Ethiopian Honey Challah Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Mix the yeast with the warm water and 2 Tbsp of honey, and let sit for 10 minutes to allow yeast to activate. Bubbles will form in the cloudy mixture when the yeast is activated.
• 2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, 1/2 cup of honey, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Gently stir in the yeast mixture, and then add the warm milk and melted stick of butter.
• 3. Stir 2 cups of the flour into the liquid mixture until it's well mixed. Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time while mixing with your hands. If the dough is wet and sticky, keep adding 1/2 cup of flour until the dough is smooth.
• 4. Lightly flour a flat surface, and knead the dough with your knuckles for about 15 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• 5. Place dough in a lightly oiled glass bowl. Cover the bowl and set it aside in a warm place to rise for about 90 minutes. It should double in size.
• 6. Punch the dough down, and form the dough into an oval loaf or separate into three equal-size strands and braid the dough into a long braided loaf. Place round or braided loaf on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover it with a warm cloth and set aside for 45 minutes to rise.
• 7. Preheat oven to 325°F.
• 8. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and milk (or water). Brush the milky egg over the surface of the braided loaf. Bake for about 55 to 65 minutes or until lightly browned on the outside. It's great to enjoy at breakfast with butter and honey or jam, and served with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast in the water and allow to "proof" in a warm place for 5 minutes, until it is frothy. Combine the egg, honey, spices, and salt in a deep bowl and stir to combine the ingredients. Add the yeast mixture, milk, and 4 tablespoons (60ml) of the butter, stirring to thoroughly combine. Stir in the flour, 1/2 cup (125ml) at a time, adding only enough flour to make a dough that can be gathered into a ball. When the dough becomes too stiff to use a spoon, mix in the additional flour with your hands. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a dish cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Using a pastry brush, spread the remaining butter on the bottom and sides of a round 3-quart (3L) baking dish, about 3" (8cm) deep and 8" (20cm) in diameter. Punch the dough down and knead for 1 or 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a round and place it in the baking dish, pressing it out so that it covers the entire bottom of the dish. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. Bake in a preheated 300°F (150°C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is crusty and light golden brown. Turn the loaf out of the baking dish onto a wire rack to cool. This bread may be eaten while still warm or completely cooled, and is traditionally served with butter and honey.

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, a pinch of the sugar and a couple tablespoons of lukewarm water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast, then leave for 10 mins until foamy.
• Meanwhile, combine the flour, the remaining sugar and 3 tsp fine salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add half the beaten egg, the yeast mixture and the oil. Pour in 200ml lukewarm water (it should feel slightly warm to the touch) and stir with a spoon, then mix using one hand, keeping the other clean while you bring the dough together. If there are a lot of very dry bits, gradually add a little water to just bring it together - you don't want it to get too wet and sticky. The dough should be moist, but not soggy.
• Once the dough has come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead using both hands for 10 mins until smooth and a bit springy. If it gets very sticky, add a very small amount of flour - as little as possible. A dough scraper is useful if the dough is sticking to the work surface. Stretch the sides of the dough down and pull together to form a ball. Lightly oil a bowl, then lightly roll the dough ball around the bowl so it's coated in the oil. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hr, or until dough has doubled in size.
• Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into three equal pieces, weighing for accuracy, if you like. Roll each piece into a long sausage shape about 25cm long, tapering them slightly at both ends. Lay the pieces out in front of you, parallel to one another with a couple centimetres between each. Bring the sausages together at the top end, then plait them down the length, tucking in the ends when you reach the bottom. Carefully transfer the loaf to the prepared baking sheet and loosely cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise until puffy and billowy, about 40 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Gently brush the rest of the beaten egg all over the challah, getting it into all the crevices, and sprinkle with the poppy or sesame seeds, if using. Bake on a middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 mins, until the loaf is golden brown underneath and sounds hollow when tapped. Check after about 15 mins - if the top of the loaf has started to get too dark, cover it with foil. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then serve.

Steps:

• In a small measuring cup, sprinkle yeast over lukewarm water. Let stand for 3 minutes, then stir to dissolve yeast. Set bowl in warm place for five minutes.
• Combine egg, honey, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a deep bowl, mixing with a whisk. Add yeast mixture, milk, and 4 Tblsp. of melted butter, mixing well. Stir in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until mixture forms a stiff dough.
• Knead on a lightly floured surface for about five minutes, until smooth and elastic. Shape into bowl coated with butter. Cover with towel and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
• After dough has risen, spread remaining butter over a 2 quart souffle dish or other 3 quart dish at least 3 inches deep. Punch dough down, knead again for another 2-3 minutes, shape into a round loaf and place it in dish to cover.
• Allow to rise another hour until it reaches the top rim of the dish. Bake at 300 degrees F for 50-60 minutes until top is crusty and golden brown. Turn bread out of pan and set on a rack to cool.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
• Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading.)
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
• To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
• Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
• If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking. Then dip your index finger in the egg wash, then into poppy or sesame seeds and then onto a mound of bread. Continue until bread is decorated with seeds.
• Bake in middle of oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool loaves on a rack.

Steps:

• Mixing and First Rise
• Bloom the instant yeast for 2-3 minutes by combining it in a small bowl with the warm water and sugar.
• In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients.
• In a small bowl, mix the slightly warmed milk, honey, and egg.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients along with the yeast-sugar-water and mix thoroughly. Cover and let the dough sit about 15 minutes to develop the the gluten.
• Pour the oil over the dough and work it in by squishing and kneading for several minutes. Cover and let the dough rest another 15 minutes.
• Do 1-2 rounds of stretching and folding with a 15-minute rest in between.
• Cover and let the dough rise for another 1.5-2 hours or until the dough has doubled. In a warm summer kitchen, my dough rose for about 2 hours total from initial mixing to doubled. In a cooler kitchen, the dough may need longer.
• Shaping and Second Rise
• Wash and dry your banana leaves.
• Line a 9" springform pan with the leaves, making sure you have excess for wrapping over the top of the dough. (See the photo gallery below)
• Lightly oil the leaves on all parts that will touch the dough.
• Gently scrape the dough out of your bowl and into the pan. With damp fingertips, press the dough to gently de-gas it and spread it evenly in the pan. Wrap the leaves over the top of the dough, not tightly on top but with no exposed dough.
• Let the dough rise again for 1-1.5 hours until the leaves/dough are cresting over the top edge of the pan.
• Baking
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Place the pan on the middle rack and bake for 55 minutes. Check on the bread partway through the bake and carefully re-cover it with the leaves if some pop off from the oven spring. Bread in a heavier/thicker pan may need longer to bake. Aim for an internal temp over 200F.
• After baking, pop open the springform latch and let the bread cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before removing it from the pan and peeling off the leaves.
• Serve warm if desired, for breakfast, snack, or dessert.