KOAB Recipe Exchange, Week 5: Challah Recipes

When we moved back to the U.S. from Israel, we had to learn to make our own challot, since gone were the days of picking up a challah for 10 NIS at the corner makolet (mini-market).

My husband took on the baking job enthusiastically and tried out several recipes in our bread maker. He settled on one that I absolutely love — and so does everyone else who eats it! It uses a ton of egg yolks, which is probably what makes it so good, although far from low in calorie. But hey, it’s Shabbos… calories don’t count, right?

In any case, I’m not going to share his awesome recipe with you today — sorry! — because I’ve got Rosh Hashana on the brain. And while Frankie’s Shabbat challah recipe is on the sweet-side, I like to really amp up the sweetness for the High Holidays with a round apple challah.

It’s almost like a pop-over, stuffed with cinnamony apples and then brushed with margarine and cinnamon sugar on top. It is really indulgent and if you have any left-overs, they will be perfect for French toast or bread pudding.

(Warning: This recipe is a little patchkied, but it’s worth it. Plus, I only have to make it once a year, so I figure I can cope.)

Round Apple Challah

Dough:

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2  large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla or to taste

1 teaspoon salt (I never bake with salt, but I realize some people think that’s nuts, so I’m including it in the recipe)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 T dry yeast

5 to 6 cups all purpose flour (I’m all about substituting whole wheat flour, but this is not the bread to do it with! Stick to white unbleached. Trust me.)

Apple filling:
3-4 unpeeled apples, any combination of color and type, roughly chopped
1/2 cup white sugar
1 T cinnamon
up to 1 T lemon juice

Topping:
1/4 cup melted margarine (I love Earth’s Balance buttery sticks)
1 T white sugar
1 T cinnamon

Instructions:

Combine first water, sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon in the Kitchen Aid and quickly mix together. Add yeast, together with one cup of flour. Mix again and let sit for a moment or two.

Slowly add 4 more cups of flour, one cup at a time. Once fully incorporated, knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes with the dough hook on the Kitchen Aid. (Note: I made three batches of this for Rosh Hashana, and by the third batch, my Kitchen Aid was groaning and the motor was running very hot. I might kneed by hand next time to avoid killing the Kitchen Aid!)

Put dough into a large, oiled bowl and cover with a towel until it doubles in size. I have a bread proofing setting on my oven, and it takes about 40-50 minutes. Before the new oven, I would put the bowl on top of a preheating over and it would take about an hour.

Meanwhile, mix apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and set aside. The apples will become slightly syrupy by the time you are ready to use them.

Punch down the dough.  Divide into two or three large pieces. Roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface. I roll one long rope, then flatten with my  hand into a rectangle shape. Place the filling in a line along the middle of each rectangle. Bring the sides up and pinch tightly. Use water or egg white to seal the edges if necessary.

Roll each log into a coil and place inside a round cake pan. I have used both regular cake pans and spring form pans, both with equal success.

Brush melted margarine onto the top of the dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and mixture. Loosely cover the pan with a towel and let rise in warm place. Once the challah has doubled in size, place in preheated 350° oven. I usually set the round pan on top of a cookie sheet to catch any drips.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until done. The top should get carmalized, but if it’s getting too brown, just loosely cover with a sheet of tinfoil.

Let cool completely on baking rack. I double wrap my loaves in tin foil and then store them in a ziploc bag, and they are still good by lunch the second day of Rosh Hashana. I also know people who freeze the dough before its second rising and then let it rise and bake the day it will be served. It always turns out great for them, so you may want to go that route. (NOTE: It did NOT turn out well for me to freeze at this point. My challot were doughy and dense. So, I don’t recommend this. If you want to freeze, go through all the steps and then freeze once cooled.)

Notes on cost: Bread is fairly frugal anyway, but I wanted to let you know (if you don’t already) that the best price on yeast is the 2 lb. bag at Costco or Sam’s Club. MUCH cheaper than buying anywhere else!

As for the apples: We often go apple picking right before Rosh Hashana. The apples aren’t necessarily cheaper than at the store (where I aim to pay no more than $1/pound here in the Midwest), but the kids love knowing that they picked the apples in their challah! We usually pick a bushel and have plenty for dipping in honey, baking into challah and making into apple crisps. Yummy!

Do you have a favorite recipe for challah? I’d love to see ’em all — sweet, salty, white or wheat! Are you a breadmaker fan, a Kitchen Aid fan, or an “I make all my bread by hand, including grinding my own flour” fan? Share your recipes, tips and other challah related comments below! Can’t wait to hear what you’ve got.

Comments

  1. That looks so good!

    Our easy breadmaker recipe came from friends. We use this to make two small loaves or one large one depending on the guest situation for Shabbos.

    This all goes in on dough cycle and then bake up the dough in your oven.

    3.5 cups flour
    0.5 cup sugar
    1 cup water
    1 egg
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    2 teaspoons yeast
    1 teaspoon salt

    Quite delicious.

  2. I’ll have to check out that soup exchange!! It’s coming on winter, soup season!

    The challah looks GOOD! I’ve only made it once and that was a long time ago! Thanks!

    • @Debbi – I’m so psyched your found my blog. I love your recipes and straight-forward recipes/tutorials. I got spaghetti squash in my CSA this week and instantly though of your mac-n-cheese!

  3. Hi – here is my personal challah recipe, developed over the years.
    I made two of these last night and I just realized I left egg out of both of them…. hmmmm. I’ll put it on top but still.

    1 cup warm water
    1 package yeast (1 tablespoon)
    1/4 cup canola oil
    1/8 to 1/4 cup honey
    1/4 cup sugar
    1 tsp salt
    4 cups flour
    1 egg for in it
    1 egg for on it

    I make the dough in the bread machine then I let it rise for an hour after I braid it – then I cook it at 380 for 1/2 hour I think – I’m never sure the right heat and time for cooking.

    • @Amy – thanks for sharing! I love that your recipe has been tweaked over the years until you got it just right!

  4. Your apple challah recipe looks delicious and your step by step instructions are just fantastic! Thank you for sharing. I’ve had a look round your blog and it is so interesting – I love learning about other people’s traditions and your recipes look wonderful. I look forward to visiting again soon!

  5. I can contribute easy challah toppings.
    Although neither of these are so cheap to buy, they do last a very long time because you sprinkle so little on your challah. I think they are worth it and you can freeze them both so they last longer. The first topping i like is Bakers Choice Nut Crunch. The second is Pereg Pistachio mix.
    Crumb topping is good too. 4 Tbsp margerine, 3/4 cup flour3 cup sugar mixed together and sprinkled on top. I usually make lots and freeze it so I don’t have to make it every time. I always brush my challah with egg first.
    Sprinkling vanilla sugar on top of challah is yummy too

  6. There is only one Challah recipe I make because when I make it, people take thirds and fourths but when I make other recipes, I just don’t get that response.
    Here goes
    Sweet Challah
    2 heaping Tbs salt
    5 lbs Flour
    13/4 cups sugar
    3 Tbs dry yeast
    4 cups warm water
    4 eggs
    1 cup oil
    note- salt should not touch yeast which is why it goes in the bowl before the flour and yeast needs to be activated by warm water so pour warm water over yeast. Once yeast is active you can start mixing the batter.
    Knead 10min. let rise till doubled about 45 minutes(I put bowl on top of my dryer and do laundry). The warmth helps rising. punch down and shape (or if you want just seperate into 3 foil pans to make round Challahs Let rise 45min brush with egg and put on a topping if desired. Bake 350 30-40 minutes cover loosely with foil and bake 15 more minutes

  7. Mara,
    I’ve been following your blog as a subscriber for about a month now and I love it.

    I haven’t made Challah in about 10 years since I found out I was gluten free. However, this one looks so amazing that I would like to make it for the holidays for my family and company.

    I was wondering if I could substitute a bread machine recipe to make it easier ?

    Also, do you have any gluten free recipes for challah

  8. Is there a way to make the Breadmaker Challah Recipe by hand? I neither own a bread maker or a Kitchenaid, but I like that the above recipe is a nice and egg-laden challah. Any other “eggy” challah recipes would be equally appreciated.

  9. elana kutscher says

    Looks amazing – do you know by any chance how long this would last in the freezer? (I would bake it, then freeze)

  10. elana kutscher says

    Thanks!

Leave a Comment

*