With Rosh HaShana, quickly approaching (this Wednesday night, yikes!) and three days of holiday meals to prepare mostly in advance, I did get a little head start on Friday with these two challahs, braided in the round and with some dried cranberries added for a little extra sweetness. And I also tried something new, half white and half spelt, which I also used to make two loaves for shabbat, and it was a HUGE hit. In fact the family would have easily eaten more than one large loaf Friday night, if not for the fact that these loaves were already frozen, phew.
And interestingly enough, the half spelt dough rose almost as much as 100%white flour would, so now I'll start playing with adding more than 50% spelt to see how far I can go without getting too many complaints from the white challah loving peanut gallery. Though my daughter did say "this challah is delicious, you should make this every week!"
For the recipe, follow my egg-free white challah recipe, just substitute one kilo of white flour with spelt, and add raisins or dried cranberries. For the braiding technique, which really is so very simple, follow my How To Braid A Round Challah For Rosh HaShana.
Baking challah is a Jewish tradition for which there is truly no substitute! May the new year be filled with lots of opportunities to share delicious loaves of love with friends and family! Need help getting started, questions, queries? Check out my suggestions for making great challah, and I'm always here, drop me a line!
