Sweet Challah from Chile
Each Shabbat Jewish families around the world begin their meals with wine delicious loaves of sacramental bread, called challah. Here’s a recipe from our community in Chile, translated to English, for you to make and enjoy on your next Shabbat.
Challah (Jala) Recipe from Chile (2 large loaves)
Ingredients:
• 1kg of sifted flour
• 1 cup (250g) of warm water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 50 gr fresh yeast
• 3 eggs for the dough
• 1 egg to beat and paint
Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and leave the dough to rise at room temperature; don’t forget to cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. You can add raisins to bread and blend them well into the dough before shaping.
After the dough rises, you should knead it a little to remove the excess gas generated by rising.
To make 2 large loaves, divide the dough into two parts. Take one of those parts and divide it into 3 equal parts. Roll each of those parts into long rolls. Join the ends of the rolls and begin to braid the dough carefully. Also twist the second portion of the dough. Take one braid and lay it horizontally on a tray, take the other braid and circle it at the end of the other braid. Beat an egg and spread each bread with it so that it has a varnished appearance. Also if you want you can sprinkle sesame, chia or poppy seeds on top of the bread and put them in the oven.
Bake at 180ºC for 20 to 30 minutes. The cooking time will depend on each oven, but the important thing is that the bread is baked and with a light color. If you leave it in the oven for a long time, the dough begins to be very hard.
Once the challah is cooked through, remove it from the oven and cover. Get ready, to enjoy a delicious challah!