Challattone!

Don’t try to look this word up in the dictionary or any cookbook because it doesn’t exist.
What is Challattone?

Challattone is what happened when a woman wants to surprise her husband, a panettone fanatic, but doesn’t have a Panettone recipe.
What did she do?

She took a Challah bread recipe and turned it into a fake panettone by adding candied fruit peels and golden raisins. The result: Challattone.
Why did she choose the Challah recipe? Why not brioche?

Well, the woman thought the texture of Challah is closer to the Panettone, and making brioche can be too much work for her. The woman can be lazy sometimes.
So, making Challah bread is easier than brioche?

It is supposed to be easier, but not for this woman who has a funny way reading a recipe: first, she reads the ingredients, then reads the first part of the preparation then jumps to the baking time. What she forgot is that bread needs to rise twice. The result: going to bed at 2 AM.
Did they enjoy the bread?

They did. Challattone was far from tasting like a Panettone but it was a good and fragrant Challah bread. The husband is still hoping to have a warm, homemade Panettone for breakfast and the woman is still up for the challenge but this time she is armed with an authentic Panettone recipe and can’t wait to try it.
To be continued…

Challattone

Recipe: Challah adapted from Williams-Sonoma: Essentials of Baking

- 5 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, plus 1 egg, beaten for glaze
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 2 tbsp candied fruits peels ( such as orange and lemon)

- 1/2 cup golden raisins

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 min. Add the sugar, 3 eggs, 4 ½ cups of the flour, the salt, the candied fruit peels, the raisins and the butter. Attach the dough hook and knead on low speed, working in the remaining flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7 min. Do not be tempted to add to much flour. The dough should stay soft and it will become less sticky with kneading.
Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise for 2 hours.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Punch down the dough and transfer it to a clean work surface. Make a braided loaf as shown in the pictures or you can make rolls or knots. Place the bread on the prepared sheet pan. Cover with a dry kitchen towel and let it rise for 45-60 min. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 350F. Brush the bread gently with the beaten egg. Bake the bread until it is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30-35 min. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Challattone

In francais please: Challah adaptee du livre de Williams-Sonoma: Essentials of Baking

- 5 c.c de levure boulangere
- 250 ml d’eau tiede.
- 125g de sucre
- 3 gros oeufs, plus un oeuf battu pour badigeonner
- 780g de farine
- 2 c.c de sel
- 125g de beurre doux, a temperature ambiante
- 2c.s de pelures de fruits confits ( oranges et citron)
- 200 ml de raisins secs.

Dans le bol d’un petrin, dissoudre la levure dans l’eau et laisser fermenter, 5 min environ. Ajouter le sucre, les 3 oeufs, 700g de farine, le sel, le beurre et les fruits. Placer le bol dans votre petrin et commencer a petrir a vitesse minimale en ajoutant la farine petit a petit, si necessaire, jusqu’a ce que la pate devienne elastique et lisse, 5-7min environ. Ne soyer pas tente d’ajouter trop de farine puisque la pate doit etre souple et elle finira par etre moins collante avec le petrissage.
Rouler la pate en boule et mettre dans un bol huile. Couvrir d’un torchon humide et laisser reposer pendant 2 heures.
Garnir un plat allant au four de papier sulfurise. Donner un coup de poing a la pate et la transferer vers une surface de travail propre. Vous pouvez soit tresser le pain comme dans les photos soit les mettre en forme de petits pains ou de noeuds. Mettre votre pain dans le plat prealablement prepare. Couvrir d’un torchon sec et laisser reposer 45-60 min.
Positionner la grille de votre four sur le 3eme etage en conptant de haut et prechauffer a 180C. Badigeonner votre pain soigneusement avec l’oeuf battu et cuire jusqu’a ce qu’il devienne dore et semble creux quand vous le taper legerement en dessous. Laisser refroidir completement sur une grille a patisserie.