Challah Bread

There are many reasons that I love being Jewish, but one of the big ones is the food. Cultures around the world focus around traditions including cuisine. Being a self admitted carb-a-holic, being Jewish works out quite well for me...not so much for my diet; thank goodness for self control.

One of my personal favorite "dishes" of Jewish cuisine is the traditional bread called Challah. A white, fluffy, sweet bread, this stuff is to die for. When I was little, my family coined the phrase "Challah hollower"...apparently I only enjoyed the soft inside and therefore chose to pull that out of the loaf to the horror of the rest of my family. By the way, I do enjoy the crust now :).

Now living in Brookline, MA, there are a lot of great places to buy delicious challah: Clear Flour Bread Bakery, The Butchery, and there is a woman who makes amazing challah & sells it at the JP Licks on Harvard Ave (in Coolidge Corner). Back in Ohio, where I'm from, there is this bakery called Lucy's that makes the most insanely delicious Challah I've ever had in my life. They have a variety of flavors, my favorite being the apple cinnamon. I've heard from my mother that they're closing...I'll be home in a few weeks and plan to go beg for some of their recipes...we'll see how that goes...

Personally, though, I love to make it! Time consuming? Maybe a little...but the dough tastes aweseome and, quite honestly, there is nothing like filling the apartment/house with the smell of freshly baked bread. And the taste...incomparable!

Last weekend I visited my friend in NYC - the main purpose of the visit was to attend the Belmont Stakes (awesome!). As a thank you to her for constantly hosting me, I brought her my "famous" cinnamon sugar challah (I say "famous" because she is obsessed).

Here is the recipe that my mother shared with me - I'm not sure where she got it, but it's awesome.

Challah Bread

(Thanks to my sis for the pic - she made it recently as well!)

4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached flour or bread flour
1 package of dry yeast or 1 cube of cake yeast

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

1/4 baking powder
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
3 large eggs
3/8 cup oil (corn or vegetable)
3/8 cup + 1/8 TBSP sugar

Place 3 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center.

Blend the yeast with 1 cup of water. Stir to dissolve.

Pour yeast mixture into the well in the flour.

Using a fork begin stirring the yeast mixture in the well, gradually blending about ¼ of the flour into the yeast mixture.

Cover the bowel with a damp towel and set in a warm place to stand for 45 to 50 minutes.

Sprinkle baking powder, 3/8 cups sugar, cinnamon, and salt over the flour and yeast mixture.

Add the vanilla, 2 eggs, oil, 3/8 cup of oil and the remaining water. Blend with the fork.

Add one cup of flour and work into the dough with hands. If dough is sticky add up to another cup of flour.

Continue to work the dough with hands for another 10 minutes. When dough does not stick to hands, it is ready (add more flour if necessary).

Shape the dough into a coarse ball. Cover with damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a floured board or granite surface and knead, adding flour as needed to keep from sticking, about 5 minutes.

Shape dough into a smooth ball. Place in floured bowel. Cover with damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Cut dough into four equal pieces and shape each into a rope. Avoid handling dough too much.

Line the four ropes vertically next to each other. Pinch together at one end. Braid by bringing the far right rope over, under and over the next three ropes. Repeat until ropes are braided together and pinch ends together.

Tuck ends of braid under the loaf.

Place loaf on a generously greased 15 x 10 baking pan. Cover with damp towel and allow to rise for one hour. Volume should approximately double.

Preheat oven to 325°

Beat the remaining egg with ⅛ t sugar and brush over the loaf.

Bake for approximately one hour.