Caramel Chocolate Challah

My dear readers and bakers, I owe you like 18 posts. Can I just say how I'm slightly relieved that these two-day-yom-tovim-followed-by-Shabbat are over. No holidays until Thanksgiving (I'm not sure I even know how to prepare a meal where I can turn my oven on and off during the entire meal). I'm not sure what the fall is going to bring, but I'm excited for more savory baking, experimenting with more interesting flours, and finding new challah challenges.

This past Shabbat, which followed Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, was a quiet one for The Hazz and The Mrs. We had invitations and shul dinners during the yom tovim, so I planned us a Shabbat at home with baked mac n'cheese with broccoli, vegetable soup, and sweet, sweet, sweet challah (don't you just love the occasional dairy Shabbat?). Our challah was inspired by Milky Ways, but I'm afraid the copyright police are going to jump on me if I actually call it that, so I'll call it Caramel Chocolate Challah.

Sweet Dough: Back in September, I made a big order from King Arthur Flour that included a Buttery Sweet Dough Enhancer, about which KAF says:

There's a particular flavor to the Danish, sweet rolls and coffeecakes you get at the store. Is it a hint of vanilla, or butter, or...? Add a few drops of this flavoring to your favorite sweet bread recipe, and your family and friends will be clamoring for the name of the bakery you visited.

I added just a teaspoon to my Small Batch. The result was really mild, but an ever so slightly sweeter dough that I think many sweet challah lovers would really like. A community Rabbi just asked me how we could make the basic dough a bit sweeter and I don't have a real answer yet. Adding honey messes with the chemical proportions and changes the texture. Adding this dough enhancer didn't change the challah texture at all, which I liked. Plus it's pareve!  I might try adding more next time.

The Mix-Ins: Again, KAF came to my rescue with Caramel Bits, so pretty amazing chunks of deliciousness.  Save yourself the heartache and don't look at the ingredient list if your like The Hazz and I and are trying to rid your lives of corn syrup.  But, they're still worth it.  And by worth it, I mean AMAZING.  I mixed together the caramel bits (just a little handful) with Trader Joe's chocolate chips which are so far superior to any other chocolate chip on the market.  They're AWESOME (and they're also pareve... although the caramel isn't).

The result, gooey, glistening, challah goodness.  Sweetness of a new year?  Check.  Sweetness of Torah?  Check.

Here's to a 5772 full of more sweetness :)

Please Note: I was not paid anything and did not receive anything for writing this post. KAF doesn't even know I'm writing it.