Challah & Candelabras with Zahava
Its hard not to be inspired by the life that the radiant Jessica Hendricks- Yee, founder of Zahava, is living on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Jessica, her husband and their young son have set up shop in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We asked Jessica what she’s been up to and how her natural surroundings have influenced her way of life. We were excited to learn that she has been using her gorgeous candelabras to celebrate the ritual of shabbat, and she shared her favorite challah recipe with us. Shabbat shalom!
"Since being on an island in Mallorca, I've been inspired to cook more simply, relying on local ingredients -- as local as possible, like herbs and eggs from the backyard! We have been living in a home with chickens in the backyard (a far cry from our Williamsburg days!), and so with all of these gorgeous fresh eggs I have really slowed down my very rapid New York cooking process, and began to flirt with the art of baking.
The most meaningful thing I have baked is a beautiful challah. It feels grounding to be able to not only enjoy the process of baking bread from scratch, but to also tap into an ancient ritual that women specifically have practiced for centuries.
We launched our candelabras with the intention of inspiring you to use these tools to transition from the constant doing of our busy lives, into the simple and elevated being with the simple strike of a match. Baking this bread feels like a choreography or meditation on this idea.
Whether you have a spiritual connection to this recipe or not, it's delicious, easy, and so completely satisfying to complete.
Pro tip: Roll the strands of dough in a cinnamon sugar mix before you braid, for a sweet swirl effect. Serve warm and dipped in some honey or sea salt!"
Recipe from New York Times: My Favorite Challah Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ packages active dry yeast (about 3 1/2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil, more for greasing bowl
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 to 8 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling
PREPARATION
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading.)
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking. Then dip your index finger in the egg wash, then into poppy or sesame seeds and then onto a mound of bread. Continue until bread is decorated with seeds.
Bake in middle of oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool loaves on a rack.