easter challah
This was a very special Easter for me. My mother, who has been displaced to a heartland away from her own heart, found her place with me and my family. Warm laughter and rich smiles - we celebrated a holiday saved for those most devoted in our secular, loving, familial fashion.
Bloody marys and mimosas, food beyond compare. We drank, we ate, we shared a joy that comes from deep within.
The challah is a special Hebrew bread eaten to celebrate the most joyous holidays. This double loaf commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. Each single loaf is woven with six strands. Everyone wanders. Everyone can be lost, and everyone can be found.
cinnamon + coconut challah | makes 2 loaves
Bloody marys and mimosas, food beyond compare. We drank, we ate, we shared a joy that comes from deep within.
The challah is a special Hebrew bread eaten to celebrate the most joyous holidays. This double loaf commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. Each single loaf is woven with six strands. Everyone wanders. Everyone can be lost, and everyone can be found.
adapted from smitten kitchen
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon + 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
8 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Poppy seeds for sprinkling
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar, cinnamon, coconut, and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
To make a 6-braid challah, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. Tuck ends underneath. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.
Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool loaves on a rack.
1 tablespoon + 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
8 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Poppy seeds for sprinkling
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar, cinnamon, coconut, and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
To make a 6-braid challah, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. Tuck ends underneath. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.
Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool loaves on a rack.
Here is a fantastic tutorial on braiding a 6-strand challah loaf:
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