Shabbat Shalom! When it comes to Friday, it’s always the Challah day in my kitchen. I love developing different challah flavors, it’s fun and it’s delicious. Combining flavors that I love into the delicious challah dough is just always one of my favorite things to do and to enjoy.

This scallion sesame oil challah combines two very iconic elements in Taiwanese cuisine. They provide amazing aroma and flavor to the challah bread. I top the challah with some chili, garlic and scallion. One thing to note is that in order to prevent the topping to burn, coat them with oil first. Omit chili if you don’t want the kick (or simply remove the chili on your slice when you are eating it!) The colors of the topping make the entire loaf looks like a painting that I love so much!

Scallion Sesame Oil Challah 麻油蔥花哈拉麵包

Ingredients

Yeast 10g
Water 75g at 110-115F
Sugar 12g + 40g
Egg 1 large
Yolk 2, , plus another one for egg wash
Sesame oil 20g
Bread Flour 310-335g
Salt 3g
Scallion, 6-7 stalks thinly sliced, divided into 50g and 25g
Red chili, 1, thinly sliced into round
Garlic cloves, 3, thinly sliced

Instructions

Put the yeast in the water with the 12g of sugar in the mixing bowl, wait for several minutes until the mixture is foamy and activated.
Add in the rest of the sugar (40g), sesame oil, whole egg and the yolks, mix a little.
Mix the salt and 310g of flour together and slowly add it into the bowl of the wet ingredients. Add in more flour if needed. Mix a little to combine all ingredients and then add in 50g of the sliced scallion. It will feel a bit wet to start but try to resist adding too much flour, just keep kneading. Knead until smooth and elastic.
Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover and rest until it’s doubled in volume (about 2-3 hours)
Punch down the dough, cover, and rest for another 30 minutes
Divide the dough into equal portions, shape into round, cover and rest for ten minutes
Roll each dough out into long strips and braid them into challah. Cover and do a final proofing until when you press down the dough it slowly rises back up halfway. About 60-90 minutes, depending on the weather and temperature.
Preheat the oven to 375F. Whisk the remaining one yolk to make the egg wash. Coat the sliced chili and garlic with olive oil.
Once proofed, brush on the egg wash, sprinkle chili, the rest of the scallion and garlic on top. Place the baking sheet in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 350F. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a rack.