Eggs, Eggs, Everywhere... but not a drop in THIS challah!

This past Shabbat, we had a small group of 6 adults and 1 child.  I got into my head that it would be awesome to make the flourless chocolate cake we love so much from Pesach it shouldn't be relegated to one week a year.  6 eggs.  Carrot Kugel, another egg.  The Hazz asked for Matzo Ball soup since we have fresh garden basil.  4 more eggs.  A half batch of challah.  2 eggs plus 1 for the egg wash.  Are you with me, that's 15 eggs.  I just COULDN'T BRING MYSELF to crack two more into the second batch of challah.  (I actually also altered the chicken recipe and found an olive oil instead of egg method for getting bread crumbs to stick to chicken.)

In April, I made an eggless challah for a friend who is vegan.  At the time, I wasn't sure if she ate honey, so I opted for sugar to proof the yeast.  But, really, I don't like sugar-sweetened challot.  I find they always fall a little flat, don't have the luxurious texture I'd like my challah to have.  So, here's what we did on this eggless version.

3/4 c water plus about 1/4 c more
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1/4 c vegetable oil
3 c flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
small amount of (real) maple syrup for wash

It's essentially the same as my regular half-batch, but I added the extra water (around 1/4 c) while mixing.  Then it was too sticky, so I sprinkled more flour.  Wash, rinse, repeat, until the texture I wanted.  As with the other eggless challah, I used MAPLE SYRUP for the glaze and it's SO TASTY.

We didn't have any fresh yeast on hand this week (all the stuff at the grocery store was expired boo hoo!), so we were back to active dry but it worked well for us.  I needed a slower rise anyway on Friday afternoon due to what-was-going-in-the-oven-when and fresh yeast rises OH SO FAST.

Egg-y on the left, Egg-less on the right!

Eggless challah is so different from regular challah.  It's MUCH lighter... in both color and texture.  The flavor seems less sweet, even though it's the same amount of honey.  It's a good alternative and  also seems to last a little bit better (for noshing on Sunday mornings!).

Shavua Tov, chaverim!  I hope you have a great week!