Gluten Free Challah

 

Since we have just moved, my son is beginning at a religious school at a new temple tomorrow. We found out that they serve challah, which is a traitional Jewish bread made of wheat and eggs, every Sunday for snack. So, I decided to try my hand at baking a gluten free challah. I found a recipe, see below, online, bought all of the necessary ingredients and spent this morning creating this amazing bread. I don't know the name of the person who made the recipe, but here is what she says at the top: "The original recipe came from Swedish Saffron Pretzel Buns - King Arthur Flour/Bakers Catalogue September 2006. The recipe was initially modified to be gluten free and then many more modifications were needed to improve texture and reliability. The first attempt resulted in a product that was barely eatable. The most recent changes were suggested by a local San Jose CA baker and graduate of the California Culinary Academy. There have been a total of eight modification to get the recipe right, and I'm still working on perfections" She calls for using a product called Expandex, which I did not use. And if you click on the link, you can see that she also provides a Dairy Free version!

Here is the link to the recipe I used: http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/gfbaking/breads/dairy-challah.html

And here it is with the modifications I made:

Dry Ingredients
Amount Measure Ingredient
4 cups Gluten free flour. See mix below.
1/4 cup Potato flour (not starch)
1/4 cup Coconut Sugar
1 to 1-1/2 tsps Sea Salt
1 Tblspn Instant Yeast
1/3 Cup Powdered goat milk
2 tsp Xanthan gum
2 tsp Guar gum
Mix together the following three to create baking powder
1 tsp Aluminum free baking soda
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 tsp Arrow Root

Liquid Ingredients
Amount Measure Ingredient

1 Cup warm water heated to 110 degree F. Use the exact amount.
1/3 Cup Melted coconut oil
4 Egg whites
3 Egg yolks
1 Egg yolk reserved in a separate bowl mixed with 1 - 2 tablespoons water to use as glaze
1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
1 2/3 Level Tablespoons Honey

Mixing instructions:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl that is separate from the mixer work bowl.

Put all wet ingredients except coconut oil and egg yolks into the work bowl of a mixer. Use the "paddle" not the "cage" mixer.

Add the dry ingredient mix 1 cup at a time while mixing on low.

Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes in the bowl to allow the yeast to ferment with the flours

Add the coconut oil and egg yolks. Mix on medium-medium high until blended - 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Forming instructions:

Oil the countertop to make the braids.

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Divide dough into 3 large balls. Roll out three snakes 12" long. Braid the bread. Transfer to the jelly roll pan. If possible, place the dough against one of the long sides for extra support. Ensure that the parchment paper well covers the side of the jelly roll pan.

Mix egg yolk-water mixture with a whisk until frothy. Use a pastry brush, and coat with egg prior to rising. She says to cover with plastic wrap, but I just covered it with a kitchen towel.

Allow dough to rise until doubled in bulk in your convection oven on the proofing setting or in a warm location - about an hour.

When the bread has risen, glaze again with the egg yolk-water mixture.

Place bread on a parchment lined baking sheet in 375° F degree oven for the time indicated below or until a cake tester comes out clean or until a digital quick reading thermometer inserted into the loaf reads approximately 190° - 200° F. You will very likely need to cover the bread with aluminum foil half way through the baking process to prevent it from over-browning.

Bake for 35 minutes

Remove bread and cool on rack.

You can also warm fully baked bread in the oven, fully wrapped with aluminum foil. Warm at 350° F

GF Flour Mix for 9 Cups
Amount Measure Ingredient
2 Cups Garbano Bean/Fava bean flour
2 Cups Potato Starch (I used instead of corn starch)
1 1/2 Cups Arrowroot Powder (I used instead of Tapioca)
1/2 Cup Arrowroot Powder (I used this in place of Expandex that she called for)
3 Cups Sorghum Flour

Then, you will have extra flour left over that you can store and use to make other breads. I mixed some with some millet flour and made pancakes!
This bread made my son so happy! I hope it will do the same for your family.