Sesame Garlic Cheese Challah (Bread)

"Happiness is the smell of freshly baked bread!"

And whoever said this, is truly right! The smell of freshly baked breads is like heaven in your home. It makes you hungry how much ever full you are. Its a total bliss to have home baked breads. They are fresh, organic and made with lots of love.

I love to try new recipes and experiment a lot with new flavours, textures and dishes. Its a complete delight to be able to have and try make recipes from various cultures out there. We are the fortunate ones to be born in an era where the world is one, and we have access to all that is out there. So why not extend our spoons and have a bite of what the world has to offer.

CHALLAH is a traditional Jewish bread, which is typically braided and made on various occasions. I had been wanting to make breads for a long time and try eggless versions of it, but Challahs picked my interest because of the sheet beauty they are. Those braids make the somber bread look so interesting, that you cant stop but admire them on the table. And so I went ahead and tried them.

My Challah Experience

Challahs are an absolute treat to not just see, eat but to bake too. They do take time and effort to be made, but the process is real fun. And when I saw the bread rise and bake, its like my heart came out with happiness.
They tasted heavenly too. They are soft, fluffy, have an amazing texture, can be had as it is or with some nice spicy dip. And this one basic recipe can help you make any flavoured Challah.

I think I just made the best bread ever. A recipe that works for multiple flavours is what my dreams are made of. You have got to try this over a weekend, and its sure to impress your guests.

The recipe is down below. I have made an eggless version using Aquafaba replacing the eggs and it worked like a charm.

SESAME GARLIC & CHEESE CHALLAH (BREAD)

INGREDIENTS

For the Bread

Active dry yeast	4.5 tsp
Sugar	1 tbsp
Warm Water	¼ cup
Milk	1 ¼ cup
Sugar	5 tbsp
Salt	¾ tsp
Butter	¼ cup
Flour (Whole Wheat + All Purpose)	2 + 2.5 cups
Aquafaba	6 tbsp

For the Topping

Sesame (black + white)	1 tbsp
Garlic (finely minced)	5-6 cloves
Salted Butter	½ cp
Parsley (dried)	4 tbsp
Mozzarella Cheese	½  cup

METHOD 

1. Mix yeast, sugar and water in a deep bowl. Let it rise nice and high.
2. In another bowl mix sugar, salt, butter and aquafaba.
3. Add the sifted flour to the second bowl slowly and simultaneously add the risen yeast to it.
4. Knead all of this to form one large dough.
5. Let it rise for over and hour. It should ideally double ins size if your yeast is fresh and working.
6. Now prepare the topping mix and keep aside.
7. Once the dough has risen, divide it into 3 equal parts.
8. Make 8 small balls of each part and roll them into long thick strand.
9. Now flatten each strand and apply a spoon of the topping mixture made. Now roll the flattened dough into a round strand again. Repeat for all other strands.
10. Fun part! Braiding! You can practically make any type of braid. I made a 8 strand round weaved bread.  See the picture below for braiding technique.
11. Preheat the oven at 180C. Bake for 12-13 min or till the top become a golden brown.
12. Add more parsley, grated cheese and sesame on top and serve hot.

Happy Eating!