Breaking Breads

Challah

Challah

Challah Rolls

Black Tie Challah

Épi Black Tie Challah

Crazy and Festive Challah

Whole Wheat and Flax Challah

Chocolate and Orange Confit Challah

Marzipan Challah

Sticky Pull-Apart Cinnamon Challah Braid

Sticky Cinnamon Challah Snails

Challah Falafel Rolls

When I was a boy, every Friday for Shabbat my mother, who taught kindergarten from our home in Israel, baked challah with the schoolchildren. The rich and sweet smell of Friday challah is to Israelis what the smell of pumpkin pie is to Americans at Thanksgiving—except that our celebration of family and friendship comes together at the table each Friday before sunset, instead of just once a year.

This simple ritual of baking the challah and the pleasure that the children experienced upon holding the warm loaf fresh from the oven . . . well, it's a love story to me. I fell in love with the warm yeasty fragrance that filled our home. I fell in love with the feeling of excitement that each Friday brought, knowing that when I opened the door after coming home from school, this intoxicating, homey, beautiful smell would greet me. That fragrance was the marker of something delicious, as well as the human connection that is sparked when you share something made with love.

Challah is, at its essence, a bread meant for occasions: religious ones, holidays, weddings, and celebrations. In religious Jewish communities, it is the bread served on the dinner table for Shabbat. The head of the table says a blessing over the bread before ripping it by hand and passing each person his or her own piece. Made with what were once considered expensive ingredients like eggs and sugar, challah is a lightly sweet and very tender bread that pulls apart into long cottony strands. The way challah is shaped makes it special too. It is no ordinary loaf or boule: the dough is braided. The three-strand braided challah is an entry-level challah; shaping it is no more difficult than braiding a young girl's hair. Once you master that, try playing with the dough and see where you end up! I like to break with tradition and use challah dough as a way to express my creativity, which you'll see in the wide variety of shapes that can be made from this forgiving and easy-to-work-with dough. Even the ingredients you can add to it are limitless—from chocolate and candied orange peel to nuts, seeds, herbs, and marzipan; challah can be a canvas for expressing your creativity.

By nature I am a curious baker; I travel and take note of all the different ways of shaping and flavoring bread. Though challah is classically considered an Eastern European Jewish (Ashkenazi) bread, I have seen versions of challah baked on the island of Djerba in Tunisia and in Poland, Colombia, and different Jewish communities in Israel and Morocco. I have fashioned loaves inspired by ancient Roman art and texts depicting Jewish people baking a small tin to hold salt or honey into the center of the challah for dipping (see photos, pages 38–41). This inspired my festive challahs: I add hummus, chopped liver, or honey to the bowl, turning the challah into an edible serving vessel as well as a table centerpiece.

Challah can be a playground for your imagination as a baker. But follow the recipe first! Get to know the method. Like a musician who studies classical piano before exploring interpretive jazz, you will find that the fundamentals and techniques are important. Most people think of baking as a science that is all about precision—which it is, in part—but really, once you get to know a dough, you can break free from the structure to create new shapes and flavors that inspire you.

Makes 3 loaves, or 2 loaves and 10 rolls (1.75 kilos / 3½ pounds of dough)

Why make one challah when you can make three? Many of the recipes in this book produce more than one loaf of bread or babka because the result you get when mixing a large batch of dough is actually much better than what you get when making a small batch. With a good amount of dough in the bowl, it is easier for the mixer to do its job and properly knead it. Challah freezes beautifully—you can freeze a loaf whole, or slice it and then freeze it for toast or French toast. Or have one loaf for dinner or breakfast, and give the other loaf to a friend or someone close to your heart. The offer of fresh-baked bread is a beautiful gesture that is better than any bottle of wine or store-bought hostess gift.

1 Make the dough: Pour the cool water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the bread hook. Crumble the yeast into the water and use your fingers to rub and dissolve it; if using active dry yeast, whisk the yeast into the water. Add the flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and oil.

3 Increase the speed to medium and knead until a smooth dough forms, about 4 minutes. You want the dough to be a bit firm.

7 Shape the dough: Set a piece of dough lengthwise on your work surface. Use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough into a flat rectangle; then fold the top portion over and use your palm to press the edge into the flat part of the dough. Fold and press 3 more times—the dough will end up as a cylinder about 7 inches long. Set this piece aside and repeat with the other 8 pieces.

10 Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 425°F.

11 Test the dough: Once the challah loaves have roughly doubled in size, do the press test: Press your finger lightly into the dough, remove it, and see if the depression fills in by half. If the depression fills back in quickly and completely, the dough needs more time to rise; if you press the dough and it slightly deflates, the dough has overproofed and will be heavier and less airy after baking.

12 Bake the loaves: Make the egg wash by mixing the egg, water, and salt together in a small bowl. Gently brush the entire surface of the loaves with egg wash, taking care not to let it pool in the creases of the braids. You want a nice thin coating. Generously sprinkle the loaves with the seeds.

Note: At the bakery, we dip the egg-washed dough facedown into a large tray of seeds and then roll it from side to side to heavily coat the bread. If you just sprinkle a few pinches over the top, it won't look very generous or appealing after the bread has expanded and baked, so be generous with the seeds whether sprinkling or rolling.

13 Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the bottom sheet pan to the top and the top sheet pan to the bottom (turning each sheet around as you go), and bake until the loaves are golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Remove the loaves from the oven and set them aside to cool completely on the sheet pans.

Makes 10 rolls (from 500 grams / 1 pound 1 ounce of dough)

As a child I found it impossible to smell the baking challah and then have to wait to eat it. So my mother took pity on me and would turn some of the dough into rolls—meaning I could rip into a roll right away without damaging her loaf of challah, which was destined for the dinner table. I keep the same tradition when I bake challah. Here, I take one-third of the challah dough to turn into small rolls. You can shape them into traditional knots or form them into mini braids, leaving them long or pressing the ends of the braid together to create a circle.

1 As described in step 6 of the Challah recipe, the challah dough is divided into 3 large pieces. Use 2 of those pieces to make challah loaves. On a lightly floured surface, press the remaining piece into a rectangle with a long side facing you. Using a bench knife or a chef's knife, divide the dough vertically into 10 equal strips. Follow the instructions in step 7 of the Challah recipe, to flatten, fold, and press each piece into a cylinder shape (albeit a much smaller cylinder). Then roll each one into a long rope and tie it into a knot shape, knuckling the end through the center to create a little "button." Set the rolls on a parchment paper–lined sheet pan, cover them with a kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until they have doubled in volume, 30 to 40 minutes (depending on how warm the room is).

2 Preheat the oven to 425°F.

3 Brush the rolls with the egg wash (see Note), sprinkle with seeds (if using), and bake until they are golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the baked challah rolls to a wire rack where they can cool (if you can stand to wait that long!).

Makes 1 loaf (580 grams / 1 pound 4 ounces of dough)

This challah has a thin raised braid running lengthwise on top of the braided dough. My mother makes challah this way when she wants the bread to look extra special. Here I make it even more striking by coating the thin braid in nigella seeds (black sesame seeds work too); then I coat the sides of the challah loaf in white sesame seeds so the starkness of the black nigella braid stands out.

1 After dividing the challah dough into three 550-gram (1 pound 1 ounce) pieces as described in step 6 of the Challah recipe, take about 50 grams (1¾ ounces) from one piece of dough and set it aside. Divide the resulting 500-gram (17-ounce) piece of dough into 3 smaller pieces, and flatten, fold, and roll each piece into a rope with tapered edges, as described in steps 7 and 8 of the Challah recipe. Repeat this process with the 50-gram (1¾-ounce) piece of dough, dividing it into thirds, flattening, folding, and pressing each piece into a cylinder, and then rolling them into thin ropes about 12 inches in length. Set all the pieces aside, covered, to rest for a few minutes. Then stretch each of these thin ropes until it is about 20 inches long, lightly flour each piece, and braid them. Follow the instructions to braid the 3 larger ropes of dough into a challah loaf.

2 Make the egg wash (see Note) and set it aside. On a piece of parchment paper, spread about 1 cup of nigella seeds in a long, thin strip. Brush the skinny braid with egg wash, then dip the braid, sticky-side down, in the nigella seeds to evenly coat it. Brush the larger braid with egg wash, and then set the long nigella-coated braid right down the middle of the larger loaf. You can pinch the ends together and then tuck them under, but I like to just gently press them onto the end of the loaf and leave them somewhat loose (the "loose ends" fan out as they bake, giving people something to talk about!). Generously coat the sides of the large challah with white sesame seeds. Follow the rising instructions in step 9 of the Challah recipe, and then bake.

Épi is the word the French use to describe the flower of a wheat stalk. In a pain d'Épi the shaped baguette dough is snipped or slashed at intervals and the resulting sections are turned left and right to create the classic "tear apart" loaf (I use the same technique in the cinnamon challah and for the pistachio and marzipan rugelach). Essentially, each Épi can be pulled off, producing a perfect dinner-roll piece—no slicing required. I turn a challah braid into an Épi in the same way—however, when placed on top of the challah, it is purely decorative. (See The Baker's Toolkit for information on the bowls I use.)

Making bread doesn't have to be serious or scary. Follow the recipe, weigh out the ingredients, learn the dough, then be like a jazz musician and take the bread on your journey, wherever that road leads. I am inspired by shapes and like to play with dough. Sometimes I leave the ends of the challah loose like fingers on a hand (like the hamsa, a famous good-luck symbol); sometimes I overlay other twists of challah on top of the dough to create an almost Medusa-like shape that is at once otherworldly and completely organic. Play with the dough. Leave the ends open, or twist instead of braid. Try different seeds—pumpkin seeds, nigella seeds, black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. Bake a bowl into the bread (an oven-safe bowl, of course), or bake three bowls into it!

While you're shaping the bread, remember not to weave the strands or shapes too tightly—make sure you leave enough room for the dough to expand during the proofing stage. Also remember to flour all the individual pieces before braiding so the strands remain separate during baking. A fine dusting is all it takes. This really helps the final shape stand out.

Note: When egg-washing the challah, do so with a light hand— no one wants a pocket of scrambled egg in their challah braid! I like to apply the egg wash from one direction and then turn the sheet pan around to brush in the other direction as well, so I am sure to evenly coat all of the surfaces. A spray bottle works fantastically too—it applies an even spritz without the risk of tearing or marring the dough (which has proofed, meaning there is air captured inside the loaf, so you do need to use a delicate touch).

Makes 3 loaves (1.5 kilos / 31/3 pounds of dough)

For this challah, some whole wheat flour is incorporated with the white flour, along with red quinoa, flaxseeds, and molasses-y brown sugar instead of white. Because the seeds and flour are moisture-hungry, there is 5 to 10% more water in this recipe than in others. Keep a little extra water next to the mixer bowl in case your dough needs it (it will depend on the kind of whole wheat flour you are using). Flour is alive, so every time you bake you need to be one with the dough: touch it, squeeze it, see if it is happy, and then adjust it to where it needs to be.

The coil shape of this challah is common during Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing the completeness and continuity of the year that has passed and the one that lies ahead. As with all the challahs in this chapter, you can shape the dough any way you'd like.

1 Soak the flax and quinoa: Place the flaxseeds and the quinoa in a large heat-safe bowl or container and cover with the hot water. Stir, cover the bowl, and set aside for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight, to soften.

2 Make the dough: Fill a small bowl with ice and water and stir for a few seconds to allow the water to get icy cold. Measure out ¾ cup of the ice-cold water and pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the bread hook. Crumble the yeast into the water and use your fingers to rub and dissolve it; if using active dry yeast, whisk the yeast into the water. Add the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, flaxseed mixture, eggs, brown sugar, salt, and oil.