It’s no secret that peanut butter and bread are a pretty perfect pair. That’s probably why this soft challah recipe, which has plenty of Mighty Maple peanut butter baked right into the dough, is so incredible! Sweet, buttery, and with a subtle peanut flavor it’s wonderful for sandwiches or simply toasted with a generous spread of salted butter. The leftovers also make a fantastic French toast; in fact, make sure you reserve at least a few slices for precisely this purpose.
This nice twist to a favorite classic is sure to add extra sweetness to Jewish New Year holiday celebrations!
Prep time: 2 ½ hours (30 min. active; 2 hours inactive for rising)
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 3 hours and 5 minutes
Yield: makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup Mighty Maple peanut butter
2 large eggs + 1 egg for the egg wash
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 ½ to 6 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup olive oil
Procedure
1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, teaspoon of sugar, and cup of lukewarm water. Let sit for 5 minutes until it starts to foam.
2. Transfer to the base of your mixer with the dough hook attached and add the maple syrup, Mighty Maple peanut butter, and 2 large eggs. Whisk together until completely smooth, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the salt and the flour, one cup at a time, until it starts to come together and pull away from the sides. You may not need all the flour.
4. Let the dough hook knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until smooth, elastic, and not too sticky to the touch.
5. Turn out the dough onto a flour-dusted surface and roll into a smooth ball. Grease a large, clean bowl with the oil and place the ball of dough in it, turning once to coat on all sides. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to rise for about one hour or until doubled in size. Use your fingers to gently poke the air out of the dough, roll back into a ball, grease, cover and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
6. Once the dough has finished the second rise, roll out onto a floured surface and gently knead into a smooth ball.
To shape and braid:
7. Cut the dough into six equal size balls and roll each ball into a snake about 10-12 inches long. Arrange the six dough snakes next to each other vertically, and pinch all of them together at the top. To braid, start from the right and go over two, under one, and over two. Tuck in closer and repeat again with the right-most piece of dough repeating until the entire loaf is braided. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let rise a final time for 30 minutes. (For a helpful tutorial on how to braid a 6-strand challah, check out this short video I made demonstrating the process: http://www.youtube.com/nandita2483#p/u/1/BfpKn3AfnF8)
8. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375°F. Beat the last egg and use a pastry brush to lightly brush over the loaf. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is glossy and golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.
9. Store wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. Stale challah can be used for bread pudding or to make incredible French toast. Can also be sliced, wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 6 months. (Simply let come back to room temperature or toast before serving.)
Tags: bread, Breakfast, Challah, Mighty Maple, Peanut butter
26 Responses to Maple Peanut Butter Challah
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You had me at maple and then sealed the deal with peanut butter. I love PB & Co. peanut butter. Great post!
I love the maple peanut butter. I would grill some bananas and put on top of the french toast followed by some warm real maple syrup.
I think bananas and nuts (maybe pecans or walnuts) would go smashingly well with maple Challah French Toast. Or cinnamon-sugar apples and raisins. Yummy. Is it breakfast time yet?
Without a doubt I would make a big pressed BLT! With the peanut butter and suyrup already in the bread, it would be the greatest BLT ever
Your Challah looks perfect and the recipe sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing
This looks incredible! I am hooked on the White Chocolate PB from the PB Co., as it is the only flavor I can find, locally (other than original). I might have to go online and purchase it JUST to make this recipe!! Thank you for sharing!!
Oh my that sounds SO good! Gotta try it!
Nice, I just wrote about how much I love nut butters and included a few from PB&Co
I am definitely craving the maple one now!
I would top the french toast with Hershey’s syrup and bananas. Yum!
I would top it with whipped cream and fresh berries. YUM. I bet this bread would be awesome with The Bee’s Knees too … that’s my very fav peanut butter.
that sounds delicious and looks beautiful!
Yeast breads still scare me. I need lessons to overcome my fear!
Fantastic! Will definitely have to give this a try very very soon!!
This sounds absolutely amazing, I am still trying to get to the pb muffins I saw earlier in the month. But this would sounds great too and is so pretty.. Hope I can get to it soon.
This looks delicious. I am a peanut butter feind! Going to try an make gluten free. Yum!
More peanut butter!
Oh, this looks so delicious. Who doesn’t luv peanut butter?
I love challah – and all the components of this loaf. Thanks Alejandra for the recipe!!
And for the giveaway….I love to top French toast with real maple syrup and powdered sugar. Sometimes I put Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter on my French toast for an extra treat.
Can’t wait to try it with a spoonful of vanilla yogurt. Sounds like it is sweet enough without adding any more syrup or pb.
Yum – I would add walnuts and banana slices!
I love Peanut Butter Co. They have the best peanut butter. This recipe looks great. I will add it to my Peanut Butter Co. recipe book
Simply with lots of butter and real maple syrup and of course a side of bacon! Now I’m hungry
I love peanut butter and would love to try yours…all of your recipes look very delish and cant wait to try:)
Looks so good, can’t wait to try this!
I just made a double recipe of this. i had to use a few cups of whole wheat flour because I ran out of white, but it still turned out yummy. The maple flavor isn’t overwhelming but adds an exciting touch. I can’t wait to make french toast with it in the morning.
I added some cinnamon crumble on top and it was fantastic…like a peanut-butter/maple flavoured cinnamon bun. Though my challah was slightly underbaked in the middle and slightly burnt on the bottom, will reduce heat next time.