Tag Archives: challah recipe
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Challah
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Challah is sort of my thing. I’ve been baking my own and tweaking my recipe since I am 16 years old, and I love coming up with new combinations of flavors whenever I am inspired.
I generally prefer savory challah, since you can use the leftovers for sandwiches. But every now and then a sweet challah with chocolate chips, cinnamon, raisins or chocolate really hits the spot.
Not everyone loves the flavor combination of peanut butter and chocolate, and I consider those people crazy. What is better than peanut butter and chocolate!? Well, maybe peanut butter and chocolate in a challah. With crumbs on top. Served with a cup of coffee, and this is what my breakfast dreams are made out of.
There are a couple of other bloggers doing some exciting things with challah which I love to follow, including The Challah Blog and Adventures in Challah so definitely check them out to get inspired!
Tip: baking challah is not a 1 hour process, so definitely give yourself plenty of lead time. And don’t rush the rising – the longer you let the dough rise, the fluffier it will be.
Happy challah baking!
Ingredients
For dough:
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 Tbsp salt
2 eggs plus 1 egg for brushing
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For crumb topping:
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp margarine
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup peanut butter
Directions
Put yeast and 1 tsp sugar into a small bowl. Add lukewarm water, stir gently and allow to sit until foamy bubbles form on top, around 10 minutes.
In the meantime, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, peanut butter and vegetable oil in a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. When yeast-water mixture is ready, add to flour mixture until it is incorporated.
Add eggs one at a time and another cup of flour. Mix thoroughly.
Change to dough hook on mixer, or if working without a mixer, continue to mix in a large bowl. Add chocolate chips.
When the dough is too difficult to stir, flour a working surface and start kneading. Add remaining flour and knead for 10 more minutes.
Grease a large bowl and add dough to bowl. Cover with warm, wet towel. Let dough rise for 2-6 hours, punching down at least once.
To make the crumbs, add flour, brown sugar, salt, margarine and peanut butter to a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut ingredients together until small-medium size crumbs form. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
When challah has risen, braid challah into two medium sized loaves. Place loaves on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Allow challah to rise 30-60 minutes extra.
Brush challah with beaten egg and sprinkle crumbs on top.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until outside is golden, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding
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It’s that time of year again when we go through cabinets, fridge and freezer searching for chametz and rack our brains on how to use them up before Passover. I love this challenge each year, especially because I usually have a few bags full of leftover challah just waiting to be used in a new recipe.
Bread puddings are often sweet and served for dessert; while stuffing is usually savory and served as a side dish. But I wanted to sort of combine both these concepts and do something a bit different – a savory, dairy bread pudding perfect to serve for breakfast or brunch! And thus, my Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding with Goat Cheese and Mushrooms was born!
Don’t like mushrooms? Use spinach or peppers instead.Serve with scrambled eggs and some fruit for a perfect, rounded breakfast.
Ingredients
4 cups leftover bread, preferably challah
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 ounces goat cheese
Directions
Cut or break bread into chunks. Grease a 9x9 square pan and place bread into pan.
Heat olive oil and butter in saute pan over medium heat. Add fresh thyme to pan. Saute mushrooms for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, heavy cream and eggs. Add goat cheese. It's ok if the goat cheese remains in small chunks. Add mushrooms to milk mixture, but remove the fresh thyme.
Pour milk mixture over leftover bread chunks and let sit for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake bread pudding for 35-45 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. Can be served next day.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
2012: Food Resolutions!
Welcome 2012!
I am not one to make lofty secular New Year’s resolutions, but as we welcome 2012, perhaps it might be a good time consider some food-related goals for the year.
Have you heard about Meatless Mondays? Its an effort to help Americans cut out meat from their diets just one day a week, for health and environment reasons. So why not try a dairy meal once a week, like this recipe for Lasagna with Chard, Tomato Sauce and Ricotta.
You might consider substituting chicken or turkey instead for red meat, which I found was a good compromise between me and my meat-loving husband. If you’re looking to switch from chopped beef to turkey, try my own recipe for Quinoa and Turkey Stuffed Peppers (the best part about this recipe – you can also make it for Passover!) Another easy switch is using ground turkey in your chili recipe, instead of ground beef.
Want to try something totally new in the kitchen? Maybe its time to bake your own challah, make your own pickles or take on your grandmother’s brisket recipe. Already mastered challah? Perhaps you might enjoy trying a new twist on challah, such as one of The Challah Blog‘s unique flavors.
Another simple but fantastic food resolution is starting your own counter-top, or windowsill, herb garden! There are tons of herb gardens you can buy ready-to-go, but I just came across these Ceramic Wall Planters from West Elm, and I am already plotting out where I can mount them in our apartment, and fill them with thyme, lavender, mint and other aromatic herbs!
For me? I hope this year I will find a fruit cobbler recipe that never disappoints, and would also love to try to make my own rugelach! Have a good recipe to send me? I’d love to try it out and post the results.
Happy New Year 2012, and happy eating (and cooking, baking, jarring or planting)!
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
