Truffle Honey Challah
For Victory Club's Truffle Shabbat dinner at Urbani, we used truffle honey as our secret ingredient. The result: a savory yet sweet challah that was devoured in minutes. Recipe adapted from The Challah Blog. The event was made possible by the TableMakers Initiative of the Schusterman Foundation.
RECIPE
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup water
1 tbsp active dry or instant yeast
6 tbsp honey (we recommend using Urbani's Truffle Honey)
3 eggs & 1 egg for wash
1/2 cup neutral oil (we use canola, but vegetable is fine)
6 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
Truffle Salt
Directions:
Place very warm (but not scalding) water in mixing bowl.
Add yeast and 3 tbs. honey, mixing lightly.
Allow to sit for 10 minutes or so until you see little eruptions.
Add 3 eggs and oil and mix with wood spoon.
If you have a stand mixer, add flour and salt and beat with dough hook. Remember: salt kills yeast. Don't put the salt in with the yeast. Wait until you've added some of the flour.
If the dough is not holding together as a ball, add a bit more oil or water. If dough is very sticky, add more flour. The dough is ready when it sticks together as a ball and is not sticky to the touch when you poke your finger in.
Beat the dough for 5-10 minutes.
Turn the ball out onto a floured work surface and punch a few times until very smooth.
Place dough in oiled bowl and cover top with plastic wrap or towel.
Allow to rise at least one hour, preferably more, until dough has doubled in size.
Punch down ball in bowl and remove. Punch out all air bubbles.
Braid in your preferred method.
Allow to rise 20-30 minutes.
Mix remaining egg with 3 tbs. truffle honey. Brush mixture onto challah.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
After 10 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees and continue to bake. If they seem doughy, give it more time.
Pull apart and enjoy!
45 minutes active time; 2.5 hours total time. Yields one large challah.