Whole Wheat Challah

Today, I would like to talk about bread.  I find that bread is one of those make-it-or-break-it foods that cooks either LOVE to make or are TERRIFIED to make, fleeing the scene of any recipe with the words "yeast" and "rise" in it.  Well, being of the former group, I would like to attempt to take some of the fear away for all of you in the latter group.  There seem to be a lot of misconceptions in the bread-making world, and I would like to clear a few of them up if I can.

The first misconception that I'm sure you have all heard is that of rise temperature.  Something along the lines of "bread dough MUST rise in a warm, draft-free location or else it won't rise and therefore won't work".  Does this sound familiar?  The reality is, that is simply NOT TRUE!  Bread doughs actually benefit from longer, slower, cool rises, and the longer you allow dough to retard in a cool location (like the refrigerator), the better the overall flavor will be.  Now before you run away thinking I'm nuts, trust me, it works!  This not only gives you better-tasting bread, the cool-rise method also provides you with much more flexibility in your time table.

The Windopane Test:
The gluten is developed enough that a small piece of dough can be stretched thin without breaking, to the point of seeing light shine through the dough, much like light through a window pane.

The next misconception is that dough is too sticky and should be drier.  This could very well be true, but often this leads to one of the most common errors made by the novice bread maker, which is to add too much flour, resulting in difficult dough and tough bread (believe me - I've been here).  I know it's tempting to add more flour when the dough is sticking all over your hands, but don't.  Be aware of the type of bread you are making.  For example, sandwich bread and bagel doughs tend to by dry and smooth, while rustic bread doughs like pizza dough and ciabatta dough are very soft and tacky.  If you know you are prone to adding too much flour, then either use a stand mixer with wetter doughs, or else wet your hands to make kneading easier.

The above issue is directly linked to the following: measurement accuracy.  The most accurate way to measure ingredients for bread is to weigh them.  If you have a kitchen scale, or if you were looking for an excuse to buy a kitchen scale, here it is.  Different measuring techniques provide you with drastically different measurements, often leading to a dough that is either significantly stiffer or stickier than it was supposed to be.  If you don't have a scale, though, don't worry.  Measure ingredients as best you can, and pay attention to the feel of the dough.  Look at key words in the recipe that describe the dough consistency (like satiny, tacky, soft, stiff, etc).  And if you dough feels too dry?  Add more water (start with a small amount).  Too sticky?  Add more flour by the teaspoonful.  And trust yourself (sometimes this can be the hardest part).

So perhaps Whole Wheat Challah is not the best starting example?  Well, I apologize, but it is beautiful, and oh so fun to make.  While whole wheat flour is somewhat unconventional in this form, it gives challah a wonderful complexity, while maintaining the integrity of of the egg bread flavor.  And besides, this particular recipe allows you to practice all of the above ideas.

And did I mention?  It will fill your home with the delicious smell of baking bread, which is one of the best scents just shy of baking cookies on a cold December day.  Oh, and there is one rule of bread I forgot to mention: you have to share it.  It tastes better that way.

Whole Wheat Challah
Adapted, barely from Peter Reinhart, Whole Grain Breads


Soaker
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all soaker ingredients together until the flour is completely hydrated and the ingredients form a ball.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours.  (If it will be more than 24 hours, then place soaker in the refrigerator and remove two hours prior to use.)  The soaker will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Biga
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1/3 teaspoon active dry yeast (or 1/4 teaspoon rapid rise/instant yeast)
7 tablespoons (3.5 ounces) water, room temperature
1 large egg (1.65 ounces)
4 egg yolks (2 ounces)

Mix all biga ingredients together to form a ball of dough.  Note: the biga will feel very sticky.  Using wet hands, knead dough for about 2 minutes, and then let the dough rest for 5 minutes.  Wet hands and knead biga again, about 1 minute more.  Transfer biga dough to a clean bowl, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and leave in refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.  Like the soaker above, remove biga from refrigerator about 2 hours prior to using it in the final dough.

Final Dough
Biga (use all from day before)
Soaker (use all from day before)
7 tablespoons  (2 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise/instant yeast)

3 tablespoons honey (or 1.5 tablespoons honey and 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar)

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) olive oil

Using a metal pastry scraper, chop soaker and biga into 12 smaller pieces (sprinkle with whole wheat flour to keep pieces from sticking together).  Combine biga and soaker pieces with flour, salt, yeast, honey, and olive oil.  Stir with either a spoon or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.  If using your hands, knead with wet hands for two minutes, or if using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for two minutes.  Add more flour or water as kneaded until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.

Dust work surface with flour, then roll the dough in flour to coat.  Knead by hands for 3-4 minutes, incorporating as little extra flour as is needed until the dough feels soft and tacky but not sticky.  Form dough into a ball and let rest for five minutes.  Resume kneading for one minute and make any final water or flour adjustments.  The dough should pass the windowpane test (see photo above).  Form the finished dough into a ball, and place in a clean and lightly oiled bowl.  Cover loosely and let rise at room temperature until 1 1/2 times its original size (45-60 minutes).

Gently transfer dough to a clean work surface and divide into 3, 4, 5, or 6 pieces, depending on the type of braid you want to make.  Roll pieces into short ropes and let rest for 5 minutes, then roll each piece into a longer rope, about 12 inches long.  Braid ropes as you wish*.

Place the braided loaf on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and brush the loaf with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of water), then cover loosely and allow to rise at room temperature for 20 minutes.  Brush dough with egg wash a second time, and top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds (optional).  Allow dough to rise 15 minutes more.  At this time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  

Place challah on the middle oven rack, reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes.  Rotate pan and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes, until bread is a rich brown all around and sounds hollow when thumped.  Alternately, test the internal temperature, which should register 195 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool at least 1 hour before serving.

*For the life of me I can't seem to make a six-strand braided challah, so I made two three-strand braids and then twisted them together.  If anyone knows how to do this, I would love to learn.