Freezing braided challah dough

chocolatecake

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 1:41 pm

I dont have time to make challah on Friday but would love fresh challah for shabbos. Can I make the dough and braid it earlier in the week and then just take out the dough, rise it and bake it on Friday. How exactly would I do that? The challah would have to defrost and then rise. How long from when I take it out of the freezer till I put in in the oven? When would I egg and put seeds on it? Does anyone do this? Advice please.

ohmygosh

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 1:44 pm

Yes I do it all the time. Braid it and then freeze it. I wrap them in silver foil and put them in plastic bags. Make sure u freeze on a flat surface so the shape stays.

I let it defrost for at least an hour (or 2 if you have the time) on Friday before I egg it and put it in the oven. Delicious.

(Make sure you remove the silver foil while its still frozen. Once it defrosts it's hard to remove.)

Last edited by ohmygosh on Tue, Jan 03 2017, 1:45 pm; edited 1 time in total

perquacky

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 1:44 pm

I do this sometimes. If you put it in a warm oven (I let it heat up to 200 degrees and then turn it off), it should take about 3-4 hours to defrost and rise. Then brush with egg/seeds/etc. and bake as usual.