And yes, it’s Sunday. But didn’t you want to bake this today? That’s what I’ve been doing all weekend, and it’s great therapy!

Challah is a slightly sweet egg bread originally eaten by Jews at their Sabbath and Holiday dinner tables, but for many years enjoyed by everyone. Challah is undeniably the best bread you can use for french toast and bread pudding, too. This recipe is quite simply the easiest and most authentic recipe for Challah that I’ve ever baked. I can’t claim it as my own – I’ve adapted it from Secrets of a Jewish Baker by George Greenstein. MJ found the old paperback edition on the dollar rack at a used bookstore, obviously unappreciated by the previous owner. I believe it’s been reprinted and should be widely available, and if you bake bread – or want to – I highly recommend that you buy this book. And not just for the Challah.

This recipe is so good, my 89 year old, old-country mother (Lord, don’t tell her I told you how old she is – she’ll kill me! and is quite capable of it, too.) asks me to bake these for her as my gift to her for just about any gift-giving holiday (birthday, Mother’s Day, Chanukah). She even called me two weeks ago to ask me to bake them for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). I know she’s counting on the leftovers for her freezer.

You can certainly make these into the classic braided loaves, but for Rosh Hashanah, it’s traditional for the Challah to be baked in a smooth, round turban, signifying the endless nature of God and the cycle of life. It’s also the easiest way to shape this bread, so if you have difficulty braiding, just make these simple coiled turbans. It’s just as delicious!

Challah

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.)
1 large whole egg, lightly beaten
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup + 1-1/2 tsp. sugar
4 to 5 cups bread flour
2 tsp. salt

flour for dusting worktop
oil or spray for greasing bowl
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water for egg wash
coarse cornmeal for dusting baking pan
poppy or sesame seeds for topping

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350º. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large bowl. Add the egg, egg yolks, oil, sugar, 4 cups flour and salt. Mix well until the the dough comes away from the side of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead well, adding additional flour 1/4 cup at a time, until it is firm and smooth. This is a firm dough, so keep adding flour a little at a time while kneading, until it is smooth and elastic – about 10-15 minutes. You may need a little more than 5 cups.

Transfer the dough to a large, oiled bowl, turn so the entire surface is coated, cover, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place, until it has tripled in volume. I like my laundry room. A good test is to poke your finger into the dough. If the indentation stays, your dough is fully proofed.

Turn the dough back out onto your work surface, punch it down, and divide it in half. Cover with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare a large baking sheet by sprinkling it liberally with the cornmeal.

With your hands, roll each dough half into a long, fat snake, slightly larger at one end and tapering to a smaller end. With the larger end at the center, start coiling the rest of the “snake” around it. When you reach the end, tuck it underneath the coil, pressing it into the bottom of the bread.

Place each coil onto the prepared baking sheet, and brush with the egg wash. Put the baking sheet back in your warm, draft-free spot, and allow the breads to rise again, until doubled (about an hour). Brush the fully risen breads with the egg wash again, and sprinkle on the seeds, if using.

Bake for about 35 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, cover them with a “tent” of parchment paper or torn-open brown paper bag. This will prevent them from browning too quickly. Breads should be a nice dark mahogany brown, and the bottoms should be well-browned. They should sound hollow when the bottoms are thumped and there shouldn’t be any “give” when you press on the top. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

When thoroughly cooled, you can place the breads in a plastic freezer bag to store or freeze for future use.

*Note: I cannot tell a lie – I use my KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. If you do, too: after mixing the ingredients and adding sufficient flour to get the dough to form a ball around the dough hook, run the mixer at low speed, “kneading” the dough for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it during this time, since as a firm dough, your mixer may want to take a walk.

Remember the Honey Cake recipe I posted on Monday? Well, you know I was a little concerned about letting MJ have any on the holiday. He’s doing super-well: he’s lost 55 pounds and we’re kind of slowing down the weight-loss a bit, but still limiting his sugar and carb intake. I wondered what I could do about a Honey Cake. The answer? Raw agave nectar.

Agave nectar (yes, from the cactus) is all the rage now, because it has a much lower glycemic level than sugar, while being 1-1/2 times sweeter. The raw agave nectar is much darker than the light version, and while not as thick as honey, makes a very good substitute. When you also substitute Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or half brown sugar + half Splenda) for the straight-up brown sugar, this traditional holiday cake suddenly becomes a far healthier dessert for people with blood glucose issues, such as Type 2 Diabetes, with no loss in flavor or quality!

MJ said that he really couldn’t tell that it wasn’t “honey” cake, and absolutely loved it. I did, too! Yay!

So as your extra-special bonus, here’s the honey cake recipe again, but this time, with the appropriate substitutions. Now you’ve got something to serve friends and family with health issues, that’s really delicious, and no hint of that artificial sweetener aftertaste.

Wishing you a Healthy & Happy New Year!

Agave “Honey” Cake

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup raw agave nectar (dark)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar Blend Splenda or 1/4 cup dark brown sugar + 1/4 cup Splenda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
1/2 cup hot strong coffee

Handful of sliced almonds (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325º F.

Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan.

Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat together the wet ingredients in a large bowl until blended, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, alternating with coffee, until batter is smooth. *If you screw this up and mix the coffee in with the other wet ingredients, don’t worry about it.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. If using sliced almonds, sprinkle them on top of the batter in 2 columns, on either side of the center. Bake until cake is brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour (test with a wooden skewer).

Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rack; cool completely.

Wrap cake in plastic wrap and store at room temperature or if preparing ahead, seal in freezer storage bag and freeze.

Makes about 8 servings.

If you have any questions about either of these recipes, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to answer them here. Or give me a Tweet. Enjoy!

As you may or may not know, tomorrow night marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. It’s one of those two-day holidays out here, in the Diaspora (anywhere not Israel).

Rosh Hashana marks the beginning of ten days of repentance, giving to charity, and being all-around good people, and culminating in fasting and breast-beating on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), so the Almighty will write your name in his Book of Life for another year.

So, MJ and I will be spending the first evening at my Mom’s and Tuesday evening at my brother’s. Usually, we’re all together for the High Holidays, but this year, Mom’s got some sort of sciatica thing going on where she can’t sit for ten minutes at a time, so she prefers to stay home; and two of my brother’s girls – one in Birmingham AL and the other in Tallahassee, can’t make it in, and his in-laws’ kids are out of town at school, too. Everyone’s growing up. So it’ll be 3 at Mom’s and only 7 at my brother’s. I think it’ll be the first time ever without folding chairs. Weird.

It will also be the first time that I’ve baked challahs and honey cakes for both evenings. That’s us Jews, for ya. Feasting and fasting so you can feast some more. Got to love a religion that is so food-centric!

Every holiday has its traditional foods and Rosh Hashana is no different. Apples and honey. I don’t remember where the apple tradition started, but honey represents sweetness. And of course, Israel is the Land of Milk and Honey. In which case, shouldn’t we be eating dairy? But I digress. Everything on the table should have a touch of sweetness, symbolizing our fervent wish that the coming year is filled with sweetness in all aspects of our lives.

In that spirit, I offer you my favorite Honey Cake recipe. And if someone tells you, “I don’t like Honey Cake”, you tell them to try some of this:

RJ’s HONEY CAKE

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup hot strong coffee
handful of sliced almonds (optional)

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Grease (spray Crisco) and flour a 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan.

Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat applesauce, honey, sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl until blended, about 3 minutes.

Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions. Beat in coffee.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with the sliced almonds, if using. Bake until cake is brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour (test with a wooden skewer).

Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack; cool completely.

Wrap cake in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings.

Shana Tova! A Happy, Healthy, And Sweet New Year To You All!