Recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Challah

I’ve metricized (if that’s a word) a helpful recipe-tweet from @justsayxtian and adapted it to how I typically mix, rise, and braid challah.

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Makes 3 medium loaves.

Equipment

• Stand mixer with dough hook
• Baking sheet with parchment paper
• Digital scale
• Brush for egg wash
• Bench scraper to cut dough

Dough

• 600g King Arthur Organic White Whole Wheat Flour (4 C)
• 37g Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Gluten Flour (1/4 C)
• 10g potato starch (1 Tbsp.)
• 1 tsp. fine salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 90g honey granules (1/2 C)
• 210g warm water (1 C)
• 100g vegetable oil (1 C)

Egg wash

• 1 egg white (reserved from above)
• Pinch salt
• 1 Tbsp cold water
• Optional topping like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or “everything” mix

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, gluten, potato flour, and salt.
2. In bowl of a 6-quart stand mixer, combine water, yeast, eggs, yolks, and oil.
3. Add flour mixture. Using dough hook, mix on low speed for 5 minutes. (Dough may feel a little dry, but the flour will continue to absorb its liquid while it rises.)
4. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces (about 582 grams each). Place each piece in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
5. With each piece of dough, remove from bowl, divide into 4 pieces, and roll pieces into 10-inch ropes. Braid ropes tightly. Pinch ends and tuck under to neaten.
6. Place the 3 braided loaves onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes (until increased by one-third).
7. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle and preheat oven to 325°F Convection.
8. Whisk egg white with salt and water. Brush egg mixture onto loaves. Coat thoroughly with seed topping if using.
9. Bake 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Rising tip: Place the dough in an unheated oven with only the oven light on. That should provide just enough warmth to stimulate the yeast.