Ingredients
Units
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 5–6 fresh sage leaves plus more, for garnish
- 1 ½ Tbsp dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
- 5 ½–6 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (I prefer to use King Arthur)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ Tbsp salt
- ½ cup butternut squash puree (fresh or frozen)
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks + 1 tsp water
- thick sea salt
Instructions
- Place vegetable oil and fresh sage leaves in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Heat through until sage becomes fragrant, around 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit 25-30 minutes. Strain sage leaves but do not discard. Finely chop leaves.
- In a small bowl, place yeast, 1 tsp sugar and lukewarm water. Allow to sit around 10 minutes, until it becomes foamy on top.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together 1 ½ cups flour, salt, butternut squash and sugar. After the water-yeast mixture has become foamy, add to flour mixture along with oil and chopped sage leaves. Mix thoroughly.
- Add another 1 cup of flour and eggs and mix until smooth. Switch to the dough hook attachment if you are using a stand mixer.
- Add an additional 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is smooth and elastic. You can do this in a bowl with a wooden spoon, in a stand mixer with the dough attachment, or once the dough becomes pliable enough, on a floured work surface with the heels of your hands. Dough will be done when it bounces back to the touch, is smooth without clumps and is almost shiny.
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with damp towel. Allow to rise at least around 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Braid challah into desired shape. Allow challah to rise another 45-60 minutes, or until you can see the size has grown and challah seems light. This step is very important to ensure a light and fluffy challah.
- In a small bowl beat 2 egg yolks with 1 tsp water.
- Brush egg wash liberally over challah. Sprinkle with chopped fresh sage and thick sea salt.
- If making one large challah, bake around 27-28 minutes; if making two smaller challahs, bake 24-26 minutes.
- Prep Time: 5 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi