Crystal Margarine Recipes
Prep: 30 min prep, 4 hours cook and proof time
Servings: 8-12
Warm, rich, and sweet, this honey apple challah is perfect for a Shabbat table or a holiday brunch with friends and family. If you’re not familiar with challah, it’s a special bread in Jewish cuisine, typically braided and often enjoyed on ceremonial occasions.
This challah bread looks rather impressive, but don’t be intimidated. Baking challah bread from the comfort of your own home is easier than it looks! Made with fresh green apples and a few staple pantry ingredients, this challah recipe makes a good sized loaf that will fill your house with a sweet, wholesome aroma as the challah bread bakes. The addition of honey, apple, and cinnamon is truly makes this recipe a winner.
Serve the challah warm right out of the oven, topped with honey and a generous smear of Crystal Margarine for a warm and cozy snack. In addition, leftover challah bread makes an excellent base for your favourite French toast recipe- that is, if you have any left over! You’ll be addicted to the fluffy texture, made rich with the addition of egg yolks, and the ease of this recipe will have you returning to the kitchen to bake more!
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ingredients
Challah
1/2 cup
Crystal Margarine, melted, plus extra for bowl and pan
3 1/2 cups
unbleached bread flour
3/4 cups
warm water
1 cup
honey
2 large
eggs
3 large
egg yolks
2 tsp
active dry yeast
2 tsp
coarse salt
2
tart green apples, preferably Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tsp
ground cinnamon
directions
Grease a large bowl. Combine 2 tablespoons melted Crystal Margarine, with the flour, water, 2/3 cup honey, eggs, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Mix until a rough dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes.
Transfer dough to greased bowl, and brush with 1 tablespoon melted margarine. Cover with plastic. Let rise in a warm place until dough almost doubles in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
Toss the sliced apples with ground cinnamon until the apples are evenly coated.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Press into an 8 1/2 x 14-inch rectangle. Top with apples and roll to incorporate. Return to bowl and cover. Let rise again in a warm place until the dough almost doubles in volume, about 1 hour more.
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Roll dough into a rope, on a floured surface. Cut down the center lengthwise, then twist the two pieces. Transfer to the prepared pan and cover dough. Let rise again until dough almost doubles in volume, about 45 minutes more.
Heat remaining Crystal Margarine and 1/3 cup honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the margarine melts. Brush dough with half the honey-margarine.
Bake until golden brown and firm, about 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and brush challah with the remaining honey-margarine. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Turn out loaf from pan, and let cool completely.
Chef Notes
- To make individual challah loaves, divide the dough into 24 balls, and bake in a greased muffin pan.
- If you want to bake a fresh loaf on a day where you’re busy with friends and family, simply make the dough the night before. Once you get to the rising step just before baking, place the dough covered in the fridge to rest overnight. Then on the day of, pull it out of the fridge and let it rest for 30 minutes before baking as directed.
