Cinnamon Challah Bread

I was really in the mood for French toast the other day and remembered, from making challah bread before, Honey Wheat Challah Bread, that it was perfect bread for French toast. So, I created my own version in the hopes that it would be perfect for breakfast.

I think Challah bread is great for breakfast because the dough has a lot of eggs. This makes it a little spongy which is perfect for soaking up the French toast batter.

I added cinnamon to the batter because this bread was destined for French toast.

As you begin adding all the ingredients in the bowl, make sure your dough doesn’t become too dry. The first time I made this recipe I didn’t add enough moisture. You can see how crumbly the dough is.

Compared to when I added more moisture and the dough was soft and more homogenous.

After learning a great lesson in why moisture is important for bread making, see Hydration Station, I finally made a great loaf. This bread turned out very flavorful and moist. It had a lighter texture which made sopping up the egg mixture for French toast super easy.

Cinnamon Challah Bread

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 package active dry yeast

1 pinch of sugar

4 whole eggs

1 egg divided, white and yolk

¾ cup oil

½ cup honey

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

6-8 cups of flour

Directions

Add the yeast and sugar to a bowl. Add ½ cup warm water and stir until dissolved. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the whole eggs, egg white, oil, and honey and mix well.

Add the salt, cinnamon, and 1 ½ cup flour to the bowl and mix until all the flour has been incorporated.

Add the yeast mixture and mix thoroughly.

Begin adding the flour ½ cup at a time making sure each ½ cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Mix until the dough is smooth looking then knead in the stand mixer for 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead by hand for 1 to 3 minutes to make sure the dough is smooth and homogenous.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until double in size, 1 to 2 hours.

When the dough has doubled, remove from the bowl and divide into two pieces. Then divide each half into three pieces.

Roll each piece of dough between your hands until a dough rope forms that is about 12 inches long.

Braid three dough ropes together. Tuck the ends of the dough underneath the braid to make nice looking ends.

Mix the remaining egg yolk in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of water. Using a baking brush spread the egg wash over each dough braid.

Place the dough braids on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until double in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Brush the egg wash over the dough braids one more time before baking.

Bake at 350° for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the dough is brown on top and a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.