"Elderflower, Strawberry and Mint Challah made with homemade Elderflower Cordial"
Elderflower and Strawberry Challah Bread
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Prep time 4hrs
Cook time 30mins
Serves or Makes: 8
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 20 heads of elderflower
- 52 ounces flour
- 1/2 cup elderflower cordial
- 1 1/4 ounces yeast
- 10 1/2 ounces strawberries
- 1 bunch of mint
Method
Step 1
To make homemade elderflower cordial, pour the honey and sugar into the water and bring to the boil slowly before adding the juice of 2 lemons and slices of the remaining lemons. Take the water off the boil, place the elderflower heads downwards in the water (handle the flowers delicately so as not to lose all the fragrant pollen), cover the pan and leave the mixture to infuse for 24 hours.
Step 2
Once your mixture has infused, run the liquid through a sieve lined with a fine muslin (or good quality kitchen roll) until you are left with a clear cordial.
Step 3
Pour ½ cup of the cordial into a bowl with the lukewarm water and dissolve the yeast into the water.
Step 4
Once bubbles start to appear on the surface of the mixture, pour in about a third of the flour, followed by 2 eggs, salt and sunflower oil.
Step 5
Combine the dough with clean hands, adding flour little by little as you go, until you get a big ball of dough which doesn’t stick to your hands (you might not need all the flour – just see what your dough needs).
Step 6
Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, adding a bit of flour if it gets too sticky again.
Step 7
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl covered in cling film to rise for about 1 ½ hours or until it has doubled in size.
Step 8
Once the elderflower challah dough has risen, knock it back and place on a lightly floured surface to shape. Roll the dough out long, thin and flat using a rolling pin and then cut 4 long strips out of the dough.
Step 9
Make a long line of chopped strawberries and mint down the center of each long strip of dough and pull the dough up around the sides of the filling and seal together using your fingers.
Step 10
Shape the dough into a 4 strand round challah. Once shaped, leave the challah dough to rise again under a clean cloth or cling film.
Step 11
Once risen again, egg wash the challah dough using egg white (for a lighter, matte finish), add some strawberries and mint to the top of the challah.
Step 12
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes at the bottom of the oven.