Sourdough Challah (no added yeast)

I wanted to make a four braid sourdough challah. I started baking Saturday morning basically following the Sourdough Challah recipe from Sourdough Home.



For some reason, I forgot that most of my sourdough recipes have added yeast. With this only sourdough yeast recipe, I found adding yeast REALLY helps the speed of the rise. (There will be more discussion of this point later...)

I found the dough rose very slowly, I was only able to braid it after about 12 hours after initial kneading. This ended up having to be an overnight recipe, I put the loaf and pan in the refrigerator, and baked it this morning.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup active starter at 100% hydration
  (NOTE: The 'active' means real perky starter. Not just refreshed-this-morning from week old starter from the refrigerator. Unless you are very very patient...)
• 1/2 cup water 
• 16.5 - 17.5 ounces flour (all purpose or bread flour)
  (I used about 4 ounces bread flour, and about 12 ounces all purpose. I needed the extra ounce of flour so the dough was not too sticky, but it was still very soft.)
• 2 tsp salt 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 2 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:

1. If you use your sourdough starter once a week, and keep it in the refrigerator, mix together the starter, water, and 1/2 the flour. Let this proof overnight at room temperature.
   -- or if you don't want to wait overnight, use the Sourdough Challah (with added yeast) version of this recipe.
2. Add in the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, oil.
3. Knead in salt and rest of flour, a half cup or so at a time, until the dough is smooth and has lost most of its stickiness, and is fairly firm. 
4. Cover and allow to rise until tripled in volume.
5. Place the dough on a floured work surface, knead to punch down.
6. Braid as desired.
   (I cut the dough into four pieces of the same weight. I made ~ 20” strands, let them rest a couple of minutes, and then followed Tori Avey’s instructions for braiding.
   Basically, pinch the 4 strands together, and start with current right strand move it over / under / over the other 3 strands.
   Then start again with a new right strand.) 
7. Beat another egg with a few tablespoons of water. 
8. Brush this egg wash all over the loaf and let it rise until doubled. 
9. Preheat your oven to 350F. 
10. Brush the loaf with the egg wash again. Sprinkle the loaves with poppy or sesame seeds. 
11. Place loaf in the oven, bake about 30 to 35 minutes until dark brown and 190 degrees by thermometer.

Carole's Notes:

The bread turned out well - soft crumb, and crunchy crust.

However, my sourdough culture really was not active enough to raise the bread quickly. I found the natural yeast just did not grow well - I think because of the sugar, oil, and salt. I think the initial rise took almost 12 hours. However, I will follow the revised process listed above next time - either planning for overnight rise, or adding yeast.

For my first attempt at 9:30 pm, I optimistically braided my bread. After about an hour of waiting and barely any second rise, I misted the loaf with cooking spray, covered it with oiled plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. (I crossed my fingers for luck as well.) In the morning, there was barely any rise. I heated my oven up to warm (maybe 170), turned it off, and put the cold pan and cold bread in the oven to proof. I also put in a large bowl of hot (almost boiling) water. After about 45 minutes, I saw a good growth.

I removed the loaf and the bowl of water, pre-heated the oven for about 15 minutes, and baked the bread. It came out pretty, but not very tall. The instructions about have been modified as to process - to give the natural yeast more time to wake up.

When I was researching  sourdough rise time last night, I found this website http://www.homesteadanywhere.com/recipes/overnight-sourdough-bread/ with this description:

"There are two approaches to making sourdough bread. The sponge method involves mixing the starter, water, and part of the flour and letting it sit overnight before adding the other ingredients. The same day method involves a larger amount of starter and sometimes additional yeast to help the bread rise."

Maybe with an 'active' culture you should look to see that when fed it will triple in volume in 6 to 8 hours at room temperature.

Anyway, I plan to either make a sponge the night before or add some yeast. The instructions above list what I plan to do next time when waiting overnight.