Bake Me

Cake Challah

Growing up, my mother baked challah most weeks. If I am lucky, I have time to bake it once a month. Over the last six months, my mother has been baking up a new recipe and my father has been RAVING about it. He says it tastes like cake!  When we were in Los Angeles for Passover, right before the holiday officially started, E and I had the opportunity to try it. We finished a whole challah, just the two of us! It was so decadent. You really could eat it for dessert. What really makes this challah so special is the topping. It adds a nice crunch but also a nice sweetness.

A few weeks ago I decided to give the recipe a try. This dough does not require a bread machine. You can make it in your KitchenAid Mixer!

The challah came out beautifully! I even added semi-sweet chocolate chips to one of them.  They tasted just as good as my mothers!

BAKE ME: Sweet Challah

One with Chocolate Chips and One Without

BAKE ME: Sweet Challah

BAKE ME: Sweet Challah

BAKE ME: Sweet Challah

Challah Ingredients:

Flour, 5 cups

Sugar, 1/2 cup

Yeast, 1 tablespoon

Sea Salt, 1 tablespoon

Warm Water, 1-1/4 cup

Vegetable Oil, 1/2 cup

Eggs, 2

 

Topping Ingredients:

Flour, 3 tablespoons

Sugar, 3 tablespoons

Vegetable Oil, 2 tablespoons

Chocolate Chips (optional)

 

Directions: 

1.  In your KitchenAid Mixer, add 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, sea salt, and warm water. Mix until combined.
** I use my KitchenAid Mixer Dough Hook attachment for this recipe.
2.  Add the vegetable oil and eggs next. Mix until combined.
3.   Slowly add 3-1/2 cups of flour to the mixer. Once the dough has come together, remove from the mixer and place in a large PAM greased bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double, or about an hour.
4.  Once your timer goes off, punch the dough down and shape your challah. You can make pull apart challah in a round pan or braid your challah.
5.  Lay a Silpat down on your baking sheet. No need to spray it with PAM as it is already non-stick! Once shaped, place the challah on the Silpat. Cover with a towel and let them rise for an additional 40 minutes.
6.  In the last 10 minutes of rising time, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
7.  Brush the challah with egg and sprinkle with the topping.
8.  Bake until just starting to turn brown, about 20 minutes, then lower oven to 350 and bake for 10-20 minutes more, depending on the size of the challah.
9. Allow to cool on your Baker’s Secret Cooling Rack. Once cooled, wrap in tin foil to store.

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