Eyes of haman challah

What can you do with a batch of challah dough, two eggs, and a fruit roll-up?

I do like to play with my food…

My grandmother would have looked at this and called me, “Meshugganah”

and

She could be right.

(But she would have said it with a smile!)

Because, yes, making this guy is my idea of an exciting afternoon.

I did not invent this Eyes of Haman Challah. Ojo De Haman has it’s roots in Moroccan Jewish cooking. For Purim, hard boiled eggs are baked into the challah so that one can “gouge out Haman’s eyes.” Sounds a little violent, but in the case of Haman…I suppose it’s justified.

I don’t know who was the first to take it to this next level, but the first time I saw one I knew I had to do it.

I’ve been making this Haman challah for Purim for several years now, each time refining my methodology.

I usually bake one for our family Purim Seduah, and another one that I bring to the synagogue for the kiddish after the Megillah reading.

Maybe it’s because I was such a play-doh fan when I was a kid—the old kind of play-doh, not the newfangled plastic-y stuff they have now—but I love making things from dough. And when the finished product is actually edible and tastes this good, I can’t resist.

Don’t be intimidated by this.

It takes a while to put it together, but it’s not difficult to do.

I’ll walk you through it, step-by-step.

Here’s How

Or, if your sweet tooth is calling to you, You can use the recipe for my

Sweet Almond Challah for Purim

You will need:

• the two blue hard boiled eggs

• another raw egg to make an egg wash

• a shaker bottle of poppy seeds

• a red fruit roll-up

• 1 recipe of Golden Shabbat Challah or Sweet Almond Challah

After the dough has risen in the bowl, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured work surface.

Line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper. You have to build this guy on the pan because once it’s constructed, you won’t be able to move it until it’s been baked.

First, divide the dough into three balls of about equal size.

Set two of the balls aside and cover them with a slightly damp tea towel to keep them from drying out, then turn your attention to the first one.

Set aside a walnut-sized chunk of dough from the remaining piece of the first ball. Use the rest to form Haman’s horns.

Place the eggs above the midline of the face, where eyes belong.

Gently Press them down into the dough.

Then, divide that walnut-sized piece of dough into four equal parts. Roll each one into a skinny long rope. Use them to make the Xs over the eyes, which will help to keep them in place. Tuck the ends of the ropes under the eggs.

Uncover the second ball of dough and divide it in two halves. Take one of those halves and press it into a square, using your hands. Cut the square in half on the diagonal to make two triangles. These are the ears. Press them into the side of the face where ears go. Take the othe half of that chunk and set it aside for the moment. We’ll use it later to make the nose.

By the way, don’t worry about these “added on” pieces sticking to the face. Once the bread rises and then is baked, it will all become one cohesive masterpiece.

Carefully brush the egg wash over just the unibrow, the mustache, and the beard. Put a dab of egg wash where the nostrils and ear holes are.

Sprinkle the egg-washed areas with the poppy seeds to create hair.

Wait ten minutes for the egg wash to dry, then carefully brush away any seeds that landed on other parts. Since those parts don’t have egg on them yet, the seeds should brush off easily.

Then, carefully brush the rest of the challah, the parts without seeds, with more of the egg wash.

Take the other half of the second ball and divide it into half. Use one half to make Haman’s unibrow—roll it into a rope and shape it over and around the eyes, dipping down between them, as you can see in the picture.

Divide the remaining half into half again. Roll them each into a rope. Curve one rope into a ring to create the mouth. Taper the ends of the second rope and place it above the mouth to create the mustache.

I think next time I’ll curl the ends of the mustache.

Take the piece of dough that you set aside for the nose. Shape it into a triangle with rounded points and set it with the top point covering the part where the unibrow dips between the eyes. Bring the bottom of the triangle down to just over the mouth, dividing the mustache.

Sorry for not having the nose on in the “unbaked” picture. I’m sure you can figure it out by looking at the finished bread.

Finally, take that last ball of dough and divide it into eight parts. Roll each one into a rope and lay them side by side at the bottom of the face, to make the beard. I like to curl the ends a bit.

Now, take a finger and poke two indentations in the nose to create nostrils and one in each ear to create ear holes.

Set your pan with your assembled Haman into the oven (the oven is off, or on “proof” setting if it has one!) to rise for about 40 minutes.

Prepare your egg wash by taking that remaining egg and, using a fork, beat it with a teaspoon or two of water.

Remove the pan from the oven and return it to your work surface.

Preheat your oven to 350°

Your Eyes of Haman Challah is ready to bake!

Slide it into your preheated oven.

Bake it for 30 minutes until golden, turning the pan 180° half way through the baking time.

Ovens can vary. Keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t burn.

Once baked, allow the bread to cool on the pan for 20 minutes, then carefully slide it onto a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way. Before serving, be sure to add your fruit roll-up tongue, by making a small slit in the mouth with the tip of a knife and working the end of the roll-up into the slit.

Prepare to receive lots of Kudos!

hag sameach purim!

Let’s get creating!

How to construct the

Eyes of Haman challah

Cut about 1/4 of the first piece off and set it aside. Shape the rest of the ball into a flat round disc, about 4 inches across. Place it on your prepared pan, with the bottom edge of the disc set just above the midline of the pan. This will be Haman’s face.

Start out by making a batch of challah dough as per my recipe for Golden Shabbat Challah