Sweet Honey Challa

My first summer break from college was spent roaming the USA alone. This was a journey I had planned on not thoroughly planning and for good reason. My intention was to visit friends once in a while and figure things out as I go, being terrified but also looking forward, to being mostly alone. I wanted to be as far from my regular support net of wonderful people as possible, so I could be at peace with some of my own anxieties about loneliness and life and death.



Every now and again I stopped to visit an old friend I had not seen in a long time. At every house that took me in along the way in Durham, Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, LA and Brooklyn, I baked for my hosts, as a thank you, and also for myself, as a comfort. My father was at the time in Hong Kong and my mother was in Israel.

As Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year) came closer I found myself on what was supposed to be a five day hike in the San-Gabriel forest. I had teamed up with a friend from home who was unexpectedly in the area and we set out on a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. I will not go into detail here but, two days later, after getting lost, running out of water, sleeping on a mountainside tied to a tree, and being rescued by the rangers in a helicopter, I found myself back in Hermosa Beach a day early. I was grateful to be alive and at this moment, not knowing yet what had happened, my father wrote to me something along these lines:

"I want you to come to Hong Kong for Rosh Hashana, I know your on your adventure, but your mother will also be here and we are not getting any younger. The way I see it there aren't many years left for us to be not only available but capable of enjoying a holiday together."

He had suggested this before and the idea of flying the 16 hours to Hong Kong from the U.S.A only to return five days later to continue my journey seemed insane. Especially considering that it was coming to an end in three weeks anyway with a flight from NYC to Tel Aviv. Even so, in my current shocked near-death-experience state, I booked the flight and was on my way.

I made this challa for that holiday meal in his tiny apartment in Hong Kong in a tiny toaster oven, as I've made it for family dinners many times before and since. It's so good when it's still warm from the oven that you can just have a seat and go at it with your hands, no additions needed. Every time I make it my father acts like it's the first time. This involves, along with great enthusiasm, the declaration of this particular challa, on this particular night, being so much better than anything that came before it. This was until that new year in Hong Kong that is, because he still reminds me every now and then, of that one specific challa, on that one specific night, being the best I've ever made.

The Secret

1. Letting the dough rise in a bit of oil instead of flour allows us to work with a softer stickier dough with ease.
2. Brush the bread thoroughly using only yolks. Really get into the twists and turns and cover it all.  

What You Need

The Dough
1 Cup of Warm Water (being warm helps the yeast along but if it's too hot it will kill them)
1 Pack of Dry Yeast
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup of Oil
1/4 Cup of Honey
3 Cups of White Flour
1 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp of Salt

The Rest
1 Egg yolk
1 Tbsp of Milk
2 Tbsp of Oil

What To Do

1. Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl in the order they are listed. Using the cup to measure oil and then using it still oily for the honey can help you manage the stickiness.
2. Kneed by hand for about ten minutes, or three minutes in a mixer.
3. Put 2 Tbsp of oil into a large bowl and roll your dough around it in. You are trying to cover it with a layer of oil, not to combine the two.
4. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for about 45 min, or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Kneed for a minute and let rise again.
6. Hit the air out and cut into three equal parts. Roll each part into an evenly sized snake about 1 inch in diameter.
7. Braid the three snakes and tuck the loose edges under the dough. Place on a flat baking pan lined with parchment paper.
8. Heat oven to 350 F.
9. Mix the Yolk with the milk and brush the challa thoroughly. Don't miss a bit, brush it all including the nooks!
10. Let rise uncovered for 15 min.
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes. You can knock on the bottom side and if you hear a hollow sound then it is ready.
12. Let cool on a rack for at least 10 min.

What Else
You can sprinkle some sesame or poppy seed or anything you like on top of the egg yolk. Also, there are a million ways to shape a challa that aren't the typical braid, suggestions are all over google so once you've mastered the classic it's definitely time to go nuts.