High Holiday time: My Challah

It's October!  September went by so fast - as it always does.  September starts, and our wave of celebrations begin.  Thatbrother's birthday, Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, Thatkid's birthday, Baby Q's birthday, Halloween, Thatboy's birthday, Thanksgiving, Channukah, Christmas, New Year's Eve - basically it's nonstop here until January!

Rosh Hashanna this year fell on a Sunday night, so we took advantage of the weekend and headed to Thatmom's house to celebrate with her.

Sunday night we got together with the whole family for a New Year's meal.

Then Monday morning it was off to synagogue.  Tashlicht in the afternoon is one of my kids' favorite parts of Rosh Hashanna.  My mom's synagogue does their Tashlicht at the beach.  And my nieces joined us for the first time.

They loved the shofar and throwing our sins into the water.

Yom Kippur fell in the middle of the week, so we stayed home.  We went to synagogue and then I kept the kids entertained with Yom Kippur crafts.  Jonah and the whale is the story told on Yom Kippur, so we made Jonah and the whale poppers. 

And since leather shoes aren't supposed to be worn on Yom Kippur, we also made sandals out of cardboard and pipe cleaners.

My favorite High Holiday tradition is making challah with the boys.  I actually started this tradition when I was pregnant with Thatkid.  I was 39 weeks pregnant on Rosh Hashanna and knew I'd be having a baby soon.  If he was a boy, I'd be needing a challah for a bris, and probably wouldn't have time to make one with a new baby.  So I made challah.  One recipe makes 2 loaves, so we had one for then, and I threw the other in the freezer for after the baby was born.  And he was born just a couple days later!

Ever since we use Rosh Hashanna to make two challah.  One for Rosh Hashanna, and one for Yom Kippur the following week.  At first it was just me, but as soon as the boys were old enough, they joined in.

It's nice to have a challah already made on Yom Kippur since it's a day of fasting.  The last thing you want to do when you're not eating is bake.  But sitting around, starving, on Yom Kippur got me thinking about challah.  I grew up with my dad making challah every week.  A peek into the spare room on a Friday morning would bring the smell of rising bread through the house as their little dough bodies snuggled under a thin blanket.  I love those memories, and the idea of sharing that with my children.  I don't have my dad's recipe, but I've come to love Joan Nathan's Whole Wheat Heavenly Challah. 

When I decided I wanted to start making Challah on a weekly basis, I remembered I had this book in my library:

I'm not even sure where it came from, or how long I've had it, but it seemed like a perfect way to bring challah into our lives.  For my first foray I went with her basic "My Challah"  playing with the shape to correspond to Sukkot, the harvest festival that took place last week.  It made 2 loaves so I went with a more traditional braid for us to enjoy this week.

My Challah (From A Blessing of Bread)

2 tsp instant yeast

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup warm water

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

1. Whisk together the yeast and 1/4 cup of the flour.
2. Whisk in the warm water until smooth.  Let stand for 10 to 20 minutes or until it begins to puff slightly.
3. Whisk 3 eggs, salt, oil, and honey into the yeast mixture until well incorporated.
4. Stir in remaining 3 1/4 cup flour.  When the mixture forms a ball,  turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth.  Place the dough in a bowl and cover.  Place the bowl in a warm, draft free location until it has doubled in bulk (about 2 hours).
5. Line 2 large baking sheets with silpat sheets.  Divide the dough into 2 portions.  Braid them as you desire.  The top one is a single strand braid.  The bottom one is a Sukkot challah - a single strand wound around itself, ending in a hand shape.  Cover the shaped breads and allow them to rise for another 2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 325.  Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt and brush this eggwash on the bread.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.