WINE HALLA

Makes 1 halla.

550 gr. (4 cups) white flour 160 gr. (1 cup) red wine 25 gr. (1 Tbsp.) honey 40 gr. (2 Tbsp.) sugar

2 eggs

3 egg yolks

12 gr. salt

8 gr. dry yeast

60 gr. (¼ cup) oil

Decoration:

6-8 grape leaves, depending on size

Egg wash: 1 egg, beaten

In the bowl of an electric mixer that is fitted with a dough hook, put the flour, wine, honey, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, salt and yeast. Mix for 2 minutes on low speed. Switch to medium speed and mix for another 10 minutes. Add the oil and mix until oil is completely mixed in. Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl and let rise for 45 minutes. Knead dough again and let rise another 45 minutes. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface.

Separate dough into 4 sections. Each section should weigh about 240 grams. Fold each section over and let rise another 10 minutes.

Roll out each section into long logs with similar diameters. Wrap each log with one or two grape leaves.

Braiding:

Step 1:

Place two of the logs vertically and then place the other two on top horizontally so that the two sets are perpendicular to each other and form a + shape.

Step 2:

Weave the pieces together so that on the right side it goes under and over and the opposite on the other side.

Step 3:

Now there should be 4 pairs of legs coming out of the center. Criss cross one of each pair with the one closest to it of a different pair. Continue to do this until there is no length left and then tuck the ends underneath the halla so that they don’t pop up during baking. You should end up with a round halla.

Transfer halla to a tray covered with baking paper and brush with the beaten egg. Let halla rise for 30-40 minutes and then brush with more egg wash.

Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180° for 2535 minutes until it’s browned nicely even where the braided pieces connect. Remove from oven and let cool completely.