Any advice on how to fix my challah that splits at the seams?
Recipe:
600 g bread flour
235 grams hot water = 1 cup
1 Tbsp yeast
80 g neutral oil
7 yolks ~ 115 g
10g salt
55g sugar
Bloom yeast in hot water
Combine dry ingredients
Mix wet well (I emulsify the wet)
Mix wet and dry, cover and let rise in an oven with the light on 90 minutes or till doubled
Punch down dough, divide in 6, roll to snakes 18″ long.
Braid, cover & proof 30 minutes in oven with light on. Preheat oven to 350
Egg wash, sesame seeds and finishing salt.
Bake at 350 25-35 minutes till internal temp is at least 160ºf (still figuring out the best temp to pull it at given carryover cooking)
fason123
Like what
Gvanaco
Looks good
LadyCthulu
Maybe a little underproofed?
endigochild
Do you have OCD? Cause all I see is a beautiful loaf.
linjlv
It’s a little underproved. Probably just needs 5-10 more minutes after shaping/braiding.
Svarasaurus
This is totally normal (and the exposed bits are my favorite parts). People taking pictures for social media like to paint a second layer of egg wash once it’s expanded for some reason, maybe that’s what you’re looking for?
ngarjuna
Generally there are two things that will make challah split like this: 1. Underproofed 2. Braided too tightly
Yours may be braided too tight, can’t tell from the picture; but 30 mins is indeed insufficient for second rise as many have already said. I’d double it, personally, proof it for an hour for second rise
Bagain
Try braiding looser. You aren’t braiding hair or tying a knot. Those strands are going to expand and they’ll do it after the egg wash and crust are set from the heat. Leave a little wiggle room in there so that as they continue to expand they don’t pull the crust away from itself.
9 Comments
Any advice on how to fix my challah that splits at the seams?
Recipe:
600 g bread flour
235 grams hot water = 1 cup
1 Tbsp yeast
80 g neutral oil
7 yolks ~ 115 g
10g salt
55g sugar
Bloom yeast in hot water
Combine dry ingredients
Mix wet well (I emulsify the wet)
Mix wet and dry, cover and let rise in an oven with the light on 90 minutes or till doubled
Punch down dough, divide in 6, roll to snakes 18″ long.
Braid, cover & proof 30 minutes in oven with light on. Preheat oven to 350
Egg wash, sesame seeds and finishing salt.
Bake at 350 25-35 minutes till internal temp is at least 160ºf (still figuring out the best temp to pull it at given carryover cooking)
Like what
Looks good
Maybe a little underproofed?
Do you have OCD? Cause all I see is a beautiful loaf.
It’s a little underproved. Probably just needs 5-10 more minutes after shaping/braiding.
This is totally normal (and the exposed bits are my favorite parts). People taking pictures for social media like to paint a second layer of egg wash once it’s expanded for some reason, maybe that’s what you’re looking for?
Generally there are two things that will make challah split like this:
1. Underproofed
2. Braided too tightly
Yours may be braided too tight, can’t tell from the picture; but 30 mins is indeed insufficient for second rise as many have already said. I’d double it, personally, proof it for an hour for second rise
Try braiding looser. You aren’t braiding hair or tying a knot. Those strands are going to expand and they’ll do it after the egg wash and crust are set from the heat. Leave a little wiggle room in there so that as they continue to expand they don’t pull the crust away from itself.