This Pumpkin Challah is like the eggy, soft, delicious challah you know and love! The addition of pumpkin gives it a natural sweetness and gorgeous color!
Course Bread
Servings 1large braided loaf
Author Amee
Ingredients
Pumpkin Challah:
1tablespoonrapid rise yeast(or 5 teaspoon active dry yeast)
5cupsflour(All-purpose or bread flour. I used bread flour.)
Egg Wash:
1egg, beaten
Instructions
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, sprinkle yeast over water. Allow so set for 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add yeast mixture and stir to incorporate.
Using the dough hook, add the flour one cup at a time, allowing the flour to mostly incorporate before adding the next cup. The dough will be shaggy at this stage.
Knead the dough with the mixer on medium-low speed for about five minutes. Dough will be smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat the top in oil. Cover and let rise until doubled, about two hours.
After the first rise, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surfacte. Divide the dough into six equal portions (mine were about 9 oz. each). Form each portion into a ball by tucking the ends under, cover the dough balls, and let them rest for about 10 minutes.
After the dough has rested, form each dough ball into a 14" rope. Line the ropes up next to each other on the work surface, pinching them together at the top. Braid the strands and tuck the ends under (see note with info on a 6-strand braid).
Place the braid on a baking sheet lined with a silpat (see note) or parchment. Cover the braid and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
While the dough rises, preheat oven to 400° F. Once the second rise is complete, brush the loaf with the beaten egg. Wait five minutes, then brush on a second coating of the egg wash.
Bake the loaf for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325° F and bake for another 35-40 minutes, turning the baking sheet halfway through to ensure even browning. If the top of the bread is getting too brown, you can tent it with a piece of foil. The bread should be a deep brown color, and sound hollow when you tap it.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on a six-strand braid: I rarely make bread with six-stranded braids. I found this video from Painless Cooking to be very helpful: link [here].Note on silpat: I prefer using a slipat to lining my baking sheets with parchment paper, since they help reduce the amount of browning on the bottom of the bread, and I can reuse them. If you're interested in getting one or two for yourself, you can find them [here].