Recipe developer and content creator Batia Sorek has one dish her family waits for every week: her signature challah.
For Rosh Hashanah, she gives it a festive upgrade with honey, shaping the bread into a flower-like ring that can also resemble a crown.
Sweet honey challah for Rosh Hashanah
(Photo: Batia Sorek)
Sorek, who hosts around 20 members of her family and her husband’s family for the holiday, says the challah has become one of her household traditions.
“My winning dish is my regular challah, the one everyone always asks for and waits for,” she says. “Every time it comes in a special and slightly different shape, and for Rosh Hashanah, of course, it will also be sweet. It is the dish that represents me most. It is my baby, and over the years it has completely become a tradition in our home.”
The recipe is parve and uses a simple shaping trick: the dough is rolled into a large rectangle, brushed with honey, cut into squares and arranged around a small heatproof bowl in a round baking pan.
The result is an impressive pull-apart challah with honey between the layers and a glossy honey glaze on top.
Tips
The dough can be prepared the night before and left to rise in the refrigerator.
The challah can also be baked ahead and frozen while still warm. Wrap it well before freezing.
Sweet honey challah
Serves: 8
Prep time: 40 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Medium
Kosher: Parve
Ingredients
For the filling:
1/2 cup honey
For the dough:
1 kilogram challah flour or white flour
50 grams fresh yeast or 2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar, about 9 tablespoons
2 cups, 480 ml, lukewarm water
1 egg
1/2 cup, 100 grams, oil
2 1/2 teaspoons, 13 grams, salt
For the glaze:
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon boiling water
A handful of sliced blanched almonds
Preparation
- Place the flour, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix briefly. Begin kneading on medium speed. Add the water, egg and finally the oil while continuing to mix. Once the dough comes together and becomes uniform, add the salt and continue kneading for about 14 minutes. The dough is ready when it comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm, humid place until it has nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour. Once risen, press the air out with the palm of your hand.
- On a floured work surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle about 1 1/2 centimeters thick. Spread the honey over the entire surface, then use a pastry wheel or knife to cut the dough into squares as evenly sized as possible.
- Line a round baking pan with parchment paper. Place a small round heatproof bowl in the center. Arrange the dough squares side by side around the bowl to form a ring.
- Leave to rise for another 50 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated convection oven at 170°C, about 340°F, for around 28 minutes, or until the challah is deeply golden.
- For the glaze, mix the honey with the boiling water. Brush generously over the warm challah and sprinkle with sliced almonds.