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Butter Challah with Streusel
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Source: https://recipheon.com/en/recipes/breakfast/butter-challah-with-streusel
About this recipe
Butter challah with streusel has a soft, fluffy crumb and a golden braid topped with crisp crumbs. The dough is made with milk, egg and butter and needs thorough kneading and two rises. Loosely braiding the three strands leaves room for the dough to expand, so the braid stays clearly defined after baking. Wait until the loaf has cooled on a wire rack before slicing; the warm crumb squashes easily. These ingredients make one large loaf, about 12 slices.
Ingredients
Challah and Streusel
570 g finely milled wheat flour, type 450, divided: 500 g for the dough, 60 g for the streusel and 10 g for dusting
230 ml milk (3.2% fat), divided: 220 ml for the dough and 10 ml for brushing
100 g butter (82% fat), divided: 60 g softened for the dough and 40 g cold for the streusel
110 g sugar, divided: 70 g for the dough and 40 g for the streusel
7 g instant dry yeast
1 medium egg (size M), about 50 g without the shell, for the dough
1 egg yolk, about 18 g, for brushing; discard any unused egg wash
6 g salt
Steps
Warm 220 ml of the milk in a small saucepan just until lukewarm; it should feel pleasantly warm to the touch, not hot. In a large bowl, mix 500 g of the flour with 70 g of the sugar, the instant yeast and the salt. Add the milk and the whole egg, then mix until a firm, shaggy dough forms.
Knead by hand or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed for about 5 minutes. Add the 60 g of softened butter a little at a time and knead for about 8–10 minutes more, until the dough is smooth, elastic and slightly tacky but can be gathered into a ball. Do not add more flour at this stage; the dough should become less sticky as you knead.
AI-generated Leave the dough in the bowl, cover and set in a warm spot without drafts for about 60–90 minutes, until doubled in volume. In a cooler kitchen, it may take longer to rise; judge it by how much the dough expands. Meanwhile, rub 60 g of the flour, 40 g of the sugar and 40 g of cold butter between your fingertips to form uneven crumbs, then refrigerate the streusel.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust the work surface with the reserved 10 g of flour, turn out the dough and knead briefly to release the larger air bubbles. Divide into three equal pieces and roll into strands about 35 cm long; if they spring back, cover for an additional 5–10 minutes, then finish shaping them. Transfer the strands to the baking sheet, pinch their top ends together and braid loosely: cross the right strand over the middle, then the left over the new middle strand, and repeat to the ends. Pinch the bottom ends together and tuck both ends of the braid underneath.
AI-generated Cover the braid loosely with a kitchen towel and leave for about 35–50 minutes. The loaf should become visibly puffy, and a gentle fingertip indentation should slowly spring back. Toward the end of the rise, preheat a conventional oven (no fan) to 180°C; the baking sheet will go on the middle rack.
Mix the egg yolk with the remaining 10 ml of milk. Gently brush a thin layer of the mixture over the risen loaf without pressing down with the brush; discard any leftover wash. Scatter the prepared streusel over the top, gently patting the crumbs onto the brushed surface.
AI-generated Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for about 35–45 minutes. If the top is already deeply browned after about 20–25 minutes, loosely cover it with aluminum foil and finish baking it. The baked loaf should have a browned bottom, and a skewer inserted into its thickest part should come out without any raw dough. Carefully transfer the loaf to a wire rack and cool for about 1 hour, until the center is no longer warm.
Use a serrated knife to cut the cooled loaf into about 12 slices. Cutting without pressing down will help keep the crumb fluffy and delicate.
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