Dale's Apple Challah

Dale's Apple Challah

INGREDIENTS:

Poolish

Make the night before at 6 p.m.  One Poolish makes two recipes (freeze other half poolish in plastic container for another day).  

• 1 cup water
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1/8 teaspoon yeast

Bread

• 1 cup warm milk or rice milk or coconut milk or water (110 F)
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast, I use 2 packets
• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey plus 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup melted, Carrington Farms Organic Ghee Clarified Butter, cooled slightly
• 5+ cups bread flour

Egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon water

Apple filling

• 3 cups apples (2-3 large apples), peeled & medium chopped (I use Fuji) (not too big or the Challah will be wet)
• 1/2 cup brown or white sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons flour tapioca

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make poolish the night before. Mix all ingredients in glass bowl until just mixed, it will be lumpy. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. 

2. About 9-10 am, in a large mixing bowl, stir together the warm water/milk, yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let stand 3 to 5  minutes to bloom the yeast. It will get bubbly.

3. Add 1/2 poolish. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and melted butter. Add in most of the flour starting with 4.5 cups to form a soft dough. Knead 8 to 10 minutes to make a smooth dough, adding more flour as needed (the end result will be slightly sticky when you touch the dough but dough should not come off on finger). Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead a few times to make a smooth dough and form into a ball. 

4. Place in a lightly buttered bowl rolling dough so it gets lightly covered in butter. Place smooth side of dough ball facing up and cover with plastic wrap and let rest 45 minutes.  Fold dough twice (folding by placing fingers under dough across middle letting inside fold over itself. Then do it again across the other direction from bottom) making a smooth ball again and put back into the bowl. Cover and let rise 1 hour longer or until doubled in size.

5. Spray (using Carrington Farm Coconut Cooking Oil) or butter a 12-cup tube/angel food pan or 2 loaf pans.

6. Prepare egg wash by whisking together egg and water.

7. About 15 minutes before dough is done rising, prepare the apples and place in a medium-sized bowl and toss with sugar, cinnamon and tapioca.

8. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. Roll out into a large round (about 15 -18 inches across).  Lightly spread about half of the apples in the center area of dough leaving about 3-4 inches of dough around edges dry.  Fold the dough over from all sides to cover apples and pinch to seal.  Top with remaining apples in center area leaving about 2 inches of dough around edges without apples. Fold dough over apples, and pinch dough together.

9. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let dough rest 5-10 minutes on the work surface.  Place cotton towel or paper towel on work surface around where you will be cutting the dough. The juices WILL ooze when cutting dough. Don't worry if apples and juices start oozing out, it works out in the end.

10. Using a large sharp chef style knife, cut into 16 - 20 chunks. Don’t saw the dough use a rocking motion. As you cut each piece, take the dough and stretch around apples. Lay the dry dough side down in prepared pan, lining bottom first. Try and use dry dough sections touching sides and center of pan. Next, gently lay remaining pieces on top, now using dry dough sections facing the top. If top has wet juices it is more apt to burn. 

11. Cover pan lightly with plastic wrap.  Place pan on cookie sheet in case bottom juices ooze out bottom.

12. Let rise until doubled or until dough is almost flush with the top of the pan, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on weather and dough's inclinations. To test you can gently poke the Challah. If it springs back it is not done rising. If you leave a dent from your finger it's ready to bake.

13. Preheat oven to 350° F, 325° convection.  

14. Dab/brush on egg wash. Place bread pan in lower third of oven.  Place baking sheet on rack BELOW where you are placing angel food pan in case juices/apples ooze.

15. Bake in tube pan 25 minutes, then cover lightly with foil last 10-15 minutes to avoid apples burning (may not need all last 10-15 minutes). Challah is done when tapped it will sound hollow.

16. Cool Challah on cooling rack in tube pan for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove outer section of pan and place on cooling rack. Wait about 30 minutes and remove Challah from bottom of pan. Let finish cooling on the rack.

If making ahead:

Once cooled wrap Challah in plastic wrap 2-3 times and place in freezer. Take out to thaw early morning the day you plan on serving it.