May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.
Ruth was kind enough to provide links to two vegan recipes, and I used the one found at Veg Kitchen. Unfortunately the first batch I made I didn’t pay close enough attention when I proofed the yeast – and I didn’t realize that it wasn’t still active until after I had set the dough to rise, and it didn’t.
The second batch had good yeast, and the dough raised nicely. This was the first recipe I’ve tried that used a water/oil/baking powder mix in place of the egg, and I was anxious to see how it turned out. I also used the alternate flour mix, using 3 cups of all-purpose unbleached flour, and 1 1/4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour.
 |
| The dough, risen |
I used the dough hook on my stand mixer to knead the dough, and when it had risen, I divided it into two batches. For one I made a three strand braid, and the other a four strand braid.
 |
| Ropes of dough for the 4-strand braid |
After letting the loaves rise a second time, I coated one with soy milk, the other with oil and cinnamon sugar. Placing them in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.
The four-strand braid, the one coated in soy milk, came out a beautiful golden brown, while the oil and cinnamon sugar three-strand version came out a bit lighter.
 |
| Finished Challah |
The bread came out slightly more dense than I was expecting, but the texture and flavor are nice. I’ll definitely be trying this one again 
New tools/ ingredients: -
Recipes used: Egg Free (Vegan) Challah, from Veg Kitchen
Co-bakers: Solo
Date: May 27
