Poppy Seed Coiled Challah #BreadBakers

Bakingyummies
                                               

                                                  A very Happy Diwali to all of you :)

What a perfect timing to bake this bread! Thanks to Pavani Nandula from Cookshideout who is hosting this month and has chosen the theme as well: Festive Breads :D. I had baked this Challah Bread about a fortnight ago but wasn't sure if I will be able to post it on time, all the Diwali preparations have taken up most of my time since a couple of weeks.


#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.


Nevertheless, since I have been able to post, let me share with a little history about this wonderful bread. Challah is a braided Sabbath bread of Judaism, a European celebratory loaf symbolic of God's goodness and bounty. Though it is traditionally braided, a coiled loaf is baked for the Jewish New Year celebrations of Rosh Hashanah and it's round shape symbolizes continuity since it has no beginning and no end. Garnishing the loaves with poppy or sesame seeds, symbolizes the falling of manna from heaven.


About this recipe, well I combined two different ones to make this bread. I took the ingredients from Bread Baker's Apprentice and the shape from Bread by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno. I wanted to use a mixture of sesame and poppy seeds but even after quite a digging in my kitchen cabinet, I couldn't find my can of sesame seeds so I went with poppy seeds. I was pretty happy with how the finished bread looked which in turn helped to reduce the festive stress a bit :)


Makes 1 medium size loaf

Ingredients:
 255 grams / 9 ounces / 2 cups bread or strong white flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar or honey.
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or unsalted butter, melted and at room temperature.
1 large egg at room temperature and slightly beaten.
140 to 150 ml / 5fl ounces water at room temperature
1 egg white whisked until frothy for egg wash.
Sesame or poppy seeds for garnish.

Method:
Please click here and follow the steps till the initial proofing stage. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes to expel all the air bubbles.

Form into a ball, keep it back in the bowl, cover and let rise for an hour or until it has grown 1 and 1/2 times of it's size. Knock back and shape the dough into a long loaf as shown here.

Roll the dough with even pressure until it forms a rope, about 15 inches / 38 cms long. Taper the ends. Coil the tapered rope into a "snail" like spiral. Pinch the end of the coiled rope to seal.

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place the shaped loaf on it and brush with the beaten egg white. Cover with cling film and leave to rest until the dough doubles in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175 degrees C / 350 degrees F.

Brush the loaf again with the beaten egg white, sprinkle with whichever seeds you are using and place in the oven.

Bake until the bread is nice golden brown and registers 95 degrees C / 190 degrees F in the center. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Storage Suggestions: This bread when tightly wrapped in foil or cling film and kept in a zip lock bag stays well at room temperature for 3 days and in the freezer for about a month.

Happy Baking!!!

Lets take a look at what my fellow bakers have baked for this month’s Family Feast Breads event:

23 comments

  1. That is a gorgeous gorgeous Bread. Love the even bake and the crumb. Well done!

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    1. Thank you so much Ansh. Even I was very pleased with the color and how even the bake was.

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  2. I'd be happy with this bread too! I love that recipe, and the coil is so beautiful. Lovely sentiment as well.

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    1. Thank you Karen and the shape indeed turned out more beautiful than I expected :D

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  3. What a gorgeous bread and so perfectly presented in that very attractive shape!!

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  4. Gorgeous. I love the shape and the sprinkling of poppyseeds on top. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the history lesson as well.

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    1. Thank you Wendy, it was so much fun to bake with you guys and share the recipes as well.

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  5. What a beautiful bread! It is perfectly browned, and we love poppyseed. Enjoy your festivities!

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    1. Thank you Julie, this is my first bake with poppy seeds and I am looking forward to bake with it more often now.

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  6. Happy Diwali, Deepti! And what a perfect loaf for a family celebration! Truly beautiful!

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  7. Happy Diwali :)
    Your challah looks great!!

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  8. Oooh! This is such a beautiful bread with a lovely crumb!! Awesome challah!

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    1. Thank you Shireen, yeah the crumb was as beautiful as the crust!

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  9. Beautiful loaf and such a golden, fluffy crumb! Wonderful--hope your Diwali was filled with light. xo

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  10. What a beautiful looking bread -- love the shape and the perfectly browned top.

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  11. Challah is definitely a special bread for us! Love this

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  12. a beautiful looking loaf, love the generous sprinkle of poppy seeds.

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