Saffron and Cardamom Challah

Well, Well,  I know it was a very long break for me from blogging, still I dint feel like get back into blogging.  It has become almost like a restart problem for me to get back into blogging after a long time.  I was supposed to post this recipe for last month Daring Baker's.

  Although I made this recipe well ahead of time, since I knew I was going to travel to my mom's place.  Unfortunately I couldn't do any blogging or posting when I was there.  So here I am posting my very post for Daring Baker's.

Challah is a Jewish bread, which is traditionally made in the braided form.  They also make it in the form of festive knots, eight shaped, round challah, star shaped, ladder shaped and so on.  Braided bread is made of 3, 4 or 6 strands.  Since I found the 4 and 6 strands to be very complicated, I went with 3 strands and rest as knots and eight shaped challah.  To learn the different shapes of challah, click here.

Ingredients:
Plain flour- 500 g
Eggs- 3
Honey- 90 ml
Sugar- 1/2 tbsp
Saffron- 1/4 tsp soaked in warm milk
Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
Dried yeast- 1 tbsp
Warm water- 270 ml
Salt- 1 tsp
For Egg wash:
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp of water.

Method:
Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Add the sugar and yeast mix it well.  Make a well in the middle, add the eggs, honey, saffron, cardamom powder and warm water.  Slowly start beating with a electric beater fitted with dough hook until the dough gets incorporated and comes together.  Once the dough comes together, knead for about 10 minutes.  Take a clean oiled bowl, place the dough in the bowl.  Cover with a tea towel and let it rise in the warm place for about 2 hours until doubled in bulk.
Once the dough gets doubled, knock the air back.  Divide the dough into 5 equal parts and shape it into braids, knots or eight shape.   To make different shapes, please view here.
Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius.  Place the shapes in the baking tray.  Cover loosely with a oiled cover.  Let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  Brush it with egg wash and bake it in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.  Take it out from the oven, let it cool in the rack for 10 minutes.  Serve it while they are still warm or store it in a air tight container to keep it fresh.