Fig, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt Challah
By Deb Perelman in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Ingredients
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1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp honey
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for the bowl
2 large eggs
2 tsp coarse sea salt (or Maldon salt, or kosher salt)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (5.5 oz) stemmed and roughly chopped dried figs
1/8 tsp freshly grated orange zest
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/8 tsp sea salt
Few grinds of black pepper
1 large egg, for egg wash
Coarse sea salt (or Maldon, or kosher salt if you're in a pinch - ha, pinch of salt) for sprinkling
MAKING THE DOUGH USING A STAND MIXER
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Whisk the yeast and 1 tsp honey into 2/3 cup warm water, and let stand until foamy (I tend to leave it for about 10 minutes).
Using the paddle attachment, combine the yeast mixture with remaining honey, 1/3 cup olive oil, and eggs. Add the salt and flour, and mix until the dough begins to hold together.
Switch to a dough hook, and run at low speed for 5-8 minutes.
Transfer to a dough to an olive oil-coated bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.
MAKING THE DOUGH BY HAND:
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Whisk the yeast and 1 tsp honey into 2/3 cup warm water, and let stand until foamy (I tend to leave it for about 10 minutes).
Mix the wet ingredients with a whisk, then add the salt and flour. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together.
Turn the mixture out onto a floured counter and knead for 5-10 minutes until a smooth and elastic dough is formed.
Transfer to a dough to an olive oil-coated bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.
Remaining Directions
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Combine figs, zest, water, juice, salt and few grinds of pepper in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the figs are soft and tender, about 10
minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm
Process fig mixture in a food processor until it resembles a fine paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Set aside to cool.
Turn the risen dough out onto a floured counter and divide it in half.
Roll the first half of the dough into a wide rectangle, and spread half the fig filling evenly over the dough, stopping short at the edge. Roll the dough into a long, tight log. Gently stretch the log as
wide as feels comfortable (2-3 feet) and divide the log in half, leaving you with two 1-1.5 feet long ropes.
Repeat step 4 with the remaining half of the dough. You will end up with four ropes.
Arrange two ropes in each direction, perpendicular to each other, like a tight tic-tac-toe board. Weave them so that one side is over, and the other side is under, where they meet in the middle.
Take the four legs that come from underneath the center, and move them over the leg to their right ('jump' it).
Take the legs that were on the right and jump over the legs to their left.
Continue to repeat alternating left-right jumps until out of rope. Tuck the corners under the dough with the sides of your hands to form a round.
Transfer the dough to a parchment-covered baking sheet.
Beat one egg until smooth, and brush over the challah round. Reserve beaten egg. Let the challah rise for another hour, preheating your oven to 375°F with 15 minutes remaining in the hour.
Brush the challah round once more with the reserved beaten egg, and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until deeply bronzed. If the round begins to
brown too quickly, cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking time. When done, the center of the bread should be 195°F, as read by an instant thermometer.
Cool and serve.