Vegan Challah

What the dough started out with

Look how much the dough rose in 2 hours! 

My daughter helping to knead the dough.

This is my first time trying vegan challah bread. I had made Molly Yeh’s scallion challah and Nutella challah. The 6 stranded braid was a little harder than I thought so I had to watch a youtube video on making a six stranded challah bread. My husband was able to use it later to make fresh toast!

 

Vegan Challah Bread (~from Tasty)

Ingredients

for 6 servings

·        1.25 oz yeast (used two 0.75  oz packets)

·        ½ cup granulated sugar, plus 1 pinch granulated sugar, divided

·        1 cup warm water, plus 3 tablespoons warm water, divided

·        6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, divided, plus more for greasing bowl

·        2 teaspoons baking powder

·        3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

·        1 ½ teaspoons salt

Preparation

1.      In a medium bowl, combine the yeast and a pinch of sugar. Pour 1 cup (240 ml) of warm water over the yeast mixture while turning the bowl so it stirs itself. Rest for 5 minutes, or until the yeast has bloomed and is bubbly, then add 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil.

2.      In a separate medium bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of melted coconut oil, the remaining 3 tablespoons of warm water, and the baking powder.

3.      In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups (385 g) of flour, the table salt, and remaining ½ cup (110 g) of granulated sugar. While stirring, add the coconut oil and yeast mixtures to the dry ingredients and combine with a spoon. Once the dough is smooth, gradually add up to 1 cup (125 g) of flour and incorporate by kneading the dough with your hands (you may not need all of the flour). (I only had to add less than ½ cup of flour)

4.      Knead until the dough isn’t sticking to the sides of the bowl, then transfer to a large bowl greased with coconut oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rest on the counter for 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. (I let it rest for 2 hours with oven turned on to 200 degrees)

5.      Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured workspace. Knead gently to get out any large air bubbles, and form into a log shape. Depending on the braid you are planning to do, cut the dough into the appropriate amount of even pieces.

6.      Braid into desired shape (braiding options below) and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a damp towel and let rise again for 1 hour.

7.      Preheat the oven to 325˚F (165˚C).

8.      Lightly brush the challah with melted coconut oil for a nice shine and bake for 25-30 minutes (I baked for 30 min), brushing with more coconut oil halfway through, until golden brown. To check for doneness try knocking on the bottom of the bread. If it sounds hollow, it’s done!

9.      Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

10.   Enjoy!