Challah Recipe
Yields 8 x 1b challahs
(medium challahs)
Ingredients
4 ¾ cups very warm water
1 ½ cups sugar
7 tsp granulated yeast
6 cups + 1 cup all-purpose white flour
2 ½ tbsp sea salt
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
Challa Glaze
1 egg, well beaten
1 tsp water
Challah Toppings
Anything your heart desires
Suggested: everything but the bagel seasoning!
Instructions
In a large bowl, pour the very warm water. Add the sugar and then the yeast. Allow a few minutes for the yeast to bloom (bubble).
Add the first quantity of flour and all of the salt and mix until a smooth batter forms.
Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla and stir again until smooth.
Gradually add the remaining flour, mixing with your hands or stand-mixer until the flour has fully incorporated into the dough. Be sure to only add as much flour as is needed to form a workable dough.
Turn the dough out onto a hard surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough springs back when lightly touched.
Pour 3-4 teaspoons of oil into the bowl. Turn the ball of dough around in the oil until the outer layer of the dough has been thinly coated.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a warm, damp dishcloth and place it in a warm spot to rise. Allow the dough to rise for 1.5-2 hours until it has doubled in bulk.
Preheat the oven to 350* F
Divide the dough and braid or shape as desired. Place shaped challahs on a lined baking sheet.
Brush each challah with the egg glaze after braiding.
Allow challahs to rise for an additional 30-45 minutes
Glaze challahs again and sprinkle with the topping of choice.
Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes. The challah is ready when its underside is brown and it sounds hollow when tapped.
My Story:
Each story that I have told thus far about how food is so important to my culture has revolved around my family’s history and my connection, or lack thereof to it. With challah, my connection to the food, while not vastly different, is not a historically familial one.
My mom has always been in charge of making the challah in our house. While my brother and I would help her braid and cook the dough, she was always the one making the dough on Thursday nights and Friday afternoons. We’ve never had a consistent recipe, with her constantly trying new recipes she finds in various cookbooks or recipes she was given by friends and family.
It never bothered me that our challah recipe wasn't a family original, because that isn’t what challah is about. Challah is incredibly important to the Jewish faith, there are prayers said during the making, baking, and before the eating of challah. It holds much importance during ceremonies and holidays. It is a constant within the Jewish faith and a visible representation of the values that Jews hold so close: to justice, peace, and truth. This is why challah is generally braided with three strands, but more can always be added.
Challah can often be a gift given as a thank you for welcoming someone into your home. My mom would always bring a loaf of challah whenever we went to someone’s house for Shabbat dinner both as a thank you for the invitation and as our family’s contribution to the meal. Challah is also just something that has become a symbol of home and comfort for me. My mom would make challah every single weekend without fail, and we would always have a few loaves in the freezer in case she didn’t have time to make any. When I went off to college not having challah every weekend felt odd. Even though I would go to Shabbat dinner at Hillel and they would have challah for us, it always felt like something was missing. After an incredibly tough first semester freshman year, my mom sent me challahs sporadically throughout the second semester to help cheer me up and keep my spirits high.
Challah has also become a connection that I share with my best friends at school. One of my best friends is the president of Challah For Hunger, a Jewish organization on college campuses all over America that bakes and sells challah in order to raise money for local and national philanthropies. Wanting to support our sister and friend, my sorority sisters and I began attending the monthly bakes at Hillel last year and it became our favorite thing to do together. As Jews and Non-Jews, we would come together for two hours once a month to bake and braid challahs of various flavors together. It was time for us to just hang out, while also supporting our friend, all for a good cause. Challah has now become a connection that I have with my friends. All of my nonJewish friends are obsessed with it and have had so much fun at these events that they have begun wanting to make it at home.
Challah is a symbol of home and love for me. It connects me to my friends and family no matter where I am in the world or in life. I always know that I can bring my friends a loaf of challah in order to cheer them up. And I know that they will always be down to dance around the kitchen making challah for a snack or for Shabbat dinner, because they love it too, even if they hadn’t had a connection with it before coming to school. Challah has always been a constant in my life, and now being able to share my connection with my Syracuse friends and sorority sisters is one of my favorite feelings in the world, and it brings me unspeakable joy.
