;P.

Challah
Days

RUTH BERESH SPECIAL TO THE APPLETREE

M

y challah baking
began 26 years
ago in an effort to
create my niche in our family
holiday tradition. My mom,
sister, aunts and grandmas al-
ready had established their

PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPITT

T H E A P P L E T R E E

*Ma

32

Above: Ruth
Beresh makes
challah.

contributions to holiday cele-
brations. As the youngest
member of our extended
family, I found it challenging
to discover any need not al-
ready filled.
Then I came across a

recipe for challah in, of all
places, the Detroit Free
Press. My first challah-baking
experience yielded three deli-
cious loaves and a kitchen
and baker covered in flour.
Then for Rosh Hashanah, I
delivered loaves to
grandmas, par-
ents, in-laws, my
sister and her fam-
ily, aunts and un-
cles. A tradition
was born!
Over the years,
the challah has
been shaped into
an etrog with a
lulav, the top filled
with nuts and
dried cherries for
Sukkot, designed
as a dreidel for
Chanukah or a
crown filled with
raisins for Rosh
Hashanah, and of
course my braided
challot, shiny and
aromatic for Shab-
bat
The recipe has
evolved with
great experimen-
tation and suggestions from
Sharon Rosen, Dottie Wagner
and The First Jewish Cata-
logue.
I hope this becomes part of
your family Shabbat and sim-
cha tradition! ❑

Aunt Ruth's
Challah Recipe

2 cups lukewarm water
3 pkg. dry yeast
8 to 10 cups unbleached flour
1 I /2 cups sugar
1 I /2 tsp. salt
2 sticks (1 /2 lb.) margarine or
butter

S eggs, beaten (reserve 1 for
glaze)
Raisins (optional)
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds
(optional)

2/3 of the dough and 1/2 of the
dough. Take the largest section and
Mix water and yeast in a very
divide into three parts. Roll each
large bowl. Add three cups of flour
into long, even strips. Braid the
and one cup of sugar. Stir with a
three strips of dough together. Place
fork and let rise 1/2 hour in a warm
on a greased cookie sheet Repeat
place.
the process with the remaining
Meanwhile, in another bowl,
dough and center the smaller braid
measure five cups flour, salt and
on top of the larger one. Tuck the
1/2 cup sugar. Add margarine and
ends under the loaf and secure with
cut in with a knife until mixture re-
a drop of water. Cover and let rise in
sembles coarse meal. At the end of
a warm place as long as
1/2 hour, add four beaten eggs
possible (three, four
and the white of the fifth
or five hours is fine).
egg (reserve the yolk for
When dough is
glaze) to yeast mixture
done rising, brush the
and stir well. (Mix will
top with an egg-wash of beaten
decrease in volume.)
egg yolk and a little water, then
Add flour-margarine mixture to
sprinkle with poppy or sesame
yeast mixture and work in bowl. If
seeds. For a very shiny glaze, add a
sticky, add up to two more cups of
small amount of sugar to the egg
flour. Knead well on floured board
wash. Bake in a preheated 350-de-
until smooth and elastic. You may
gree oven. For one loaf, bake 50-55
add raisins here or when you form
minutes. For two loaves, bake 45-
the challah. Put in oiled bowl and
50 minutes. For three loaves, bake
cover with a towel. Put in a warm
30-45 minutes. For four loaves,
place and let rise two hours (or until
bake 30 minutes. Check 10 min-
doubled). Punch down, knead light-
utes before finishing time since
ly for a minute or two.
ovens vary.
Divide dough into parts (depend-
Your house will smell wonderful!
ing on how many loaves you want).
The shape of your challah and the
This recipe makes one super gigan-
method of braiding will reflect your
tic loaf (wedding or bar/bat mitzvah
creativity.
special — make sure your oven is
Ruth Beresh is director of the Eu-
large enough), two very large
gene and .Marcia Applebaum Jew-
loaves, three medium loaves, four
ish Parenting Center -
small loaves.
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Braid the loaves. For each loaf, di-
West Bloomfield.
vide dough into two sections, using
L

Directions: