Holiday Challah

Challah (also ḥallah), braided egg bread, was originally used as part of Jewish ritual 3000 years ago, so how is this relevant to my Holiday?

It has become the custom that I go home for Thanksgiving every year. Fall in Lexington, VA, is undisputedly one of the coldest that I have ever experienced. Freshly baked from the oven with a dab of butter, the challah is not only scrumptious but a pure comfort in contrast to the autumn chill.  Jewish or not, who can resist the power of craving?

My mother has been baking the bread for the Jewish Sabbath dinners over the past 25 years. Who would have thought that a Thai woman could have mastered something called challah?

A brief history about my mother, who is actually my aunt. She met my father in Thailand many moons ago while working at the Thai Ministry of Education.  After getting married and having my stepbrother, my parents moved to the US.  Living in a small college town, they met a neighbor who introduced my mother to bread baking.  Being a Jewish wife, she taught herself how to bake challah.  

This year for Thanksgiving I asked her to spill her special challah recipe and she obliged.

The eggs my mother used in her challah came from the backyard hens, Marge and Nanny, who feed in my mom's organic garden. Their egg yolks have an intense yellowish orange color and are very tasty.  I suppose happy chickens make happy eggs, which consequentially makes the bread and me happy too.

The no knead bread-challah recipe.  Makes 2-12" long, 5" wide breaded loaf.:

The basic ingredients are

4.5 cups white

4.5 cups whole-wheat flour

1/3 cup sunflower honey

1 tbsp yeast

2 1/2 cup warm water

1/3 cup of canola oil and

2 eggs, 2 yolks,

2 tsp salt. 

Mix all with a flat beater 

After mixing, let it rise at the room temperature.  Once it doubles in size, punch it down.  Repeat the process for a period of 4 hours, then braid.

Let it rise until it doubles in volume. Brush it with a mixture of 1 egg yolk and a tablespoon of water.  Bake @350 for 30 min.

Warm slices of challah and brined turkey, my craving for comfort was satisfied. Happy Holidays to all.

Cheers!

Teera