A classic loaf best eaten on the day it’s made.

Recipe: Extracted from Butter, Butter by Petra Galler

Makes: 2 loaves

I have so many fond memories of eating challah. I went to a small Jewish primary school and every Friday we had the opportunity to buy a couple of loaves to take home to our families for Shabbat.

We never really celebrated Shabbat in our household, but we definitely celebrated bread, so every Friday without failure I would hop on the bus home with two pillowy loaves in hand. I don’t think the loaves ever survived the 10-minute bus journey intact.

It’s almost brioche-like in sweetness, but has this gorgeous thready, pull-apart texture that makes it near impossible to resist. Once you start, it’s very hard to stop, so either don’t even try it, or commit to the whole loaf! I would choose the latter.

The recipe below is enough for two braids and is best eaten on the day it is made. If there are leftovers however, it’s divine lightly toasted with lashings of butter, or turned into French toast.

INGREDIENTS

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) lukewarm water
15 g (½ oz) instant dried yeast
50 g (1¾ oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
65 ml (2 fl oz) rapeseed oil
670 g (1 lb 7½ oz) plain flour
¾ tablespoon table salt

To garnish
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
poppyseeds, to garnish
flaky salt

METHOD

In a small bowl, combine the water and yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar, stirring briefly. Allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foaming.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, oil, the yeast mixture and the remaining sugar. Mix until combined. With the dough hook attachment ready to go, start mixing on a low speed while you gradually add the flour and salt. Mix for 6–8 minutes until smooth and elastic; the dough may feel slightly firmer than what you may be used to.

Shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for 1–2 hours or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and dived into 6 equal balls; I sometimes weigh these out if I’m feeling pedantic.

Cover again and let rise for 10 minutes. Grease and line a large oven tray. Now we are ready to braid. Take three pieces of the dough, roll each piece out into a 40 cm (16 in) long strand and position them side by side on the prepared baking tray. Pinch the tops of the ropes together and braid, pinching them together at the bottom. Tuck the ends under on each side. Repeat this process with the remaining dough, and place on your prepared tray before covering loosely with cling film and allowing to rise for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) fan-bake.

Brush each loaf all over with egg wash and sprinkle generously with poppyseeds and flaky salt.

Bake for about 35–40 minutes or until the loaves are a deep brown colour and hollow sounding when tapped. Set aside to cool momentarily before tearing and sharing.

Check out our Q&A with Petra here. 

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Images and text from Butter, Butter by Petra Galler, photography by Melanie Jenkins (Flash Studios), published by Allen & Unwin, RRP $49.99.