so happy to hear about this, Susan. Thanks for visiting again!!
I do love your blog Angie. Grape sourdough starter? Who'd have thought it? Well you, obviously. Gosh how I wish there was more time in the day and more days in the week. There are so many exciting foodstuffs to experiment with. Your challah looks gorgeous.
Another gorgeous loaf of bread! Didn't know you could make starter from grapes. Genius. :)
What a beauty!!!
Looks beautiful dear Angie!! I would love a piece!! xo Catherine
A grape sourdough starter sounds awesome! How very creative Angie. Of course your challah is gorgeous as all of your bread are. I need a scratch and sniff computer screen. :)
This bread looks amazing! I love homemade bread.
Wow, your challah bread looks absolutely scrumptious!
Angie, I wish I could taste this! This bread looks and sounds fantastic. I love the braid on the braid!
although i'm not frequent to this site but whenever i saw post here it urges me to make one of it recipe and this time i'm going to make this one looks so delicious :)
GORGEOUS loaf, angie!
As usual your bakes (braiding and all) look so professional. Absolutely gorgeous.
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