Description
A quick braiding tutorial for this pretty shape! These are my best tips for making heart-shaped challah that actually looks like…a heart.
Ingredients
- One batch challah dough, prepare until just after first rise and/or the moment when you’ll braid it
Instructions
- Divide the risen challah dough into eight pieces (easiest way to do this equally is to divide the dough in half, then divide each half into four pieces!).
- Working with half of the dough (four pieces) at a time, you’ll want to shape each piece into a ~12″-long rope with tapered ends. These smaller ends are important—you don’t want thick logs when creating the final heart shape! (My method of doing this is somewhat controversial: I personally “squish down” each triangular piece of cut dough until it resembles a long, lopsided, nearly flat rectangle, then roll it up from the longest side toward the shortest side. Voila—you’ve already got yourself a rope! Now, use the palms of your hands to gently continue rolling it until it’s a bit longer. Remember, you want thicker centers and more tapered ends.
- Create a four-strand braid using these four ropes you’ve created, leaving the end of the braid somewhat “undone” (you’ll use those dangling ends to connect to the other loaf and create your heart shape). Repeat the rope-rolling and braiding process with the other four pieces until you’ve got two braided loaves of dough in front of you.
- Place both loaves carefully onto the same large, parchment-lined baking sheet (be sure to do this before creating the final heart shape or you’ll have trouble transporting the whole thing).
- To make the top part of the heart: Gently redirect the tapered top halves of both loaves downward as pictured. You’ll want to make the top part of the heart pretty deep/steep, tapered, and almost pointed because the challah will continue to rise and “fill in” as time goes on. Unless your heart shape is highly/overly defined to begin with, it could get lost visually later on. Braid or simply twist the loose ends of both together, tucking any extra dough slightly underneath the loaf to secure the shape. It’s okay if it looks a little messy—you’ll cover those more unsightly areas later with some sesame seeds. Also, you may want to continually and gently pull the parchment paper taut to help straighten it out beneath the loaf.
- Do the same with the bottom half of the shape! Braid or twist the loose ends together to create a tapered “V” shape and mimic the bottom half of a heart. Again, tuck any extra dough beneath the loaf to help maintain the shape; again, you may want to continually and gently pull the parchment paper taut to help straighten it out beneath the loaf.
- Continue with your chosen recipe now that the shaping is complete (you will likely need to let the dough rise once more, then brush with egg wash, and don’t forget the sesame seeds—your secret weapon when it comes to hiding messy braids!). Finally, bake according to the directions in the recipe you’ve chosen. Enjoy!