Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Wreath Challah

How can you make a Christmas challah without using the wreath shape?!?

Step 1: Roll out dough into 3 strand


Step 2: Braid the challah like any other 3 strand challah


Step 3:  Bend the braid into a circle. Make sure you leave a large enough hole in the center of the challah. We did this braid twice and didn't leave a big enough hole the second time so after the dough rose there was no longer a hole (see photos below)


 Step 4: Attach the open strands


Step 5: Let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes then baste it with an egg wash

Step 6: Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes or until the internal temperature is around 170 you may want to place aluminum foil on top of the challah after about 10 minutes or so. That way you can keep the top from getting to be too brown.



Christmas Challah

Although I hate Christmas because it seems to last 3 months and I am not a fan of Christmas music, I am a big advocate for parties! There are birthday parties, ugly sweater parties, parties because it's a Thursday, and of course, holiday parties. This year we made 2 Christmas challahs for 2 very special occasions. When our favorite shiksa Ally came for the weekend, we knew that we had to make a special challah just for her. And what better way to celebrate the Sabbath than by making a challah that celebrates a non-jewish holiday!?! Coming up with the right flavor was near impossible. The challah still had to taste good so a peppermint was out of the question. On my daily supermarket run I stumbled upon Christmas chocolate chips (brown, green and red) and knew I found what I was looking for. And naturally, I made Ally pick out all the brown chips to create the perfect Christmas effect.

The second Christmas challah was for a Christmas party at Sara's (Jeffrey's girlfriend) parent's house in NY. Among the guest list was Sara and her parents, Jeffrey, my mom, Jenn, Bailey, a family friend of Sara's parents, and me, so basically it was a bunch of Jews and one non Jewish person celebrating Christmas. But like I said before, I love parties, well as long as their is plenty of food and alcohol, and believe me we had plenty of both! After a very filling meal, an amazing cheese cake, and some great conversation, we were off to bed because the next day we had to drive back to MA in a 5 person vehicle with 5 passengers and a pup in the trunk. Bailey was not so happy about that one :(

Sara and Jeffrey had a driver on the way back to NY from MA. So high maintenance!

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
Holiday chocolate chips

Mix wateryeasthoney 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.


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. There are 2 different ways that we made this challah. The first time we had the chips just inside the challah which kept the challah white on the outside. If you do it this way, roll out the strands and put chips in the center of each strand then pinch close. The second time we put chips in the dough, which made the outside of the challah red and white. For this version, divide up the dough and add chips to each portion, then roll out each strand and braid.


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. Then baste with egg wash (1 egg and 1/2 tbsp water) after it is done rising.

If you are making a wreath challah bake for about 18 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 so festive!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Hot Chocolate Challah

Snow days are so rare here at Ohio State that there have only been 7 in the past 32 years. Spring semester was supposed to begin today but instead we had a snow day, and have another tomorrow. As great as snow days are, they are no where near complete without a hot cocoa. Unfortunately for me, my whipped cream, marshmallows, frother, and keurig are all back home in Massachusetts and I cant bear to walk all the way to Starbucks in negative temperatures. The number of times I had a warm creamy super fattening hot cocoa over break is ridiculous. There were times I had to go to the supermarket and buy just whipped creme. Although this is mostly because I was bored and needed something to do so roaming the aisles of Sudbury Farms with my empty shopping cart for 20 minutes to buy one can of whipped creme became the excitement of my day. It probably also didn't help that I would eat the marshmallows and whipped creme first and then add more to my hot cocoa. Also, I think most cans never even saw the mug and went straight into my mouth. Come to think of it, I may have just been having hot cocoa for the whipped creme and marshmallows....


 Bailey loves snow days too! Actually, Bailey just likes sticking his head into the snow

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

Mix wateryeasthoney 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.


In a separate bowl mix 2 eggs, oil and cocoa powder. 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. Divide up the dough by strand and add white chocolate chips to each ball of dough. Make sure not to add too many chips because then you wont have enough dough to hold the strand closed when you pinch it later on. Roll out the strands and spread a layer of Nutella. Then add white chocolate chips. I'm sure marshmallows would have been good too, but they are wet and sticky and make the strands harder to close. 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. Then baste with egg wash (1 egg and 1/2 tbsp water) after it is done rising.

If you are making a round challah bake for about 20 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.




Yum yum! We finally figured out the perfect amount of cocoa powder to use!