Sourdough Challah that tastes great (and not too hard to make)

[@diannehale5155]

I really appreciate how clearly you demonstrate the 4-strand braiding. I'm making a batch (after watching your vid), and my loaves are now at the final rising stage. I reduced the water in the recipe to 120 grrams, but I still needed to add a few extra spoons of flour to make it more manageable and not as wet. (I use unbleached AP flour with an added 4g "vital wheat gluten" per 100g AP flour). The braiding went better than expected. Thanks for posting this! :)

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Thanks so much for the kind words. I have other videos showing challah braiding, once you get the hang of it, it is really easy! Maybe post a picture of your challah on the Sourdough Simpleton website (www.SourdoughSimpleton.com)

[@ИньЯнь-э3т]

Awesome work on challah !!! Thank you for all your tips and hints. Will start mine on Thursday (will be using your recipe) Let you know how it goes. Shalom :) 🎉🥨🥐🥖

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

So, nu? How was the challah?

[@Jbolo123]

Sourdough Simpleton,, you got some nice loaves.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Thanks, Jake! Isn't that the goal?

[@nadjka88music]

😂

[@klaskristian1]

We have an exact same bread in Sweden. Its a sweet wheatdough that you twinning the same way!

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Many (most?) cultures have some form of braided or plaited bread, and enriched breads are also popular. It just shows the cultural borrowing that goes through the ages, leading to foods which may be familiar with an interesting twist. Thanks for the comments, and I do hope you have subscribed to the channel and the Facebook page (bit.ly/FBSourdough)

[@klaskristian1]

@@SourdoughSimpleton yes i have subscribed, but i am not active on facebook

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@@klaskristian1 Glad to have you on board here on KZbin! Thanks. You can also check the website at www.SourdoughSimpleton.com

[@deborahembry7292]

I would like to start today to have chsllah for Shabbat. I Dont have a mixer...

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Deborah, you can certainly mix the dough by hand, it will take a bit longer. Once the dough comes together, you would follow the steps in the video. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid to make up for hand mixing, so that the dough is the right consistency. Also, you need an active starter, so if yours is not fully active now, you may need to feed it and wait a few hours for it to double in size.

[@cutabove9046]

What brand of bread flour do you use? I curious to know the protein content you're used to working with in your sourdough

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Thanks for the question. I use King Arthur Bread Flour, which is 12.7% protein. I had tried using AP flour, which just did not work. Please do check out the other videos on the channel, and subscribe if you've not already.

[@morehn]

I think everything looks amazing but the braids were not well defined because the strands weren't tightened by rolling them rather than cutting them to create them. Overproofing would be the other option, but I don't think that was the case. Either way, I have more positive feedback than negative but the negative was louder. Great job.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Thanks for the comments. In truth, the braids were not well defined because the dough was a bit too soft. I bake challah every week, cut the strands, and it comes out beautifully, but that is with my regular yeast dough. I may revisit this recipe and try to get a better dough consistency - when I have time! I have a video showing 4 and 6 strand braids with a yeast dough online; you can check that for a comparison.

[@morehn]

@@SourdoughSimpleton I'll definitely be doing more checking here. I thought when I saw you cut the dough it was too bubbly, which could be tightened up, but I also saw what you're talking about that it was soft to begin with. I often get that based on measurements or humidity not compensated for, but I liked the video regardless. I'm about to start my sourdough education after Pesach and when I buy the Sourdough Home so I can control my timing. The timing has been the only reason I haven't been working on sourdough all these years.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@@morehn What I have found is that accuracy in measuring all of the ingredients really does matter, and I can get consistent results with such diligence. There are a few videos on measuring ingredients on my channel, enjoy them. Please do subscribe if you've not already. I will get back to sourdough after Pesach, after all, the Hebrew word for "sourdough bread" is לחם מחמצת!

[@morehn]

@@SourdoughSimpleton לחם מחמצת - doesn't get more chametz than that. The thing with measuring is that humidity can affect the right amounts, too. KA flour is good because they have tight standard deviations from their posted ranges of protein content and absorption, but humidity can always change things slightly. I already subscribed this morning, so I expect to be looking at your videos more over the next few weeks and months.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@@morehn Indeed, humidity is an issue, and if you use eggs, the size of the eggs is another issue. One wonders how our grandmothers made such great challah without all these issues! Thanks for your input, and for subscribing! חג כ̇שר ושמח

[@purpleduck3494]

noooooooooooooo

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Yeeessss!