Challah is already special. It is eaten on Shabbat and holidays and it makes the best french toast. Every family has a favorite challah whether it is made at home from a family recipe or is proffered from a beloved bakery - with seeds, no seeds, braided, double-braided. So on Rosh Hashanah in order to celebrate the New Year we make this very special bread more special by forming it into a crown. The crown, which is round, is symbolic of seamlessness - one year following another - and the continuation of the generations.
In our family making challah is considered an art. Inspired by my mother's unyielding commitment to making bread from scratch, the rest of us try to do the same - at least some of us and some of the time. For Rosh Hashanah, the challah is made with extra pride, a bit of extra sugar and raisins to represent the sweetness of the New Year.
One thing I have learned over time is that a recipe is not enough to make a good challah. The real magic is in the hands of the breadmaker, the baker with the goldene hände.
Bubbi's Crown Challah For Rosh Hashanah
Ingredients:
8-9 cups (960-1100 grams) hard durum wheat flour
3 tablespoons dry active yeast (not instant)
1 teaspoon sugar for yeast
1 1/2 cups (220 grams) raisins
2 tablespoons salt (not kosher salt)
4 eggs
3/4 cup (180 ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
3 cups (750 ml) water
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter (separate from oil above)
Egg wash - 1 egg, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoon oil
Directions:
Turn flame on low to warm up burner or pan support
Let heat for 2-3 minutes and turn flame off
Add 1 teaspoon sugar, yeast and half of water (from 3 cups) to heat-proof dish
Place dish on heated hob and cover with a plate
Leave 10 minutes until yeast has activated and is at least double in size
Combine eggs, sugar and salt and beat until creamy
Add oil and continue mixing until fulling incorporated
Add yeast and remainder of water
Add salt to flour
Add liquids and raisins to dry ingredients
Work dough from the sides into the middle until it is smooth and can form into a ball
Leave dough in bowl
Cover dough with oil/butter
Cover bowl with a towel and a blanket and set in a warm (draftless) place to rise
Leave for 90 minutes
Remove covering
Dough should have doubled
Punch dough until air has been expelled
Form dough into a ball and apply oil or butter once again
Cover and let rise 60 - 90 minutes - until is is double in size again
Remove dough from bowl
Divide into 6 pieces
Roll out each pieces separately into a rope shape
Holding one end of the rope, wrap the rest of the dough around
Pull the end of the rope from the middle of the dough through the top
Heat oven to 375 F. (190 C.)
Cover dough with tea towel
Place the dough on a baking sheet and let rise on top of heating oven for 1 hour
Paint egg wash on bread right before baking
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until bread is golden brown
Enjoy! !בתיאבון
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