Tag Archives: Rosh Hashanah Challah

Celebrate Rosh Hashanah with Sweet Crumble Topped Challah

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Round Challah for Rosh Hashanah is topped with a sweet crumble topping.

It’s round challah season people! Celebrate Rosh Hashanah with this Sweet Crumble Topped Challah. It is traditional to shape challah into a circle for the Jewish New Year. A round challah has no end, symbolizing our wish for a year in which life and blessings continue without end. This round beauty also incorporates a sweet crumble topping, symbolizing our desire for a sweet new year. This year, more than ever, we need some sweetness.

The shaping of this round Sweet crumble Topped Challah looks complicated, but it’s actually one of the simpler braids I have tried. I learned how to do it from @challahprince over on Instagram. He created it with a sesame seed topping. I swapped out my crumble topping. Flour, brown sugar, turbinado sugar for extra crunch and butter come together to form the topping. Feel free to use a plant based butter if you want to keep it dairy free.

Check out the video to see how it all comes together:

Keys to success:

  • Make sure to use a scale when following my recipe. Weigh the dough it and divide by 10 to make equal sized pieces of dough for shaping. Roll each piece into a round ball. Cup your hand and roll quickly over the dough, using your palm, to form a smooth round ball. Combine balls 9 and 10 to make one larger ball. You will have 8 smaller balls and one larger ball.
  • Let the balls of dough rest for about 10 minutes and then roll each ball into a rope. Start with your hands in the center and work your way out to the ends. The finished ropes should be about 14-inches in length and have slightly tapered ends. You will have eight 14-inch ropes. Roll the large ball into a 21-inch length rope.
  • Roll 4 of the 14-inch ropes and the 21-inch rope in egg wash and crumble topping. The remaining 4 ropes will stay uncoated.
  • After the challah has been baking for about 20 minutes, the seams will have opened up a bit, exposing more raw dough. Remove from oven and brush more egg wash on the plain ropes and more crumble topping on the crumble areas, to fill in any newly exposed dough. Continue baking.
  • Egg yolks will give the plain ropes of dough a more golden burnished colour.

Sweet Crumble Topped Round Challah

This braided sweet round challah looks complicated, but it's actually not that difficult to create. The crumble topping takes this challah to the next level and is perfect for ushering in a sweet new year.
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Servings 16 slices
Calories 325 kcal

Ingredients
  

Challah

  • 7 grams traditional active dry yeast or 1 envelope
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cup warm water 115°-120°F
  • 425 grams all-purpose flour
  • 125 grams whole wheat flour
  • 112 grams honey
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon Morton's Kosher salt
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • 50 grams vegetable oil

Topping

  • 113 grams butter or plant-based butter
  • 150 grams brown sugar
  • 50 grams turbinado sugar
  • 140 grams all-purpose flour

Assembly

  • 2 large eggs beaten with 2 Tablespoons water
  • 2 large egg yolks

Instructions
 

  • In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 1 cup warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top and let stand for about 5 minutes, until yeast gets all bubbly.
  • Make the dough in a stand mixer: Place 140 grams all-purpose flour and honey in the stand mixer bowl, fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix briefly to combine. Pour dissolved yeast mixture into machine and mix for about 1 minute. Add egg and oil and mix again for about 30 seconds.  Add remaining 285 grams of all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt and mix on medium-low speed for about 1 minute. Switch to dough hook and knead for 8-9 minutes.
  • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a minute and then form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a large oiled mixing bowl. Turn dough until all sides are coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let it rise at room temperature for about 1½-2 hours, or until doubled in bulk. A good test to see if the dough has risen enough is to insert your finger to a depth of 1 inch and wait to see if the impression remains. If the impression fills in, wait another 15 to 20 minutes to let rising continue. 
  • While dough is rising, prepare topping. Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse several times until crumbly. Store in fridge until needed.
  • After the dough has risen, punch it down to deflate it. Divide dough it into 10 equal pieces (Do yourself a favour and weigh dough and divide by 10 to be precise). Roll each piece into a ball. Join the last 2 balls together to make one larger ball. You will have 8 smaller balls and one larger ball, for a total of 9 balls of dough. Place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let rest for about 10 minutes.
  • Roll each of the smaller balls into a 14-inch-long strand with slightly tapered ends. Roll the large ball into a 21-inch strand. Lightly dust each strand in flour and place on parchment lined baking sheet so they do not stick. 
  • Beat eggs with water and place in a shallow baking dish. Place crumble topping in a second shallow baking dish. Dip 4 strands in egg and then in the crumble topping. Gently press topping into dough so that it sticks well. Coat the larger strand in crumble topping as well. You will have 4 plain strands and 5 crumble coated strands.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350°F. Watch this how to video on my blog for shaping instructions and form the challah. Cover the loaf with a tea towel and let rise at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Beat egg yolk with water. Using a thin brush, brush only the plain strands with the egg wash. Add a bit more crumble topping to the crumb coated strands. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and on the parts where the bread has expanded, paint any newly exposed dough with egg wash on the plain strands and fill in with more crumble topping on the expanded bits of crumb coated strands. Place challah back in the oven and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until golden brown, or until an instant read thermometer, inserted into the center of the loaf, registers 190°F.  Remove challah to a wire rack and let cool before serving.

Notes

This recipe is a marriage of two different recipes.  The challah recipe comes from my friend Margo. The topping part of the recipe is adapted from my sister’s cousin’s friend, Elaine. Elaine and Margo have never met, as far as I know. My sister would like to introduce them. She thinks they’d like each other.  In my little cyber world, they are already great friends!
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 325kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 6gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 207mgPotassium: 91mgFiber: 2gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 258IUVitamin C: 0.04mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Rosh Hashanah
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Apple Challah Babka

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Watch what happens when challah and babka collide.

On Rosh Hashanah, it’s traditional to dip apples in honey, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year ahead. In my quest to be efficient and practical, I thought it would be clever to bake my honey and apples right into the challah.

Adding apples to challah dough is tricky. Raw apples would leach too much moisture into the dough and make the challah soggy. Sautéing them first, solved that problem. To further boost the apple flavour, I spread some apple butter onto the dough. Apple butter does not actually contain any butter. It is made by cooking down apples into a very concentrated state. it’s quite tart, as no sugar is added to it.

I sprinkled my dough with golden raisins, but I know how contoversial raisins are, so leave them out if you have a family of raisin haters.

While a babka is traditionally baked in a loaf pan, on Rosh Hashanah, challah is round, a circle without an end, to symbolize our wish for a year in which life and blessings continue without end. So once the dough is twisted, just coil it into a knot.

Wishing you all a sweet and healthy new year.

Click here to print recipe for Apple Challah Babka.

Rosh Hashanah Twisted Apple and Honey Challah

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The last time I made this challah was Rosh Hashanah 2019. We had 35 guests around the table celebrating the New Year. We won’t discuss 2020, except to note that there were only 3 of us at the table. But this year, most of our clan are double vaxxed, so we will be 16 strong around the table at the cottage in 10 days. It’s time to celebrate again.

It’s traditional to dip apples in honey, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year ahead. In my desire to be efficient and practical, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to bake my honey and apples right into the challah.

My starting point was my favourite challah dough, (Margo’s Challah) made with honey instead of sugar. On Rosh Hashanah, challah is round, a circle without an end, to symbolize our wish for a year in which life and blessings continue without end. I was inspired by cloudykitchen’s Mixed Nut and Dulce de Leche Brioche Knot. Her clever twisting method was perfect for Rosh Hashanah.

Adding apples to challah dough is tricky. Raw apples would leach too much moisture into the dough and make the challah soggy. Sautéing them first, solved that problem. To further boost the apple flavour, I spread some apple butter onto the dough.

See how it all comes together.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and sweet new year.

Click here to print recipe for Rosh-Hashanah-Twisted-Apple-and-Honey-Challah-Download

Apple and Honey Challah Twist

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Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is just a few weeks away. It’s traditional to dip apples in honey, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year ahead. In my desire to be efficient and practical, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to bake my honey and apples right into the challah. I have been hard at work the past two weeks, figuring out just how to achieve that.

My starting point was my favourite challah dough. On Rosh Hashanah, challah is round, a circle without an end, to symbolize our wish for a year in which life and blessings continue without end. I was inspired by cloudykitchen’s Mixed Nut and Dulce de Leche Brioche Knot. Her clever twisting method was perfect for Rosh Hashanah.

After baking 5 versions of apple and honey challah, I believe I have nailed it. My husband, my chiropractor and my UPS man were happy to eat my experiments. None were a total fail, but there were a few issues along the way. The first hurdle to overcome was how to add the apples. Raw apples leached too much moisture into the challah, and made for a soggy bread. Sauteeing them first, solved that problem.

The apple flavour was kind of muted in the finished bread. In order to amp up the apple volume, I spread the dough with a thin layer of apple butter. Apple butter is simply very concentrated applesauce. There is actually no butter in it, only apples. It’s tangy and really packs a wallop of flavour. Some brown sugar, cinnamon and golden raisins provided a perfect counterpoint for all that zingy apple flavour.

Check out my video to see how it all came together.

https://youtu.be/KY80IAQMm14


Any leftover bread makes amazing toast the next morning. It’s a perfect way to segue gently from summer into fall. I’m not quite ready for pumpkin, but I will happily embrace apples in any form.

Click here to print recipe for Rosh Hashanah Twisted Apple and Honey Challah

Bee Hive Challah

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drizzle 1Tonight is the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Last week I created an apple beehive. It was adorable and very delicious. At around 4 am this morning, a vision of a challah beehive popped into my head. If I could build a beehive made out of apples, why not challah dough? apples and honey and challahI made my regular challah dough and pressed some raisins into it. It’s not a holiday challah without raisins. All you raisin haters can leave them out. poke in the raisins The dough needs to rise to double in size. it will take about 90 minutes. before proofingafter proofing

I decided to make mini beehives so I divided my dough into 3 and then made 6 ropes, each slightly shorter than the one before it, from each piece of dough. ropesThey looked quite pretty before baking, although they were leaning slightly. I let them rise for about an hour and then I gave them a gentle brushing with egg. I decided to leave them plain, without any topping so you could see the definition of the beehive.before bakingI’m not quite sure what happened in the oven, perhaps a hurricane blew through here, but they weren’t quite so beehive shaped after baking. bee hive 2One of them was a bit straighter, but not quite a perfect beehive. Perhaps we shouldn’t mess with Mother Nature.bee hive 1With a drizzle of honey, they were delicious. Wishing you all a Shana Tova. Sweet, Healthy and Happy New Year!challah 1 with honey

 

 

 

 

“Everything” Holiday Challah

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3-challahs-on-wooden-boardI have been making the same holiday challah for at least 15 years now. Everyone in the family loves it and looks forward to it. It’s possible I risk a mutiny if I dare to bake a different recipe. Yet, when I saw this challah in Uri Scheft’s book “Breaking Breads” I was enchanted. It looked like an everything bagel! I had to make it. Since Rosh Hashanah doesn’t start until Sunday night, I decided to do a test run for Friday night dinner at my son’s house.

Uri’s dough is much leaner than mine. Mine contains more eggs and oil. One recipe uses a kilogram (7 cups) of all-purpose flour. It’s enough to make 3 small challahs. A scale will be your best friend for dividing the dough. divide-into-3Each piece of dough gets further divided into 3 pieces and rolled out into 14 inch ropes.14-inch-ropesI like to start my braid in the center and work out toward both ends. Braid loosely. if the braids begin to stick to each other, give them a light dusting of flour. Wrap the braid into a circle, with a hole in the center. I found attaching the ends a bit challenging. I just sort of squeezed them together. Cover the challahs and let them double in size.

Now comes the fun part. Get all your toppings ready. I used sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, golden flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and nigella (black onion) seeds. I finished it off with a scatter of maldon sea salt flakes. toppings Brush the braid with egg.brushing-with-eggHave fun with the toppings.looks-like-an-everything-bagelInsert a small ovenproof bowl in the center so that the hole does not get filled in when dough bakes.ready-for-ovenBake at 400°F for about 25 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Serve with honey in the middle for dipping.baked-with-honey-in-cernterOr serve the honey on the side for drizzling. a-drizzle-of-honeyThis challah dough is much denser than mine.A very different, but delicious challah experience. It really did remind me of an everything bagel. They are just so freaking adorable. We took a vote and decided to make both kinds of challah for our Rosh Hashanah lunch on Monday. I’ll let you know what everyone says!

Click here to print recipe for Everything-Holiday-Challah.

Rosh Hashanah Round Challah

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a slice with honey 2FHaving baked over 1000 loaves of challah in my life, I think it’s fairly safe to say that I know a thing or two about this Friday night Shabbat dinner staple. 51 weeks of the year, I make a simple 3 strand braided challah covered with a crumble topping. (If you want to be really humbled, check out Rivka Malka Perlman’s you tube video, where she braids 6 strands! That is punching way above my weight!)  However, one week each year, for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) , I make a round challah. The round challah of this holiday symbolizes continuity and the endless cycle of life.

My challah recipe has not changed in over 8 years. The dough recipe comes from my friend Margo and the topping, crafted from sugar, flour and butter (or margarine), comes from my sister’s cousin’s friend, Elaine. As far as I know, Margo and Elaine do not know each other, but I am sure if they met, they would become great friends as the marriage of their recipes is a beautiful and delicious thing to behold.

The dough uses 2:1 ratio of white to whole wheat flour. I love the nuttiness that whole wheat adds to the finished bread. l make the dough on Wednesday or Thursday, cover it and put it in the fridge until Friday morning. The slow rise in the fridge really helps to develop the flavours of the bread. And, as a bonus, there is less to do on Friday! We always add raisins to our challah, you raisin haters can leave them out. mise en placemixing doughI remove the dough from the mixer and push the raisins in by hand. They are more evenly distributed this way.poking in raisinsThe dough will double in about 90 minutes on the counter at room temperature, or you can cover and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.proofing doughIf you are making a round challah, a kitchen scale will make your life much easier. if you have ever been on Weight Watchers, then you have a scale lurking in the back of a cabinet somewhere. use a scaledivide by 9assembleready for second rising

egg washsprinkling toppingA slice of this, drizzled with some honey is a very sweet start to the New Year. L’Shana Tova.round with apples 2 625 sq

Click here to print the recipe for Rosh Hashanah Round Challah.

Check back later this week for a clever, beautiful and very delicious new idea on how to serve apples and honey!