Rosh Hashanah Challah

Shana Tova! That is the Jewish way of saying Happy New Year. Traditionally, Jewish families eat a special type of sweet bread on the Sabbath called challah. However, on Rosh Hashanah, the challah is even more special because it is baked in a round shape, meant to symbolize the cycle of a year.

When I searched for Rosh Hashanah challah recipes online, I came across one that had great reviews. The only complaint people had was that it seemed to take too long to rise. I decided to overcome that problem by doubling the yeast. I made sure to prepare the dough ahead of time so that I could make changes if need be...and it's a good thing I did. Even though the dough rose, I felt that there wasn't enough to make a challah big enough for the entire family.

I then decided to make a second challah, this time with a recipe I was more sure of. Although I didn't use a challah recipe, I used my sweet dough recipe instead, I filled the dough with apples and rolled it into a round shape.

Even though the first challah had great reviews online, I can't say I was that impressed with the taste. The recipe called for honey instead of sugar but in the end I felt it wasn't sweet enough. The apple challah, on the other hand, was sweet and moist and I was very glad that I had decided to make it at the last minute. Maybe the other challah wasn't great because I didn't stick to the recipe, though my only change was the additional yeast. In hindsight, maybe I should have added more honey as well...I don't know. For those interested in the recipe, I got it from epicurious...perhaps someone else will have better luck with it. I, on the other hand, will stick to the apple challah since it seemed to be a hit with the family.

Apple Challah
Note: I used only half the dough to make the challah, the other half I set aside and used in a different recipe.

• Sweet dough (recipe same as for apple cream cheese braid)
• 3-4 medium size apples, cored and peeled
• Honey

1. Cut the apples into small chunks and gently heat with some honey until nice and soft. I don't know how much honey I used, I just poured until I felt it was enough and the apples had a nice sweet taste to them.
2. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 20" x 15".
3. Lay out half the apple chunks onto the middle third of the dough and fold the bottom third over. I recommend straining the apples to remove as much juice as possible, so that it doesn't seep out later.
4. Pat the dough down around the apples and then lay down the rest of the apple chunks on top. Fold over the top third of the dough and pat down around the apples once again. Try to seal the dough around the sides and ends, but be careful not to rip it.
5. Starting from one of the ends, carefully roll the dough into a loose cylinder. I emphasize the loose because if you press down hard, the dough will rip and apple chunks will fall out.
6. Transfer the dough, with the smooth side facing up, to a pre-greased round cake pan. I used an 11" springform pan, because it's the biggest one I have, but you can probably get away with a 9". The dough won't fill up the whole pan but you can pat it down a little very gently. 
7. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest in a warm spot for half an hour. Afterward, brush with an egg wash while preheating the oven.
8. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for an hour. Once the dough starts to get golden on top, about half way into baking, cover it with aluminum foil so that the top doesn't get burnt while the inside bakes.