Jessica Fechtor's Five-Fold Challah

I learned of Jessica Fechtor's challah while watching the video about the King Arthur Cheesey Pan Pizza. I have made this challah quite a few times during COVID, making slight modifications.

A fabulous challah recipe from Jessica Fechtor’s “Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home,

The recipe calls for instant dry yeast rather than active dry yeast (which requires proofing). Fechtor recommends SAF-Instant yeast or Fleischmann’s BreadMachine or Rapid-Rise Yeast.

Makes 3 small loaves

Dry ingredients:
3 c (500 grams) bread flour or all-purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 ½ t instant dry yeast (I have used regular and it worked fine)
2 t salt

Wet ingredients:
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk (save the extra white in a covered glass in the fridge for glazing later on)

¾ cup (190 grams) water
1/3 cup (75 grams) olive oil
¼ cup (85 grams) honey

1/4 c raisins, optional

1) Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until a wet, sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

2) Peel back the plastic. Grab an edge of the dough, lift it up, and fold it over itself to the center. Turn the bowl a bit and repeat around the entire lump of dough, grabbing an edge and folding it into the center, eight turns, grabs and folds in all. Then flop the dough so that the folds and seams ore on the bottom. Cover tightly again with the plastic, and let sit for 30 minutes. (That is Fold 1).

3) Repeat the all-around folding, flipping, covering and resting for 30 minutes four more times. (I keep track by using four bottle caps.) The dough flops more than it folds in the first round or two. Then, as the gluten develops, you’ll get proper folds. By the final fold, the dough will be wonderfully elastic, and you’ll be able to see and feel the small pockets of air within. Pull the plastic tight again over the bowl and refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.

4) Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into 9 equal pieces. (This is time-consuming.) 

Roll into 9 strands, adding raisins if you wish. (You’ll want to add as little extra flour as possible.) 

Braid from the center, pulling the strands and keeping the braid tight in both directions. Transfer the loaves to the prepared pan. Cover with plastic and let proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, until the dough is noticeably swollen and puffed and bounces back, very slowly, if at all, when you poke it lightly with your finger.

5) Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.

6) Remove the plastic from the loaves and brush with the reserved egg white. 

7) Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread is golden and gorgeous.