The history, folklore and symbolism of Easter breads are as rich as the breads themselves! Easter breads come in various shapes and sizes, and can be laden with cheese, nuts, citrus, cinnamon, saffron and other precious ingredients. They are also sometimes decorated with brightly coloured eggs.
Even though yesterday was fast paced and more stressful than most, I am glad I made the time to bake some bread. The hands on process of working and kneading the dough brought me a sense of calm and relaxation. It is a labour of love that took time and focus, allowing me to forget about everything else I had to do. If you are going to make a special Easter bread make sure you have enough time to give it the love an attention it needs. Most often they are lavishly and intricately decorated in braids, rolls, drizzled with icing, studded with dried fruits, or have rich fillings hidden inside, all of which take a little more time, but is well worth it!
I made a couple loaves of Challah, which is traditional egg bread for the Jewish Sabbath. I love its rich taste, golden colour, firm crust and fine crumb. Once it had cooled slightly, the kids and I tried some warm with a touch of butter and honey, delicious. This morning it was firm enough to make some amazing French toast and would be perfect for a bread pudding! I chose Challah because I am pretty good at braiding Ella’s hair and also because it is a good neutral base to add all kinds of yummy ingredients such as golden or sultana raisins. I added 1 cup (165g) and kneaded it into the dough before shaping it into ropes and braiding them together.
Challah
Makes 1 Braided Loaf (975g)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 4 hours from start to finish
90 ml Compliments Liquid Honey
½ tbsp (8 mL) salt
500 g bread flour
8 g dry active yeast
200 mL (7 fl oz) warm water
2 large Compliments Eggs
60 g (2 oz) Compliments European Flavour Unsalted Butter, melted
Egg wash (1 egg with milk or water) as needed
Black Sesame Seeds and Kosher Salt as needed
- Stir together the yeast and warm water with 1 tsp of the honey, let sit for 10-15 minutes, until frothy. Combine the; honey, salt, yeast, eggs and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer using the dough hook. Add the flour slowly while mixing on low speed and then continue to knead the dough on low until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm draught free space until doubled in size, 60-90 minutes.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into 3 equal portions, rolling each of them into a rope about 1” (2.5 cm) thick and 12” (30 cm) long. Braid the 3 ropes of dough, pinching the ends together and trucking them under the loaf. Transfer the loaf to a parchment paper lined baking sheet, brush with the egg was, sprinkle with the seeds and leave it to rise again until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- Bake the Challah in a preheated 350°F (170°C) oven for about 35-40 minutes. They loaf is done when they are golden brown and sound hollow.
Happy Bread Baking!
Chef Ryan Skelton
Nutritional Analysis per Serving:
Energy: 240 (kcal)
Protein: 6 g
Fat: 6 g
Saturated Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 45 mg
Carbohydrates: 39 g
Fibre: 1 g
Sodium: 310 mg
Potassium: 60 mg
Recipe adapted from On Cooking, A textbook of Culinary Fundamentals, 3rd Edition
Sarah R Labensky, Alan M Hause
