Shabbat Shalom, everyone!
Raisin Challah
Equipment
- Breadmaker
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 4 egg equivalent of Egg Replacer with water
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup raisins, washed under hot running water
- Earth Balance to glaze
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, granulated sugar, olive oil, maple syrup, Egg Replacer, salt, all-purpose flour, and active dry yeast in your bread maker according to factory recommendation. Put it in the dough setting and press start.
- Add the raisins about 30-45 minutes in the mixing process – the bread maker will beep as a signal.
- Once the dough is done mixing and rising in the bread maker, drop the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide it into three equal portions. Roll out each portion in 18 inch long rope. Pinch the ends together and braid. Form the dough into a circle and pinch its ends together to form a circle.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and then transfer the braided dough in it. Allow one hour to rise uncovered in a warm place.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the challah is completely bronzed. Glaze with Earth Balance. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
This past week I went to the local library and stumbled upon a cookbook called, Hand Made Baking: Recipes To Warm the Heart by Kamran Siddiqi. One of the last recipes was this Raisin Challah that I absolutely had to bake it to honor our Jewish roots, be that of my husband’s heritage and some of our shared beliefs concerning the sanctity of Shabbat.
Nonetheless, this vegan version is so much better than with real eggs. Since I like to take shortcuts while cooking, I went ahead and stuck everything in the bread maker to mix the dough (as well as letting it rise), took it out to braid, then stuck it in the oven. Viola… instant happiness.
