Hi Akiva Parents! Now that the holidays are over, I would like to invite you to spice up your Jewish Journey not only with food for your mind, but also food for your body and soul. Each week I will try to send out a creative idea/recipe to help bring inspiration to you and your children in terms of making Shabbat a special day of the week. This week, we read parshat Noach, where God brings forth a flood for 40 days and nights to rid the world of its corrupt people. At the end, God shows Noah a rainbow as a sign that the people of the world will never be destroyed again. This week’s recipe idea for a beautiful RAINBOW CHALLAH comes from the website http://www.couldntbeparve.com/.
Enjoy and if you have a chance, please send me pictures.
Shabbat shalom.
Lisa
Rainbow Challah
by: Shoshana
Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
4 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: 2 large challahs
Ingredients
2 tablespoons instant yeast*
6 cups unbleached white flour (more, if necessary) [substitute up to half of the flour for whole wheat or other grain flour]
1 ½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
11/4 cup water
½-3/4 cup honey (I recommend using the larger amount for whole wheat)
gel food coloring in the colors of the rainbow
Preparation
Mix the yeast, flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer (this can also be done in a large bowl). Set aside. In another bowl, mix eggs, oil, water and honey.
Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until the dough has come together. If using an electric mixer use the paddle attachment for this, not the bread hook. If necessary, add unbleached white flour as you’re mixing. The dough will remain fairly soft, but it shouldn’t be sticky. Turn the dough out onto a counter or a board, and knead it a few times just to smooth it out. This “kneading” should not take more than one minute.
Using a scale, divide the dough into six equal portions. Working with one portion at a time flatten the dough into a circle on a well floured counter or board. Add several drops of food coloring to the middle. Fold the dough over and knead it until the color is evenly distributed. Form the dough into a ball. Place the ball of dough in a small, well-oiled bowl, turning the dough to oil all the surfaces. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover all the dough with a towel and let rise in a warm, non-drafty place for about two hours, or until doubled in size.**
Preheat oven to 325
Divide each color of dough into two. Roll out all the dough into long ropes. Arrange one strand of each color in rainbow order and braid them together. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Place on a lightly greased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Challah is done when both top and bottom are slightly browned and it makes a hollow sound when tapped. Because of the slight browning the colors will not be so dramatic on the outside of the challah, but the inside will stay bright and beautiful.
*I like using instant yeast because it can just be mixed in with the other ingredients, but regular active yeast can be used instead by following these steps. Mix together the 2 tablespoons yeast (3 packets) with 3/4 cup of the water from the recipe (it should be quite warm but not hot) and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Set the mixture aside for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes it should be quite bubbly. Add this mixture to the flour and salt and mix well.
**The dough can be refrigerated at this point for up to 24 hours. (Ziplock bags work great) Make sure to bring it back to room temperature before braiding.
