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Recipe Ingredient
- Sweetened Spiced Dough:
- 250g milk
- 10g active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 600 - 650g bread flour
- 50g brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 100g glazed cherries (green and red)
- 50g candied citrus peel
- 100g currants / raisins
- 50g dried apricot / cranberries
- Egg Wash:
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Prepare numbers of hard-boiled eggs, dyed into colours.
- Sweetened Spiced Dough: Heat the milk until lukewarm (about 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius), add yeast with 1 tbsp brown sugar and stir to combine. Set aside for 15 minutes or until the yeast is foamy.
- Combine all the flour, sugar, spices and salt in the mixing bowl. Gradually add the foamy yeast mixture into the dry ingredients, together with the softened butter and lightly beaten egg.
- Using the dough hook with slow speed, start beating until the dry ingredients are moistened before increasing to medium speed and knead until the dough is silky smooth and elastic.
- Gradually, add in candied and dried fruits and knead till well incorporated. Add more flour if the dough is slightly sticky.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl; turning the dough once to enable the top is lightly greased. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until almost doubled in size (about 50 to 60 minutes).
- When the dough has doubled in size, gently punch it down to release the air, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 3 equal pieces. You will need to do some simple 3 - strand dough braiding.
- Three-Strand Braiding: Start to braid in the middle of the strands instead of the top to give a proportionate shape.
- The important thing to remember when braiding a Three-Strand Bread is to be aware of your middle strand. Each strand of dough will take a turn being the middle strand; keeping your eye on the middle strand will help you stay on track as you braid.
- Create three equal-size strands. Lay the three strands side-by-side.
- Grab the center of the right strand and cross it over the middle strand, drop it in the center. The right strand is now your middle strand.
- Grab your left strand and cross it over the middle strand. The left strand becomes your middle strand.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 (right strand to middle, left strand to middle) until you have braided your bread to the very end. Pinch the three strands together at the end.
- Grab the bread in the center and flip it towards you so the bread is now upside down and the unbraided strands are facing downward.
- Continue braiding by grabbing the left strand and crossing it over the middle strand. The left strand becomes your middle strand.
- Repeat steps 6 and 7 (left strand to middle, right strand to middle) until your challah is fully braided. Pinch the ends of the loose strands together and tuck both the top and bottom tips of the bread under to create a nice rounded shape.
- Bring ends together to form a ring. Pinch end to seal. Gently loosen the braided strands and tuck boiled dyed eggs into openings.
- Cover and allow the bread to double for another 45 to 50 minutes.