Making challah didn't always come easily to Daniela Pomerantz -- but it's long been something she knew she wanted to do.
Cecilia Levine
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The mom of three who grew up in Scarsdale admits it took practice, but now she's got it down pat and is sharing her recipe in the Daily Voice series, "We Knead This." Scroll down for step-by-step recipe.
"I loved challah growing up," said Pomerantz, currently of Bergen County, N.J.
"I always saw people making it and said, 'Wow I wish I could do that.' It just seemed like such a daunting, labor-intensive thing to do."
In 2010, Pomerantz decided it was time to learn for herself. Making challah from scratch proved to be just as difficult as she thought.
"I tried learning from many people," she said. "However, what they were teaching me just was not clicking."
Two years later, just after the birth of her first child, Pomerantz bought herself a bread machine. She formed balls of dough in hopes of making a pull-apart challah.
Still, she said, the machine wasn't cutting it.
Not only did the challah not taste like the ones she knew and loved, using a machine wasn't giving Pomerantz the spiritual experience she was after.
"It's not just about bread," she said."When the Jewish people were wandering in the desert, what did they do? They baked bread.
"That’s what we took with us. Not apples. Not cattle to slaughter. Bread."
There is a certain blessing to be said when an entire bag of flour is used to make challah, Pomerantz explained.
The recipe she used for the bread machine didn't require an entire bag of flour.
And so, Pomerantz took matters into her own hands and began experimenting with different recipes until she found one that she liked.
The process took several years, but Pomerantz says it was worth the wait.
"If you're going to do something so labor-intensive, make it meaningful," the mom said.
Pomerantz's favorite part about making challah is finding ways to make it fun for her three boys.
Every time she makes a loaf, she sections off three, separate pieces for her boys to decorate with whatever they want (these days it's rainbow sprinkles).
"It’s a tradition I want to pass on to them," Pomerantz said.
"Tradition gives children a sense of belonging and comfort. Doing this will hopefully make them feel secure in their life in their own home in themselves."
Daniela's Challah Recipe
- 5 lb bag of high gluten flour (bread flour)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 4 teaspoons of honey
- 4 TBSP of KOSHER salt (must be thick granule kosher salt)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of Canola oil
- 4 cups of warm water
- 4 TBSP of granulated yeast ( I use Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise)
This recipe will fit in a 6 qt. mixing bowl. If using a smaller bowl, remove some of the mixture from your mixing bowl into a second larger bowl and add remainder of ingredients; once combined add all ingredients together and knead into a large ball.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Dissolve the water, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.
3. Add honey, eggs, oil and about half the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer*. Mix with the dough hook until combined.
4. Add salt and 4-5 cups of flour to the mixing bowl and continue to mix until flour is combined. Add the rest of the flour and continue to mix until the bowl is clean and the mixture is combined and has formed a ball of dough.
5. Cover dough with a plastic bag in a large bowl and let dough rise to double it’s size. Approximately 2 to 4 hours depending on the humidity and time of year you are baking.
6. Once it has risen for the first time, separate challah (hafrashat challah) and then continue to shape your challah. Let the challah rest for another 1-2 hours until about double it’s size.
7. Beat 2 eggs for egg wash and gently brush challot with egg wash.
8. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until top gets golden brown.Note: That baking times differ slightly depending on oven size and size of challah you are baking.
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