Honey Challah with Assorted Toppings

Serves	Total Time
6 large or 8 medium challahs	3.08 hours

Ingredients - Dough

1.5 tsp yeast
1 tsp granulated sugar
38 g lukewarm water
84 g honey
1 tsp salt
41 g vegetable oil
0.17 egg
114 g lukewarm water
378 g bread flour

Ingredients - Sweet Crumb Topping

20 g bread flour
33 g granulated sugar
16.5 g vegetable oil
0.25 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt

Ingredients - Honey or Maple Syrup Glaze

some honey (optional)
some maple syrup (optional)

Cookware

1 bowl
1 spoon

Instructions

Step 1

Add the yeast, granulated sugar and 38 g lukewarm water to a bowl and rest for a few minutes until the yeast starts to bloom. Add the honey, salt, 41 g vegetable oil and egg and mix to incorporate. Stir in 114 g of lukewarm water.

Step 2

Add half of the bread flour and mix with a spoon until creamy. Add almost all of the rest of the flour (leaving over 1/2 cup or so) and knead with your hands until your dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is no longer sticky.

Step 3

When you are done kneading, grease the dough with remaining oil and cover it with a towel. Put it in a warm place (I like to put my oven on 200 degrees and put it on top of the oven). Leave the dough to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours. Pound it down, take challa for hafrashas challah, and braid. When you are done shaping the loaves, leave them to rise for 30 minutes. Brush with egg and topping of your choice. Bake at 350°F until golden brown, about 35 minutes. (check the bottoms of the challahs, they should be browned and hollow when you tap on them).

Step 4

For the sweet crumb topping, mix bread flour, granulated sugar, 11 g to 16.5 g vegetable oil, vanilla, salt with a spoon until crumbly and sprinkle over challah.

Step 5

You can mix some honey (optional) or maple syrup (optional) in with the egg wash and brush over challah. For more of a sticky glaze, egg wash the challah as usual and bake. As soon as the challah comes out of oven, brush liberally with honey or maple syrup (you can warm it on the stovetop or microwave it to make it easier to spread). You’ll have a sweet and sticky glaze.