Story submitted by Beth Ricanati, author of Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs.
The Story Behind the Recipe:
I was born in Cleveland, into a family with deep Cleveland roots, and grew up there until college. After college at the University of PA, I returned to Cleveland to attend Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and did my internship at University Hospitals before my husband and I moved to NYC. I did my residency at Columbia Presbyterian and practiced there for two years before we returned to Cleveland. Our boys were born in NYC and our daughter was born when we came back to Cleveland. My husband is also from Cleveland and our extended families (our mothers and his brother + family and one of my siblings, my sister, + her family) all still live in Cleveland. I worked at the Cleveland Clinic for approximately 8 years before we moved to Santa Monica, California, where we live now.
As I write about in Braided, I started making challah in Cleveland using the recipe from a girlfriend who had taken a Mommy and Me class at the JCC inManhattan for 2-3 yrs old about 12+ years ago now. At the risk of overstating its' effect, making challah weekly has changed my life. This meaningful weekly ritual has taught me so many life lessons, including the need to stop and pause, to reflect, to engage with the community.
Since Covid, I have been offering virtual challah workshops, both my own (open to whomever registers) and private workshops for organizations, synagogues, schools and business. It's been a tremendously rewarding experience.
Please note that it is not "my" recipe, but one from a mommy and me class at the JCC in Manhattan and I have modified a bit (but not much because it's great!).
Recipe:
Ingredients:
2¼ tsp loose yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup very warm water (almost too warm, but not hot!)
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup oil
4+ cups flour
one egg yolk for baking
Instructions:
Start by saying: “I am making this dough in the merit of (maybe a friend who is sick that week, or someone you are happy for, sad for, mad at, etc.)
Mix yeast, sugar & warm water together in small bowl (1); let stand approx. 10 min. This mixture will start to bubble.
Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, mix 2 eggs, salt, sugar, oil & 2 cups flour together (2).
Add yeast mixture (1) to flour mixture (2).
Add ~ 1½ cups flour to mixture. Start to form a ball of dough, separating from the bowl.
Place dough on a floured surface & knead, lifting up with one hand & then the other. Knead at least 5 mins as dough becomes increasingly elastic. If still sticky, add a bit more flour to dough. Knead dough into a ball. Place dough back into oiled bowl, cover & place bowl somewhere warm for 1 – 1½ hours to rise, approx. doubling in volume.
Preheat oven to 375º. Remove cover from bowl, place dough on floured surface. Take a small piece of dough (~size of an egg), double wrap in plastic wrap & say the prayer over separating the challah (technically only say if more than 5 lbs of flour used, but more on that in the book)*. Discard this piece of wrapped dough & continue.
Punch out dough one more time. Cut dough in half, one for each challah. Then divide each half into 3 equal pieces. Roll out each piece, crimp together at the top and braid into a loaf. Place on a greased cookie sheet (or parchment paper or a Silpat liner). Repeat with second ball of dough. May let rise again at this step.
Paint each challah with a mixture made of egg yolk plus a little water. Bake approx 25 – 30 mins, or until bread rises & is golden brown. Remove, cool. Place challah on platter, cover and wait for Shabbas dinner. Eat and enjoy!
*Baruch Ata A-Do-Nay Elo-haynu Melech Ha-Olam Asher Kidishanu B’Mitzvotav V’Tziyvanu L”Hafrish Challah. (Blessed are You, Lord, our G-d, Ruler of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to separate the Challah.)
2¼ tsp loose yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup very warm water (almost too warm, but not hot!)
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup oil
4+ cups flour
one egg yolk for baking
Instructions:
Start by saying: “I am making this dough in the merit of (maybe a friend who is sick that week, or someone you are happy for, sad for, mad at, etc.)
Mix yeast, sugar & warm water together in small bowl (1); let stand approx. 10 min. This mixture will start to bubble.
Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, mix 2 eggs, salt, sugar, oil & 2 cups flour together (2).
Add yeast mixture (1) to flour mixture (2).
Add ~ 1½ cups flour to mixture. Start to form a ball of dough, separating from the bowl.
Place dough on a floured surface & knead, lifting up with one hand & then the other. Knead at least 5 mins as dough becomes increasingly elastic. If still sticky, add a bit more flour to dough. Knead dough into a ball. Place dough back into oiled bowl, cover & place bowl somewhere warm for 1 – 1½ hours to rise, approx. doubling in volume.
Preheat oven to 375º. Remove cover from bowl, place dough on floured surface. Take a small piece of dough (~size of an egg), double wrap in plastic wrap & say the prayer over separating the challah (technically only say if more than 5 lbs of flour used, but more on that in the book)*. Discard this piece of wrapped dough & continue.
Punch out dough one more time. Cut dough in half, one for each challah. Then divide each half into 3 equal pieces. Roll out each piece, crimp together at the top and braid into a loaf. Place on a greased cookie sheet (or parchment paper or a Silpat liner). Repeat with second ball of dough. May let rise again at this step.
Paint each challah with a mixture made of egg yolk plus a little water. Bake approx 25 – 30 mins, or until bread rises & is golden brown. Remove, cool. Place challah on platter, cover and wait for Shabbas dinner. Eat and enjoy!
*Baruch Ata A-Do-Nay Elo-haynu Melech Ha-Olam Asher Kidishanu B’Mitzvotav V’Tziyvanu L”Hafrish Challah. (Blessed are You, Lord, our G-d, Ruler of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to separate the Challah.)