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!

One with Chocolate Chips and One Without

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.

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.

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.

9. Allow to cool on your Baker’s Secret Cooling Rack. Once cooled, wrap in tin foil to store.