ROSH HASHANAH challah
sweet round challah
FOR A SWEET NEW YEAR
I love the High Holy Days. As I child I could feel, almost touch, the magic. Only a few weeks before these special days, the air outside was hot and close in my chest, and now suddenly it felt cool, bracing, energizing. The leaves on the trees, changing color with a swift stroke of the artist’s hand, beginning to drop, making the earth pungent and musky with decay, permeating my consciousness. As the northeast prepared itself for ending—for sleep, for death—to me, everything was fresh and new. I was on the precipice of beginning. A new year was starting up at school. I had new clothes and new shoes, new books and supplies in perfect condition. It was a brand-new chance to get it right, socially, and academically. The High Holy Days were a brand-new chance to get me right.
The first of January always felt kind of random to me, just one cold winter day surrounded on both sides by other cold winter days. But Rosh Hashanah felt organic, holy, a true new beginning.
We never attended synagogue, but we did observe in our own way. We stayed home from school, took nature walks, and ate special foods. Best of all, we were all together—aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents.
I felt like I belonged.
There are many traditions attached to Rosh Hashanah. Some I was aware of in childhood, others I’ve just become acquainted with in recent times. Many of them pertain to food. (If you haven’t yet noticed, I’m big on food.) And even those Jews with limited background in Yiddishkite are familiar with the ubiquitous apples and honey and a sweet round challah, often studded with raisins.
Challah for the New Year is made a little differently than my weekly Shabbat challah. Some of the sugar is substituted with honey, which adds a unique flavor and texture. The loaves can be finished with a sprinkling of sesame seeds, turbinado sugar crystals, or colored sprinkles.
Forming the loaves is actually simpler and faster than my weekly six-strand oval braid. It’s traditional to make round challot for the entire High Holiday season, from Rosh Hashanah to Simchat Torah. You can make a simple turban, a three-strand braided turban, or a woven crown. Divide the dough in 3 and make one of each! Below, I’ll give you instructions on how to create all of them.
And check out my post on specially shaped challot for all the special days of the season, including one topped with birds, ready to take your prayers to the sky.
The following recipe makes one giant loaf or two medium-sized loaves. I usually divide the dough in two, so that I can make one with raisins and one without. This way, everyone at my table is happy.
Some recipes for Rosh Hashanah Challah use only honey for sweetening, but I prefer to use half honey, half sugar. I think it makes for a better texture and a less cloying taste. Honey can vary greatly in flavor from light and mild to dark and intense, depending upon the type of flowers the pollen was harvested from. Choose a honey that you like, and experiment with different kinds to find your favorite.
Sweet Round Challah for a Sweet New Year
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons dry yeast—not rapid rise
1 ½ cups water
⅓ cup sugar, + a pinch
⅓ cup honey
½ cup neutral fruit or nut oil, such as avocado or sunflower, + a bit more for greasing
6 eggs (3 whole + 2 yolks + another one for the egg wash)
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon turmeric powder (Adds a lovely golden color and it has anti-inflammatory benefits, as well.)
6 —7 cups unbleached bread flour (I like King Arthur brand)
Optional—1 ½ cups raisins (you can use dark, light, or a combination. You can also use other dried fruits, such as cherries, apricots, or whatever you fancy. They should all be cut to raisin size.)
Optional—sesame seeds, turbinado sugar, or colored sprinkles for topping
Method:
Warm the water to somewhere between 90°—110°. It should feel neutral or slightly warm to the touch. Spoon the yeast into a large mixing bowl, add the pinch of sugar, and pour the water gently over. Stir to dissolve the yeast, and allow it to rest for 5 - 10 minutes until the yeast has “bloomed” and little bubbles are forming.
Set aside one cup of the flour.
Pour in the rest of the sugar, the honey, the oil, the 3 eggs + the 2 yolks, the salt, the turmeric, and about 2 cups of the flour. Stir, using a large wooden spoon, until loosely combined, then add 4 more cups of flour and stir until you’ve achieved a “shaggy mass.” (It should look like the pile of hair on your sofa, where a sheepdog has just had a nap.) Allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes, so that the flour absorbs the liquid.
Lightly flour your work surface with a bit of the remaining cup of flour, and turn your dough out from the bowl, scraping out as much as possible. Flour your hands and begin to knead. As you go along, sprinkle on more flour, a little at a time, to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. You want to keep the dough soft and easy to work – not too dry, but not too sticky, either. Depending upon many factors, such as the weather, the percentage of protein in your flour, or even the way it’s been stored, you may need to add anywhere from ½ to 1 cup more. Adding more than that can make your bread dry. Continue kneading for about 8—10 minutes, or until you have a smooth, silky, elastic dough. Gently coax the dough into a ball.
Pour a very small glop of oil into a large, clean mixing bowl and rub it around so that the entire inside surface of the bowl has a thin coating of oil. Place your dough ball into the bowl and roll it all around so that the entire ball is covered with a fine film of oil. Then, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free space for 90 minutes, or until it is about 2 ½ times its original size.
While the dough is rising, prepare the raisins or other fruit, if using. Place the fruit in a small bowl and add hot water to cover. Allow the fruit to soak for about 15 minutes and then drain.
Gently punch down the dough and turn it out onto a floured work surface.
Pick up a small piece of dough (about the size of a large olive), hold it in your hand, and say, “challah is taken.” Then ask for any special blessings that you or your loved ones are in need of—health, marriage, and fertility (of all kinds) are good choices. Then set it aside and burn it later, or wrap it in foil and toss it. Why? You’ll find a link to the answer, below.
Cut the dough in half.
If you’re adding fruit to your challah, flatten your dough (either one half or both halves) into a rectangle and evenly disperse the fruit pieces, pushing down to imbed them into the dough. Then, roll up the dough into a rope.
Shape your loaves utilizing one of the following choices:
A.The Turban: Taper your rope so that it comes to a point at one end and gets gradually wider, like a horn. Then, create a spiral with the thick end in the middle and finish by tucking the tapered end underneath.
B. The Braided Turban: Divide the rope into three equal pieces and roll each one out to make three long ropes of equal length. Lay them side by side, pinch them together on one end, and weave the strands into a long braid. Coil the braid around itself as for a plain turban, and tuck the end under the round.
C. The Crown: Divide the rope into four equal pieces and roll each one out to make four long ropes of equal length. Lay two ropes side by side vertically. Place the third rope at a right angle, horizontally, and position it just above the midpoint of the other two, weaving over the first vertical rope and under the second. Place the fourth rope just below the third, but this time going under the first and over the second.
Weave the crown by numbering your ends 1—8, starting at the first rope you laid down and going around counter clockwise.
Weave the ropes as follows: Cross end 1 over end 2. Cross end 3 over end 4. Cross end 5 over end 6. Cross end 7 over end 8.
Now reverse—Cross end 2 over end 7. Cross end 8 over end 5. Cross end 6 over end 3. Cross end 4 over end 1. If your strands are long enough for another round, reverse the weave again.
If you’ve used up most of the dough, twist the ends together in the following way, tucking each twist under the crown—7 with 4, 1 with 6, 3 with 8, and 5 with 2. Use your hands to coax the crown into a nice round shape. I know this sounds confusing, but it’s actually not that complicated. Just follow the pattern and I think you’ll get the idea quickly.
Place your challot on baking sheets lined with silpats or parchment paper. Allow them to rise for another 45 minutes. Although I use rolls of parchment for many things, when it’s time to line a baking sheet I use these. They fit a half sheet pan perfectly—no trimming, no waste. And, they come in other sizes as well.
Preheat your oven to 350°
In a small bowl, make an egg wash by whisking one egg with about a teaspoon of cold water. Brush the loaves with the egg wash. Let the breads rest for 10 minutes to let the egg wash set, and then brush them with a second coat of egg wash. Sprinkle them with the topping of your choice or leave them plain.
Set the bowl with the remaining egg wash on the floor for the cats.
Slide the pan(s) into the oven and bake for 20 minutes: then turn the pans around. Bake another 15 minutes and check them. If they’re browning too fast, cover them with foil so that the tops don’t burn. The challot are done when they are golden brown and they sound hollow when you tap on the bottom of the loaf. Allow them to cool on the pans for 5 minutes and then let them cool completely on racks.