Soft, pillowy challah rolls filled with spiced apple chunks sound like the ideal baking project for Rosh Hashanah, which starts this year on Sept. 6.
The idea comes from Beth Lee, the San Jose food blogger who started sharing her family’s Jewish recipes on her website, OMG! Yummy, more than a decade ago. Now, she’s out with her first cookbook, “The Essential Jewish Baking Cookbook: 50 Traditional Recipes for Every Occasion” (Rockridge Press, $16.99).
The cookbook covers Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish traditions, which translates to a diverse mix of sweet and savory baked goods. Malawach, the flaky layered flatbread from Yemen, is highlighted alongside tishpishti, a walnut-rich Turkish dessert soaked in honey syrup, and kokosh, a chocolate-filled rolled cake from Hungary.
Lee clearly labels recipes kosher, pareve, nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan when applicable, which makes the book particularly user-friendly for those following specific dietary restrictions during certain holidays. And there are lots of recipes for Jewish holidays, like a blintz casserole for Shavuot and an herbaceous matzo farfel kugel for Passover.
“The Essential Jewish Baking Cookbook” by South Bay food blogger Beth Lee includes 50 recipes.
Provided by Rockridge PressEnter these challah rolls, a recipe Lee developed for a High Holidays cooking class because it’s traditional to eat apples and round challah for an extra sweet Jewish New Year. Making rolls means that the process is significantly faster than baking one large loaf, taking less than two hours from start to finish.
Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @janellebitker
Sweet Challah Rolls
With Apple Currant Filling
This recipe, adapted from Beth Lee’s “The Essential Jewish Baking Cookbook: 50 Traditional Recipes for Every Occasion” (Rockridge Press, $16.99), is intended for Rosh Hashanah but is versatile enough for year-round baking. You could switch up the flavor by trying different dried fruit, creating a new savory filling or skipping the filling entirely. Alternatively, you can make one large loaf by braiding the filled ropes and baking it 5 to 10 minutes longer. These rolls are dairy-free, nut-free and pareve.
Serves 8
Dough
2¼ teaspoons (7 grams/1 packet) active dry yeast or instant yeast
3½ cups (438 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
¼ cup (47 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (235 grams) warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 large egg
¼ cup (56 grams) vegetable oil
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
Filling
1 cup (118 grams) finely chopped and peeled sweet firm apple
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup (36 grams) currants or raisins
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Egg wash
1 large egg
1 teaspoon water
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the yeast, flour and sugar. Add the warm water, egg, oil and salt.
Using the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, knead on medium-low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, making sure the dough is thoroughly combined and scraping down the sides as necessary. Once kneaded, the dough should be smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is overly sticky, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as necessary.
Remove the dough from the bowl, form it into a round, and place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Use your finger to poke a 1-inch hole through the center of the dough. (Lee learned this technique in a cooking class and swears by it, though she’s not exactly sure why it helps with the dough.) Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, in a medium bowl, combine the chopped apple, lemon juice, currants, cinnamon and sugar for the filling. Set aside.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces on a lightly floured work surface. Flatten a piece into a roughly 6-by-4-inch rectangle and spread a heaping tablespoon of filling down the center. Close the dough up around the filling and gently roll it out with your hands to a roughly 9-inch rope. Loosely coil the rope, tuck the end under and pinch to seal. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough to create 8 rolls. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Loosely cover the challah rolls with a kitchen towel, set in a warm location and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until the dough slowly springs back when poked with your finger.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk together the egg and water for the egg wash. Use a pastry brush to coat each roll with the egg wash, getting into all the nooks and crannies.
Bake the rolls for 5 minutes at 375 degrees, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook for about 22 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack and cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
