ShortCakeBakes

Easter Egg Challah Bread

Rich, buttery, tender challah, embedded with colored boiled eggs, glazed with a light sweet glaze and sprinkles.
This bread is everything you need for Easter breakfast.
So beautiful, and delicious-also not overly sweet.
My children call it the best bread they’ve ever eaten and asked to eat it every day, I’m seriously considering it.
If you are new to bread making, I suggest reading my beginners bread making tips and watching the video tutorial at the bottom of the page.

Challah

Ingredients

Egg Wash

Ingredients

Glaze

Ingredients

Sprinkles

Instructions

In the bowl of a mixer, combine yeast, 2 cups of bread flour, sugar, salt and butter.
Mix together until the butter is fully incorporated, then slowly add in warm water, beat with mixer on medium speed for two minutes.

Add in eggs and egg white.
The batter will be thick and smooth.
Slowly start adding in the rest of the flour until dough starts to come together in a rough mass.
(You may not need to use all the flour.)
Touch the dough and if it sticks to your finger, then continue to slowly add flour until the dough is still wet but no longer sticky to the touch.
When it is no longer sticky but still moist and soft, go forward with kneading.

Knead the dough by mixer or by hand for 10 mins.
Once kneaded, let it rise in a warm place, covered for 1 hour until it has doubled in size.
(I always store mine in the microwave uncovered, obviously with it off, but it is a good place to keep it out of the way and it seems to be airtight.)

Once the dough has risen, pull it out and press it down to release all of the air.
Sprinkle some flour on counter, place the dough on it and roll it out with a rolling pin, smoothing out the dough into a rectangle.
Cut rectangle into 3 sections and roll sections into rope-like strips.
Set the strips side by side.
Press the ends of the ropes together and braid the 3 sections by taking the outside strips and alternate putting them in the middle.
(See video below).
Press dough together at the ends to hold it together.
Move braided dough to a sheet pan sprayed with pam.
*(You can put it in the fridge at this point and finish the instructions in the morning, or continue on.)

Let the dough rise on the counter uncovered for about 1 hour.
Halfway between rising, take eggs and press them into the cracks in the bread so that they are nicely nestled and supported by the dough.
The dough will continue to rise around them and create a little nest.

While dough is rising, Preheat oven to 400℉ and make an egg wash by combining the ingredients above.
Brush egg wash onto bread with a pastry brush. Get it into the cracks and be careful not to brush the eggs.

Bake your bread at 400℉ for 30 to 40 minutes until shiny and brown.
Keep an eye on it while in the oven.
If it browns too fast but has not finished baking, then cover with foil to prevent further browning.
Tap and listen for a hollow sound to see if it is finished.
Or check it with a meat thermometer to reach 190℉.

Combine the ingredients in a bowl for the glaze while your bread is baking.

When it is finished baking, pull it out and while hot, brush glaze onto the bread and put the sprinkles on while wet.
Then, wait for it to cool.
Be careful about moving it.
I use a cake mover and just pick it up with my other hand but it will be fragile.

To eat, cut the bread into slices or sections.
You can pull the eggs out of the bread and peel them to enjoy with your breakfast.

*This bread can either be made the night before and kept in the fridge because of the eggs, uncovered,
Or, you can make it up until it is shaped, and let the shaped dough sit in the fridge overnight.
Pull it out and let it rise a the final time, put the eggs in it, and bake it in the morning.
Finish the rest of the steps then and serve warm with fresh glaze.