Challah - a beautiful braided bread

Challah is a Jewish braided bread made and eaten on Sabbath and some other Jewish holidays. Most versions I have seen of this bread are sweet, with cinnamon and raisins being popular additions to the dough. Since I made a sweet bread yesterday, I have made a non sweet version of the Challah for my second post for Blogging Marathon #64.












What you need :
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Lukewarm water - 1/2 cup
Instant yeast - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/8 cup
Egg - 1

In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast, water, oil and egg.
Add the flour to this, a little at a time and knead to a smooth pliable dough. My dough was very sticky and I had to add an additional 3 tbsp. of flour to make it smooth and non sticky.
Transfer the dough to a well oiled bowl and  turn it over a few times so it is coated with oil on all sides. Cover and let it rise until doubled in volume (about an hour).
Punch down the dough and separate it into three portions. Roll each portion into a longish rope (about 15 inches or so). These will form the three parts of the braid.
At this point, you can make a savory stuffing and stuff it into each segment. I made a really tasty tomato, onion and garlic filling. However, for some reason, after I flattened one of the strands and put in some of the filling, I just wasn't able to close the ends together. No matter how hard I tried, the ends just wouldn't stick together. Not sure why that happened. So I took the stuffing out, patted the dough with some paper towels to absorb the extra moisture from the stuffing and then proceeded to braid the bread.
To braid the bread, place the three dough ropes side by side and pinch the top of the three ropes together. Now, start braiding the bread just as you would braid hair or rope until you reach all the way to the bottom of the strands. In the end, knot the three ropes together and tuck them under so that you have a neat braid.
Cover with a wet towel and leave it to rise for 30 - 40 minutes.
Brush some milk on top of the bread and sprinkle the top generously with fresh/dried herbs. I used dried Italian seasoning.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes or until the top turns a nice golden brown.
Slice and serve when warm.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Chickpeas stuffed braided bread

A few years back, bread to me, meant a packet of Modern or Britannia white bread picked up from the neighbouring store. That was before blogging happened. Now, I know that bread isn't just bread - there is whole wheat bread, there is multi grain bread, focaccia, no-knead bread - the variety is endless. The simple, short term bread encompasses a whole world within it.
I am amazed that I am able to bake good bread at home and that I have become more and more adventurous by trying out my hand at different kinds of bread. I am participating in the Blogging Marathon this month, and the theme I have chosen for this week is Cooking with chickpeas. I was certain that I did not want to take the well travelled path and make chole or kadala curry. I racked my brain to see how I could come up with something 'different' and that's when the idea of this stuffed bread was born. The basic bread recipe I have used is the same as the one I have used in my Iyengar bakery style stuffed buns.

What you need:
For the bread :
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups (heaped)
Vanaspati / vegetable shortening - 3 tbsp
Yogurt - 1 tbsp
Milk - 2/3 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp (Use 1 tsp from this for proofing the yeast)
Yeast - 1 tbsp

Dissolve 1 tsp of sugar in 1/4 cup of lukewarm milk. Add the yeast to this. Cover and set aside for about 10 minute until the yeast mixture becomes frothy.
Take the maida, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, milk, yogurt and vegetable shortening. Knead to a soft, pliable dough. Cover and keep aside in a warm place to rise until double in volume. This take about 1.5 to 2 hours. Once it rises, punch the dough down and keep aside for a second rise (roughly 45 minutes)

For the stuffing:
Chickpeas/chana/konda kadalai - 1 cup, soaked in plenty of water overnight
Medium potato - 1, cooked, peeled and mashed
Onion - 1, sliced thin and long
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp, heaped
Salt - to taste
Oil - 5 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Pressure cook the chickpeas until one whistle and then reduce the heat and cook for a further 20 minutes. The chickpeas should be cooked until soft and you should be able to easily mash it. Lightly mash the cooked chickpeas and keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai.Add the cumin seeds. When the seeds start to sputter, add the sliced onions and a quarter tsp of sugar. Saute until brown. Add in the tomato and cook till soft. Now add the mashed potato, chickpeas, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well and heat until all moisture evaporates.
Keep aside to cool.

To make the stuffed bread :
Transfer the dough to a generously floured kitchen counter. Roll it into a thin, long rectangle/oval shape.
 
Spread the stuffing in the middle of the rectangle.
 
On both sides of the stuffing, cut the dough into parallel strips.
 
Criss-cross the strips over the stuffing to make braids. Apply a mik wash over the dough. This will give an even brown colour while baking.

Preheat oven to to 175 degrees. Bake for 22-25 minutes until golden brown.
 
Wait until it cools a little and then, cut into thick slices and dig in.

 Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other marathoners doing BM#22.
This bread goes to Let's Party - Eggless Bakes and Treats - an event started by Surabhi and guest hosted by Nivedhanams Sowmya.