Apple Honey Challah via The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Rosh Hashanah is fast approaching. What better way to celebrate than with a freshly baked Apple Honey Challah? On Rosh Hashanah we dip apples in honey to symbolize our hope for a sweet new year. I’ve always wanted to integrate the apple and honey tradition into my challah recipe. I’ve been working for a couple of weeks on this challah, making it many times and perfecting it it till I was absolutely happy with it. I’m finally ready to share it with you!

The Rosh Hashanah tradition is to braid challah in a round shape for the holiday. Some believe the round shape represents a crown for God. Our family tradition says that the circular shape represents the cyclical nature of the year– as one year draws to a close, another year begins, and so the circle continues. There are many ways to make a round challah. In this post, I’ll be sharing a braiding technique that was first introduced to me a couple of years ago by my blogging friend Andrea at Capitol to Capital. It creates a lovely challah with a very pretty design on the top. I’ve broken it down in step-by-step instructions for you; it seems complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it you’ll realize it’s actually pretty easy.

I wanted this challah to be sweet, but not dessert-sweet. I gave it a sweetness level similar to Hawaiian bread, so it could be served and enjoyed with dinner. You can sweeten it further by topping it with honey… and with butter, if you’re so inclined. The recipe is dairy free so it can be served with a meat meal, but I’ve gotta say it’s awesome topped with salted butter and honey. Holy moly. Good stuff!

The apples were a challenge at first. I used Granny Smith, which are naturally tart but best for baking. In the beginning, the apples weren’t baking up sweet enough for my taste. I solved this by tossing them in sugar before integrating them into the challah. You can add a little cinnamon to the apples, too, if you’d like an apple-cinnamon flavor. With the sugar, they ended up adding a soft, moist bit of sweetness to the dough– just right!

If you’ve never made challah before, I don’t recommend starting with this one. Working with challah dough is something that becomes considerably easier with time and experience. Rather than working the apples into the dough during kneading, I’ve found that concealing the apples in the strand creates a more even, smooth shape to the braid. Making these stuffed strands is not a complicated process, but it might be frustrating to somebody who has never worked with challah dough before. If you’re new to challah, I recommend simply making this into a Honey Challah by omitting the apples. You can then make regular strands instead of stuffed ones, and you can choose any braiding technique you like. There are several easy braiding methods, including a simple 3-strand or 4-strand braid, or a Linked Loops braid for a round Rosh Hashanah challah. For an introduction to the basic braiding techniques, click here.

For those who don’t want to bother with braiding and aren’t worried about making a round shaped challah, you can try my Royal Challah pans, which will create a beautifully shaped challah without the need to braid:

Large Challah Pan

Small Challah Pan

If you’re comfortable with challah and you’re up for the challenge, read on! It’s really not that difficult, especially since I’ve broken each step down with photos to illustrate.

Here is a printable diagram that you can bring into the kitchen to keep you on track as you braid. Once you do it a couple of times, you’ll realize it’s a very simple braid to master:

How to Braid a Four Strand Round Challah

This challah smells AMAZING while it’s baking. It has the aroma and flavor of the holiday. Topping it with turbinado sugar gives an extra bit of crunchy sweetness to the crust. Shana Tova!

resident-stranger:

Kosher Soul Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• confectioners’ sugar
• FILLING:
• 2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Line a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs for 5 minutes. Add the sugar, flour, pumpkin, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, salt and nutmeg; mix well. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan; sprinkle with pecans.
2. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly. Cool for 5- 10 minutes. Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in towel, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the filing ingredients; beat until smooth. Unroll cake; spread filling over cake to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up again; place seam side down on a serving platter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

from koshersoulfood.blogspot.com

(via herwitchiness)