Fennel and Orange-Scented Challah
- Total Time
- About 1 hour, plus rising time
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½tablespoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
- 1tablespoon plus ⅓ cup sugar
- Grated zest from 2 large oranges plus ½ cup of the juice, strained
- ⅓cup vegetable or canola oil
- 3large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 1tablespoon salt
- 7½cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1tablespoon fennel seeds
- 2teaspoons poppy seeds
- 2teaspoons roasted sesame seeds
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
308 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 241 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In the bowl of a standing mixer, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup of lukewarm water.
- Step 2
Using the paddle attachment, stir orange zest, juice and oil into yeast mixture, then add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, and remaining sugar and salt. Switch to the dough hook and gradually add 6 cups of flour, kneading for about 5 minutes and adding more flour as needed to make a slightly sticky, smooth and elastic dough.
- Step 3
Grease a large bowl, turn dough into it and then turn the dough over to grease the top. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
- Step 4
When the dough has almost doubled, punch it down, remove it to a lightly floured counter, knead it briefly until smooth and divide it in half. Roll each piece into a cylinder about 27 inches long, making sure there are no seams in the dough. Bring one end of the dough up to the other and twist to form a spiral. Push both ends together to make a squat 12-inch loaf. Repeat with other piece of dough and arrange loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. You can also twist the long spirals into a circle if you like; the dough is very malleable.
- Step 5
Beat remaining egg and egg yolk and brush about half the mixture on the loaves, reserving the rest. Let the dough rise uncovered another half-hour or overnight in refrigerator.
- Step 6
If dough was refrigerated, bring to room temperature. Heat oven to 350 degrees and in a small bowl, combine fennel, poppy and sesame seeds. Brush the loaves with egg again and sprinkle with seeds.
- Step 7
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and firm when tapped with a spatula. Cool on a rack.
Private Notes
Comments
Made this a few times last year, Split the recipe in half and it made two great demi-loaves. (I chose to make rounded plaits). A little more orange juice and zest made it a-ok, if not a little better without affecting the texture. To help with proofing, It really helped letting the dough sit atop the stove with the oven turned up to 200 F to keep the mix warm and happy. This is a super beautiful recipe!
For a quicker rise and a softer dough, halved the salt and used six cups of flour. Made three loaves instead of the recommended two loaves. Have made it several times and it has been well received each time. Is a keeper.
The loaves look, smell and I hope taste divine. The second rising took one hour, not 30 minutes. The kitchen was a bit cool. Otherwise, the recipe was easy to follow. Many thanks to Joan Nathan.
Gorgeous & taste wonderful & came out perfectly, despite being only my second time making challah. Per commenters, I added the extra egg, the full amount of juice from the oranges, and replaced maybe 50g of the flour with whole wheat for flavor. Ended up adding just a bit of the flour over six cups and kneading for a bit longer. Did six-strand braids. Topped only with poppy seeds. Three egg washes, the last halfway through baking. Gave one of the loaves away and just had a friend over for dinner and we demolished most of the other. Amazing with the NYT turkey lemon white bean kale soup. Will also be amazing as French toast. Already planning to make this again!
I baked this for friends several years ago as a Chanukah gift. It was baker friendly and not complicated to make. It smelled amazing and was a total hit! I’m making it again this week. Try it! Festive and delicious!
I was attracted to this recipe by the idea of fennel "scented" challah but in truth I find the fennel seeds off-putting. I didn't use the other seeds, as I wanted the clean orange and fennel flavors only. Possibly a splash of sambuca in the dough would have made it fennel "scented." Other than the unpleasant seeds, this bread is absolutely delicious and very low-effort/high-reward.