Oreo S'mores Challah

What a semester it's been! Between school, work, and applying to graduate school it's been hard to find time to not only bake challah, but also blog about it. But since I no longer live in my sorority house, I finally have the resources to bake challah whenever I want. This week's challah adventure had quite a few bumps. My roommate Lauren was supposed to drive me to the supermarket to get ingredients but her car wouldn't turn on. So instead I decided to walk to Kroghetto in my pajamas and have her pick me up later once she got a new car battery. Looking back I kind of regret not changing into real clothes because my short-shorts and t-shirt ensemble kind of looked like I was doing a walk of shame.

AAA jumping Lauren's car

Because this was my first time making challah at school I decided I should make a ton of challah to share with everyone! I made 2 for my sorority, small individual challahs for each of my roommates, 1 for my Phi Pham, and since we had our sorority date party that night I made one for my date. I know, I seem like the perfect future Jewish wife, but for some reason boys haven't caught on to this yet. Honestly, I think my real problem is that I am looking in the wrong place, I need a 24-26 year old man, not an immature college boy. So public service announcement: if you know any cute, successful, driven, funny Jewish men please send them my way.

Date party shenanigans!

Recipe: (makes 2 loaves)
3/4 cup water
1 packet of active dry yeast (about 2 tsp)
1.5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar
3 extra large eggs: 2 for dough, 1 for baste
1/4 cup oil
3-4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
Nutella
Oreos
Marshmallows
Chocolate Chunks
Peanut Butter Chips

Mix water, yeast, honey and sugar in a mixing bowl. Place in a warm place. This could be next to a window that gets sunlight, or I like to place it in the oven at 120 degrees and then turn off the oven. Let stand for about 10-15 minutes or until the mixture starts to foam.

If you look closely you can see a heart in the yeast! Perfect for date party!!

In a separate bowl mix 2 eggs and oil. Add to the yeast mixture after it has foamed.

Add 2 cups of flour, followed by the salt, and then the rest of the flour. Make sure you mix the flour as you are adding it. Continue to add flour until the dough is no longer sticking to your hands.

Knead the ingredients and form into a ball. Oil the large bowl and then roll the ball of dough in the oil. This prevents the dough from sticking to the bowl as it rises. Place the ball back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place it in a warm place. Let the bowl sit for about 1-2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Remove dough from bowl and knead to get out all the air. Roll out the strands and spread a layer of Nutella. Then add oreos, marshmallows, and chocolate chunks. I also added peanut butter chips but you can really add whatever else you want inside. I'm sure white chocolate chips would have been good too. Pinch each strand closed.

After braiding the challah, place on a buttered cookie sheet and allow challah to rise for at least 30 minutes in a warm place. This allows the dough to rise again.
Baste with egg wash (1 egg and 1/2 tbsp water).

If you are making a 3 strand challah bake for about 15 minutes at 350 or until internal temperature is around 170. Check out our Braids and Shapes page for information on cooking times for other shapes. If the top of the challah is getting too dark or hard then place a piece of foil on top of it while the inside continues to cook.

Oh Em Gee, this challah was awesome and it looks great too!