Are you tired of cooking? Whip up some creamy spinach dip to go along with the bread, put up a pot of chicken soup and enjoy a great Shabbat. Take a break after all the cooking for holidays and let your challah shine. Use a large bowl. This recipe yields enough dough for six loaves, and the dough needs enough space to double in size while rising.
Ingredients for the dough:
- 5 tablespoons dry yeast
- 6 cups warm water
- 7 large eggs
- 2 cups honey
- 4 cups olive oil
- 3 tablespoons salt
- Approximately 20 cups flour
For the egg wash:
1. 1 egg
2. 3 tablespoons. honey
3. 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, put the yeast in 2 cups warm water and let sit about 20-25 minutes until it becomes slightly frothy.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and half the flour. Mix until a loose batter forms. Add the rest of the flour a couple of cups at a time until the dough is soft but not sticky.
3. Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap and put it in a warm place to rise for about two hours. The dough should double in size.
4. Punch the dough down and let it rest for 15 minutes. Divide into 6 equal pieces.
5. Braid according to directions above. Place loaves on lightly greased pans and let rise for another 50 minutes.
6. Egg wash the loaves and bake on 275 for approximately 60 minutes. Loaves should become golden brown and firm on the bottom.
7. There is a tradition in some Jewish communities to make “shlissel challah” the week after Pesach. Shlissel means “key,” and the custom involves either baking the challah in the shape of a key, or wrapping ones real house (or business) key in foil and pressing it into the underside of the challah before baking. The key is removed before the challah is eating, and the tradition is considered asegulah (spiritually propitious) for livelihood.
8. Have you made challah before? What’s your favorite way to eat challah? Do you have a special dip you like to spread on it? Leave a comment and let me know. I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Close Directions:
8. Have you made challah before? What’s your favorite way to eat challah? Do you have a special dip you like to spread on it? Leave a comment and let me know. I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Close Directions:
Pour 2 cups of warm water into the bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Mix briefly until combined, and let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes before continuing.
Add warm water, oil, honey, eggs, and salt. Mix this all together. Start adding the flour, more cups at a time. Mix and watch a loose batter form. Keep adding flour and mixing until the dough begins to come together. You may not need all 20 cups of flour so you can go slowly towards the end. Optional, you may need little more. The dough should be soft but not to be sticky. Once the dough has enough flour, knead it for a couple of minutes. I prefer to do this in the bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and put it in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
In the summer days, I usually put the dough outside in a sunny spot. In the winter, I often start pre-heating my oven and put the bowl on the stovetop. The heat comes up and creates a warm space for the dough. After an hour the dough should be double its original size and ready to work with.
Punch the dough down and let it rest for 10 minutes before doing the separating Challah. Say the blessing, separate a small piece of dough, and set it aside to burn after the challah has finished baking. For more about this mitzvah, and a step-by-step guide.
After that divide the dough into six relatively equal pieces. I roll the dough into a line and cut it with a knife. Each of the six pieces will compose one challah.
This recipe gives six braided loaves, or you can use some of the dough to make rolls. I made four full sized challahs and eight rolls.
Are you ready to start? Pick up one of your chunks of dough, roll it out and cut into three. Then roll out each of the three pieces and you are ready to braid the dough.
Put the three strands together at one end and begin to braid the dough. It’s very easy to braid challah. It’s a repetitive motion of crossing the outer strands over the middle strand. Start with the right strand, pull it over the middle so it’s now in the center. Now pull the left strand over the new center strand, and again pull the right strand over the middle. Repeat until the loaf is fully braided, then pinch the ends together tightly. For a neater, rounder look, tuck both ends under the loaf.
To make challah rolls is a bit simpler. Instead of cutting the dough into three pieces, cut it into four. Roll each one up individually. Tuck the ends under when done – this will stop them from unrolling.
Put your challahs on a lightly greased pan, and make sure to leave space around them because they will spread and grow while baking.
Put the pans in a warm place and let the challah rise a second time, for about 40 minutes.
Mix the egg wash ingredients and brush the loaves. Bake for approximately 50 minutes on 350 F. You’ll know they’re ready when the bottoms of the loaves feel hard and the tops become golden brown. The rolls need less time – about 30 - 35 minutes. For best results, let the loaves sit for about 15 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack until fully cooled.
Dips and spreads are delicious when you eat it with challah. My favorites ones are hummus, olive spread or some of the spinach dip. It’s easy to whip up while the dough is rising or while the challahs are in the oven.
Sauté 2 diced onion and 1 chopped garlic cloves in 3 Tbsp. olive oil until golden. Add 1/3 cup chopped spinach and sauté until soft. Blend with 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 2 tsp. salt. Add mayonnaise and salt amounts to taste. Spread on the challah and enjoy!
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