Mounds Bar Challah | Chocolate + Coconut

Ever since skeptically trying out Piña Colada Challah, I've had a lot of fun experimenting with coconut flavors in my challot. It's funny... maybe it's a grown up thing, but as an adult I'm way more excited about coconut than as a kid. (Don't get me wrong; I'm hard-core against those AWFUL little canned Kosher-for-Passover macaroons. YUCK!) I don't cringe in anguish if I get the coconut creme in a box of chocolates. I love cooking with coconut milk in savory dishes. So, we figured... why not coconut in a sweet challah with chocolate.... which turned into a Mounds Bar Challah.

So what do you think... should we try Almond Joy next? Perhaps with a bit of almond flour in the mix?

This is a great challah to try, because you can use your own challah recipe or try out something new as far as the dough goes. Here's what you'll need...

A challah recipe of your choice -- for these proportions, I used one half of our half batch recipe... about 1 1/2 cups of flour. You'll want to adjust proportions accordingly.

For the 1 1/2 c flour dough, you'll need...
1/4 c plus about 2 Tbs sweetened flaked coconut (from the baking aisle)
1/4 to 1/2 c chocolate chips... I used the LAST of my Parve Trader Joe's chocolate chips, so sad they're OU-D now.

After your dough is risen and ready to be braided, plop the chocolate chips and 1/4 c coconut on your dough and knead by hand. Have extra flour on hand in case its sticky (it will be).

Using a sharp knife, divide your dough into the number of strands you'd like to use. Braid as normal.

After the egg wash, top your challah with shredded coconut. When baking, you'll probably want to foil the top of the loaf near the end (last five minutes) to prevent over-browning.

We're calling this challah a sweet success!

Shabbat Shalom from our bayit to yours!

Happy Purim from The Challah Blog!

On the Shabbat before Purim, we always get into the spirit a little early and make fun challot.  Here are some of our ideas from past years.

Hamantaschen Challot are an easy and fun way to surprise your guests. Baked upside down, they look like slightly triangular-shaped rolls. But flipped over -- a great surprise!

Okay, so we sometimes make Sprinkle Challah even when it's not Purim, because it's a lot of fun, and kids love it.

By now, you've probably realized how much I love mix-in challot. M&M Challah is just fun, colorful, and easy!

Shabbat Shalom and Purim Same'ah from our bayit to yours!  What's YOUR Purim costume this year?  We're having a Star Wars theme at our synagogue.

Whole Wheat and Oat Challah

I'm constantly searching for the perfect whole wheat challah.  I've tried upping the egg yolk quantity, mixing in warm milk, and tried and true recipes of the greats.  I've experimented with spelt, kamut, and adding in flax seeds and millet.  I keep trying, and I'm never full satisfied with the result.  Here's another experiment, and this one... we were REALLY happy with.

3/4 c water
2 1/4 tsp active dry or instant yeast (1 packet)
2 tbsp honey
2 eggs plus 1 more for egg wash
1/4 c neutral oil like vegetable or canola
1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c bread flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c old fashioned oats

Approach this challah as you would normally bake an egg bread.  Proof the yeast in warm but not hot water with the honey.  After 10 minutes have passed (or the yeast is foamy and smells strongly), add 2 eggs and the oil.

Add the flours, cinnamon, salt, and oats.  Mix in a stand-mixer or by hand until a ball forms.

Let rest for about an hour and a half until dough has doubled in size.  Braid as normal.  Let rest an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.  Use final egg to egg wash the challah and top with honey and a few oats.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning halfway until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

This challah has inspired me to try more oat recipes or perhaps even oat flour.  The result here is quite soft, aromatic, and hearty.  Have YOU worked with oats in bread before?

Shabbat Shalom from our bayit to yours!

Fig, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt Challah from Smitten Kitchen

This is just a review.  I didn't make this challah.  In fact, for the first time in my adult life, I followed the recipe faithfully.  Usually when a recipe says "use one clove of garlic," I'll use three.  Or "use 1/4 tsp of cinnamon," I'll use 3/4.  But I have wanted to try this recipe for a while, and it seemed like the perfect option for last week's Shabbat which coincided with Tu Bishvat. 

Why figs for Tu Bishvat?  From about.com...

1) Unusual among fruit trees, the fig can produce fruit over a long season, from Shavuot to Sukkot (late May to early October).

a) You cannot pick all the figs at once, but only gradually, over a long season. Similarly, you cannot learn the whole Torah at once, but only gradually, little by little, over an entire lifetime. (Midrash Numbers Rabba 12,9; 21,15)

b) Whenever you go to the fig tree, you are likely to find ripe fruit to eat. Similarly, whenever you go to the Torah, you will find nourishment for the spirit. (Babylonian Talmud, Eruvin 54a, b)

2) Most fruits have inedible parts: dates have pits, grapes have seeds, pomegranates have skins. But every part of the fig can be eaten. Similarly, no part of the Torah is without value; all parts of it provide sustenance. (Midrash Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua 2)

So, why NOT figs for Tu Bishvat?

Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs.  So when I saw the Fig, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt Challah this past fall, I immediately knew that I had to try it.  The recipe is pretty straightforward.  The dough has a much higher quantity of honey that what I normally put in my own challah, however the sweetness balances the aromatic olive oil and the sea salt.

To be honest, I nearly messed up the fig puree by adding too much orange juice. I ended up pouring out all the liquids and starting over. Oh well. I ended up slightly short on fig puree for my second challah (which I made a standard long braid in stead of a round... but even though it was Rosh Hashanah, we did enjoy the round for Shabbat).

The verdict: We liked it, but we didn't love it. It didn't get finished before it became stale. That said, I would definitely make this for a crowd. The dough is very lightly salty, but aromatic from the olive oil. The orange juice really came through in my fig puree. And the challah simply baked up in such a lovely way.

Repost: Tree-Shaped Challah for Tu Bishvat

On Wednesday for Tu Bishvat I shared with you a great challah from my friend Rabbi Phyllis over at Ima on (and off) the Bima.  I liked her idea that we could extend Tu Bishvat into Shabbat, at least for challah shapes.  So, I decided to make my own tree-shaped challah.

I basically managed to take my worst, most blurry shots of challah ever. Oh well. You get the point. I started with three really long strands. Then I braided them without really closing off the end. At the top, I coiled them a la Croatian Star Challah or Parting of the Sea Challah.

I decided that there weren't enough co
ils, so I added a few more. (My strands were actually a bit too long, so I tore them and used the ends as the additional coils). I'm thrilled with the result.

I think it will be really fun to tear apart the strands.

Shabbat Shalom from our bayit to yours!

Piña Colada Challah

First of all, I want to thank all of you that have kept The Challah Blog in your readers over it's somewhat lengthy hiatus these past few months.  As I've alluded to a few times, we have had some very emotional times with the extended illness and hospice-care of a beloved family member.  That, coupled with returning to school to begin my PhD studies, has created a bit of a void in creativity for baking and a need for basic, safe, and utterly delicious "plain" challah (challah is never really plain, is it?).

However, we're slowly getting back to creative recipes and lots of fun times.  I hope you'll all have us back again.  We're glad to be here.

This week's recipe has been in our queue for quite some time. A friend of ours who teaches, mom of four, and teacher in the religious school at our synagogue suggested it to us many, many months ago. And, Yael, you were right! It was great!

I admit, I was definitely a little skeptical at first, because I was worried that this challah would be a bit too sweet. Another friend pointed out that sweetened pineapple wasn't terrible different from adding raisins (shudder!) to dough... just an added sweetness, this time with a bit of tang.

But, it was the coconut that surprised me. The coconut was actually quite mild in the dough itself, almost completely melting away. And on top of the bread, it was DELICIOUS. It crisped up, tasted nothing like those awful Passover macaroons, and was really a treat. I'm excited now, because I feel like the discovery of coconut in challah opens up a few new doors for us... Almond Joy or Mounds Bar Challah, anyone? I think they're coming soon! Here's what you'll need for Piña Colada Challah...

A challah recipe of your choice -- for these proportions, I used one half of our half batch recipe... about 1 1/2 cups of flour. You'll want to adjust proportions accordingly.

For the 1 1/2 c flour dough, you'll need...
1/4 c plus about 2 Tbs sweetened flaked coconut (from the baking aisle)
1/4 c (about a handful) dried, sweetened pineapple, cut into about raisin-sized pieces

I think this recipe might also benefit from a splash of rum to make it truly Piña Colada-flavored. However, I've never introduced alcohol into bread, so I'm not sure where else you'd need to adjust proportions.

Chop your pineapple into small pieces with a large, sharp knife.
After your dough is risen and ready to be braided, plop the pineapple and 1/4 c coconut on your dough and knead by hand. Have extra flour on hand in case its sticky (it will be).

Using a sharp knife, divide your dough into the number of strands you'd like to use. Braid as normal.

 

After the egg wash, top your challah with shredded coconut. When baking, you'll probably want to foil the top of the loaf near the end (last five minutes) to prevent over-browning.

Enjoy with your tropical self, and be proud of a very unique challah. In this coooold winter weather up her in Wisconsin, this challah reminds me of summer!

Shabbat Shalom from our bayit to yours!

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?