View of Shabbat - November 30th - Baklava Challah

Oh hi, little blog. We miss you, but we don't miss challah. We've been lovingly making challah as of late, but with grad school and a sick family member, we've been doing a lot of plain, perfect challah. A few weeks ago, The Hazz made a sweet honey syrup and covered a challah with it! Wow. Wow. We enjoyed a challah that night that was almost like Baklava.

Don't a have a sweet husband?

FREE Shipping from King Arthur Flour (and Happy Thanksgiving!)

The good people at King Arthur Flour contacted me about offering a special offer to readers of The Challah Blog... FREE SHIPPING TODAY ONLY!

King Arthur Flour normally reserve our best promotions for the folks signed up to receive our emails (which are AWESOME, and I totally recommend you sign up to receive them!), but this year they're letting you in on it! For one day only – Thanksgiving Day (until midnight) – you will receive FREE shipping on your $60 order. Please click on the picture below to access the sale!

In addition, you can enter KAF's Holiday Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1000 King Arthur Flour shopping spree, or one of five $100 gift cards! Enter DAILY from your desktop/laptop: http://on.fb.me/RQKEII or from your mobile device: http://bit.ly/VthRdq

Happy Thanksgiving from our bayit to yours!!!
Oh, and don't forget their Baking Hotline, where KAF's experts are available daily to help with holiday baking crises!

Note: I was not compensated, and I did not receive any products from King Arthur Flour for hosting this sale on my blog... though I WILL be taking advantage of it myself!

Gobble Gobble!

Gobble Gobble!

Last year, I had a lot of fun making this turkey challah for our Shabbat Thanksgiving feast (we had to move Thanksgiving due to a family issue). This year, we'll do another, but probably for Thursday (leftovers for Shabbos? Who knows!)

Since life is so crazy now, I haven't been too creative with my recipes, but I'm still here! If you have an awesome Thanksgiving shape or challah inspiration that you'd like to share, feel free to shoot me an email at themrs {at} thechallahblog {dot} com!

Birthday Treat (Anyone still there?)

I promise I'm still around, haverim.  Things have just been a little challenging lately.  We're dealing with some major transitions at Beit Stein, including the start of my doctoral program among others.  We promise, we're still around and still making challah.

But we've just been so uncreative lately.  With the craziness of the holidays and starting a PhD program, plain, basic, delicious regular old challah is all that's been acceptable in our house.  Any ideas for some new recipes?  Request for clarifications on old favorites?  It's TOUGH to make a new recipe every week... failing a few times has taught me NOT to just make new recipes for the heck of it, but make them because I truly want to get creative with challah.

So, bear with us.  Stay tuned.  Don't take us out of your Google Reader yet.  We're still here.  Today is The Hazz's birthday.  Besides a cake and mac n'cheese (which I think he agreed to partially because I like it), he gets sprinkle challah.  Because he's just that awesome.


Shabbat Shalom from our bayit to yours!

Sukkot 5773

We just barely got our sukkah up this year, so I'm so sorry no new recipes as of yet.  I'll work on one for Shabbat Sukkot!

For the first two days, we have Basic Half Batch and Pumpkin. I had about a quarter of a bag left of Trader Joe's pareve chocolate chips (boooooooo, no longer pareve), so they got added to the pumpkin this year!

Hag Sukkot Same'ah from our sukkah to yours!

View of Shabbat | Shabbat HaAzinu

Basic Small Batch and one with chocolate chips and cinnamon chips kneaded in! We still do round challot until Simchat Torah. What is your custom in YOUR home?

View of Shabbat | Shabbat Shuvah 5773

Pssst... make sure to check out our post on the history and a how-to for spiral challot.  Today, we're having a basic (with extra honey).  And The Hazz made a delicious mixed herb with olive oil... all herbs from our garden!

Shabbat Shalom from our Bayit to yours!

Rosh Hashanah 5773 | Making the Perfect Round Spiral Challah

I know, I know, Rosh Hashanah has passed, but I still put it in this title.  In our family, we make round-shaped challot all the way through Shabbat Shuvah, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah.  Personally, I think that the braided round (tutorial from last year) is really the loveliest of round challah shapes, and the Croatian star is one my most commonly hit pages here.  However, for certain recipes, the simple spiral challah is the perfect shape.

The round spiral is known by a few names, apparently.  I was surprised to read it referred to as a "turban challah," which to me brings up all sorts of funny visions of Maimonides (Rambam, Moshe ben Maimon, however you want to to call him).

{Source: medievalists.net}

Another name for the spiral is a Faigele which is Yiddish for "little bird." This website gives a good description for this name...

According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the New Year's spiral is a shape with a Ukrainian origin, originally a bird shape with the center of the spiral culminating in a bird's head: "The bird's head symbolizes the phrase in Isaiah 31:5 'As birds hovering, so will the Lord of Hosts protect Jerusalem'" — which helps to explain why this spiral shape would be called a faigele, "little bird" in Yiddish.

Regardless of what you call it, it's lovely.  The following technique is a great way to make a really nice, smooth round challah shape.  It works equally for plain challah and for stuffed challah, so I've given you a set of pictures from both methods.

Start out with your dough on a flour surface.  With a rolling pin, roll the dough out smoothly and flat into a long, oblong rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Next, coil up the challah, trying to keep as many of the bubbles out as possible. The resulting strand should be about the size you would normally use to braid challah.

For a stuffed apple challah (or any filling), the process is the same, however you add your apples! I keep my apple pieces very small, flour them, and keep a consistent amount throughout the coil, which helps prevent air pockets. Also, keep them away about an inch or two from the ends to get a good seal.

Once you have your long strand, use your palms to length it if desired. When coiling, start by making the small central point and then switch to bring the long tail around the center (I learned this from an elderly woman at my synagogue... I'm not sure quite why, but it seems to make a more successful shape.)

If you like your round challah to be tall, keep the strands nice and tight together with each other. The result will be that, as the challah bakes, the center will be pushed up for a nice tall loaf.

Conversely, if you want your challah to be flatter, try to keep a bit of air in between the coils. The key is just a tiny bit otherwise your challah won't fuse enough. I always try to do this method, because I like my round challot flatter. Below is my crowning achievement in round challot... no other loaf has been quite as pretty as this one.  And perhaps that is the key... accepting that your challot are beautiful no matter what, even if they're a little extra tall like the one above.

Wishing you a Shabbat of rest and of peace and a very meaningful fast this Yom Kippur. From our bayit to yours.

Shanah Tovah from The Challah Blog!

From our bayit to yours, may this new year be filled with peace, blessings, and only good things.

The Power of Food

I don't do this very often, but allow me a moment this Shabbat to talk about something a little more personal.  Recently, my husband and I suffered a loss of a beloved family member, my husband's father.  Truly, words cannot express what a loving, kind, devoted father, husband, and mentsch that he was.  The world has truly lost one of it's great souls.

Through it all, I am overcome by the outpouring of support and love that we have felt from our extended family, our friends, and the broader community.  Truly, the food in the shiva house overflows the freezers.  And back home, we have received so many offers for dinners and food, especially with the holidays approaching and this busy time.

While my husband remains with his mother and brothers, I spent some time today with my own mother, grateful for her love, support, and strength through this difficult time.  Together, we baked challah for Rosh HaShanah.

Thank you to all of you who have reached out to my family during this difficult time.  We'll be back to more regularly scheduled blogging after Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah 5773 | Article Link: This New Year, give new life to your challah

I am thrilled and excited to have had the opportunity to share my challah journey with my local community in our city's Jewish newspaper, The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.  Click here to read the article.

Please note: I did not receive anything for writing the article or for you making that click over.

Rosh Hashanah 5773 | Pomegranate Challah & A Giveaway!!! {closed}

As I wrote about in my post on pomegranate-shaped challah, it's no secret that I love pomegranates. I have a pomegranate-shaped necklace, and our ketubah has a pomegranate on the scroll. There is a powerful symbolism around pomegranates and fertility, abundance, and the new year. Many people eat them on the second night of the holiday as their traditional "new fruit." Additionally, pomegranates supposedly contain 613 seeds, the same number as the mitzvot in the Torah.

This challah turned out to be quite a challenge, but I learned a few things in the process of making it. Besides a recipe, I'm excited to share with you the amazing way of removing the seeds from a pomegranate without staining your fingers and your clothes (no kidding, I actually wore a white shirt while seeding my pomegranate... totally clean!). Pomegranate seeds--arils--are watery, sweet, and crunchy. For some reason, I sort of expected them to change consistency in baking... which they really didn't. I had an idea that they'd become like cranberry texture. They don't. But don't let that deter you. This bread is delicious and the additions of extra aromatic spices and pomegranate juice are a fun twist.

1/2 c water
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry or instant yeast
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp sugar or more for a sweeter challah
2 egg plus 1 more for egg wash
1/4 c neutral oil such as canola or vegetable
3 1/2 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
scant 1 tsp cinnamon
pinch ground cloves (just a pinch)
3-5 tbsp pomegranate juice (I used Trader Joe's organic)
Arils (seeds) of 1 pomegranate

Yield: 2 nice-sized round challot. You can either coil or make a braided round.

Please note, adding juice to challah may change the brakha said of this bread depending on the customs of your community. Check with your rabbinic authority for clarification on the laws of challah.

Place very warm but not boiling water in mixing bowl. Add yeast and honey, mixing lightly. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, or until the yeast is foamy.  Add eggs and vegetable oil and mix with wood spoon.  Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, and pinch ground cloves.  At this point, your dough should be on the shaggy side because it's lacking in liquid.  Don't worry too much about this.

If you have a stand mixer, beat dough hook or knead by hand. Add the pomegranate juice slowly (I poured it into a glass) until a ball forms and holds together, cleaning the sides of the mixing bowl.  This dough has a lovely dark color due to the addition of the juice.  If the dough is very sticky, add more flour.

Turn the ball out onto a floured work surface and knead a few times until very smooth.  Place in oiled bowl and cover in plastic wrap or a towel.  Now you can prepare your pomegranate!  Place a piece of paper towel over your cutting board and cut open the pomegranate (the paper towel keeps those staining juices from trickling down onto you and your clothes).  Take half of the fruit and place it a bowl of water, using your hands to break out the seeds underwater.  The heavy seeds will sink to the bottom, while the membrane and skins will float.  Amazing right?  No mess!

When you're done, you can skim off the membrane and skin and then pour the contents of the bowl through a strainer.  Ta-da!

Allow to rise at least one hour, preferably more (usually about an hour and a half), until doubled in size.   With some extra flour ready, knead the pomegranate seeds into the dough by hand and shape as desired.  I ended up adding about 1/4 c of additional flour.

Allow to shaped loaves to rise an additional 20-30 minutes. Top with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar if desired.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Since round challot tend to be doughy in the middle, check at 20 and 25 minutes, foiling the top as necessary to prevent over browning.  The challot are ready when internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

As I said, these challot are different. The seeds are a little juicy and a little gummy. They pop in your mouth and have a lovely tang. The spices of the bread are aromatic which I think is one of my favorite parts along with the pomegranate juice. This particular pomegranate also didn't seem quite as ripe (the seeds weren't all bright red like you sometimes get). However, I'm calling this a success. The Hazz and I enjoyed one loaf, and we're freezing the other to serve in a few weeks. I can't believe it's already the middle of Elul!

This High Holiday season, Nirbeh zchuyoteinu k'rimon, may our merits increase like the seeds of a pomegranate.

Rosh Hashanah Blogger Party & Giveaway

This week, I am thrilled to be participating in the Rosh HaShanah Blogger Party where you'll find some AH-MAZING links to other great recipes this year for your High Holiday table.  I'm so happy to be included, and I can't wait to try some of these recipes out!

Welcome to the first ever Jewish Holiday Blog Party, hosted by Jessie of Taste and Miriam of Overtime Cook, and sponsored by Kitchen Aid! As you may know, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year is coming up, and Jewish bloggers from all over the world are celebrating with all kinds of twists on traditional Rosh Hashanah foods. 

To kick off the celebration, Levana Kirschenbaum is giving away a copy of her fabulous new book, The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen to three lucky winners. To enter, leave a comment on this post sharing with me your favorite part about Rosh Hashanah (it can be food, services, family, whatever you like!). Limit one entry per reader per blog so click over to the other participating blogs below for your chance at additional entries! Giveaway ends 5 am eastern time on September 11th, 2012. 

Prize is sponsored by Levana and available to readers from all blogs participating in the Rosh Hashanah Blog Party. Prize can only be shipped within the US. 

This is the first of hopefully many exciting Holiday Blog Parties, so if you would like to join in the fun, please email holidayblogparties@gmail.com.

Stop by and check out some of these amazing Rosh Hashanah themed recipes on the following blogs: 

Challah and Bread:

Marlene of The Jewish Hostess made Apple Challah

Amanda of The Challah Blog made Pomegranate Challah

Shelly of The Kosher Home made Apple, Honey and Pomegranate Challah!

Sides, Salads and Starters: 

Sarah of Food, Words, Photos made Tzimmes (Rosh Hashanah Carrots)

Tali of More Quiche, Please made Roasted Beets and Butternut Squash

Roberta and Lois of Kosher Eye made Simanim Salad

Chanie of Busy In Brooklyn made Pomegranate Coleslaw

Rivki of Life in the Married Lane made Super Salad

Hannah of Cooking Manager made Beets Marinated with Ginger and Garlic

Sina of The Kosher Spoon made Pomegranate, Almond and Raisin Couscous 

Shulie of Food Wanderings made Rosh Hashanah Salad

Hindy of Confident Cook-Hesitant Baker made Warm Roasted Beets with Farro

Sarah of Kosher Street made Sweet Potato Apple Tzimmes

Main Dishes:

Jessie of Taste made Smoked Salmon

Samantha of The Little Ferraro Kitchen made Chicken with Dates

Michele of Kosher Treif Cooking made Coconut Chicken Strips with two dipping sauces

Melinda of Kitchen Tested made Key Lime Glazed Duck

Stephanie and Jessica of The Kosher Foodies made Chicken Braised in Pomegranate 

Liz of The Lemon Bowl made Beef Brisket

Estee of Anyone Interested? made Easy Breazy 5 Minute Brisket

Desserts and Drinks:

Miriam of Overtime Cook made Mini Apples and Honey Tarts

Laura of Pragmatic Attic made Fresh Ginger Honey Cake

Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen made Honey Caramel Apple Galette

Danielle of Hugs and Cookies xoxo made The World's Best Rugelach

Amy of What Jew Wanna Eat made an Apple and Honey Cocktail

Nick of The Baking Process made Apple and Date Honey Squares

Lisa of The Monday Morning Cooking Club made Honey Chiffon Cake and Traditional Honey Cake

Leah of Cook Kosher made Pomegranate Ice Cream

Nossi of The Kosher Gastronome made Non-dairy Key Lime Cheesecake Bar with Key Lime Caramel

Single-Stranded Braid Challah Shape

When making stuffed or coiled challah, one thing has always bothered me... the ends.  The ends of the bread never seem to have any of the goodies.  No Nutella, no cinnamon sugar... which is really why you spent all that time making the stuffed challah in the first place.

Enter The Single-Stranded Braid, which will fix all your problems with the ends of your challah lacking in the fillings.  Plus, this shape works awesome to achieve small-size rolls that mimic the overall braided look of a three-strand challah.  Cute, simple, and successful.

I started with a long, flat piece of dough that I rolled out and filled with a melted margarine base topped with cinnamon sugar. I then coiled the roll-up, length-wise, being careful to avoid too many air pockets.

As you can see in the following pictures, I didn't seal this challah as well as I could have. As a result, the filling did leak out. Ultimately, I don't mind too much because cinnamon sugar just crystallizes into deliciousness when it leaks out. You can always pinch the seam tighter if you like.

Start with the right end tucked under about the middle of the long strand.

Bring the long tail beneath and through the circle you've created.

Now grasp the circle and twist it once toward you.

Bring the long tail underneath and through.

It's that simple!  Bake as normal.  I can tell you this week how much we liked this cinnamon sugar challah, because between just The Hazz and me, this challah is GOOOOOONE.  Success!

Shavua tov from our bayit to yours!!!

PS: I'm thrilled to be participating in a Rosh Hashanah Blogger Party coming later this week! Stay tuned.

View of Shabbat | More to Come...

I'm running late before Shabbat services tonight, but here's this week's challot! We're working on some exciting Rosh Hashanah recipes, so stay-tuned. This week, we went basic and ooey-gooey cinnamon sugar. Yum! (A tutorial on the cinnamon challah's braid, pictured below, will also come this weekend!)

Shababt Shalom from our bayit to yours!