Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups warm water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 3 eggs, 2 beaten together in one bowl and the other one in a separate bowl
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 cups white bread flour
2 cups of organic dried apple rings, chopped (about 4 ounces)
  • 3 tsp instant yeast
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

IF YOU ARE USING A BREAD MACHINE:

  1. Combine water, oil, honey, 2 beaten egg, and salt (in that order) in the bread machine
  2. Mix flour and apples. Add it to the bread machine and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast and cover it with some of the flour
  3. Set the machine to dough setting and turn it on.
     
  4. The bread machine will beep when the cycle is over. The dough should have doubled in size.
  5. Working on a floured surface, divide the dough in half.
  6. Make 6 dough balls from each half and arrange them two 8 inch round cake pans (place 5 on the edges and 1 in the center.
  7. If you would like to make round braided challah follow the steps described in the post on this page.
  8. Preheat oven to 425F.
  9. Cover challahs with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise again until the challah has doubled in size about 30 minutes to an hour depending on how
    hot your kitchen is.
  10. Using a pastry brush, gently "paint" the Challah with the remaining beaten egg.
  11. Add sesame seeds if using. Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle over Challah.
  12. Bake for 10 minutes at 425F, lower the temperature to 350F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until golden brown (a toothpick inserted should come out clean.)

IF YOU ARE MAKING BY HAND:

  1. Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and let it sit until it foams (If it doesn't foam, discard it. The yeast is not active and you need to get new yeast.)
  2. In a large bowl combine flour, salt and chopped apples. In another bowl combine oil, dissolved yeast and water, honey and 2 beaten eggs.
  3. Pour wet ingredients over the flour and knead to create a smooth and soft dough for about 10 minutes. You can also use your food processor fitted with an "S" blade or your stand up mixer, fitted with a dough hook to mix the dough. See step 3 if the dough is very wet and sticky.
  4. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise for about an hour or until doubles or triples in size.
  5. "Punch" the dough and divide it in half.
  6. Follow steps 7-13 above.

NOTES

  1. Recipe makes 2 challahs.
  2. Prep time is 20 minutes plus 2 hours rising time.
  3. The dough should feel soft. If it is too wet and sticky, work flour into the dough while kneading it on a floured surface. 

HOW TO BRAID A ROUND CHALLAH

  1. Divide your dough in half and each half into 4 equal pieces
  2. Roll each of the pieces into  12" strands
  3. You will use 4 strands per challah
  4. Place 2 strands parallel to each other
  5. Place the other two logs perpendicular to the first one, interlaced.
  6. Place each lower strand over the one next to it counterclockwise.
  7. Repeat the process clockwise.
  8. Tuck loose strands under the dough. If you made your strands long you may have to repeat steps 5 and 6 until the strands that are left are short and can be tucked under the challah.
  9. Divide the dough in half and each half into 6 equal balls and place them in an 8" round cake pan.
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    PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE 

    Before your graduate spins on stage in Nursery as a dreidel during the annual Hanukkah Music Festival, before they proudly read from the Torah for families and friends, before they embark on a life-changing Tiyul experience in Israel and before they pose for the traditional graduating class photo on the Synagogue steps—your child will acquire the education and skill set that will help them grow into future leaders of the Jewish community.
    Read the full Portrait of a Graduate at Bernard Zell about POG: portrait main