Shanah Tova!

There are a two traditional foods that I remember eating as a child every year on Rosh Hashanah: apples dipped in honey (to symbolize a sweet New Year) and a round loaf of raisin challah. Challah is a braided white bread traditionally baked to celebrate shabbat, but on Rosh Hashanah, we eat a round challah to symbolized the cycle of the year. 

I thought this holiday would be a perfect place to begin blogging about my Jewish-vegan cooking journey because this year I did something extraordinary: I baked two loaves of challah. 

I know at first this doesn't sound like such a big accomplishment, but I'll preface by saying that, before last night, I hadn't taken one bite of challah since becoming vegan years ago. About eight egg yolks go into a traditional challah recipe--far from vegan.  When I first gave up all animal product while living in Odessa, Ukraine, I would regularly pass up a piece of challah handed to me during shabbat services. Usually the only person in the room without a piece of challah, I felt that I had abandoned the ancient custom of breaking bread, or worse, that I was somehow causing a rift in an otherwise closed ritual circle. 

Even after returning to the US, there have been numerous occasions where I've had to pass up a piece of challah. That all ended this year! I baked my first two loaves of challah (and my first loaves of bread, for that matter) and they were delicious. 

I got the recipe from the PPK via The Never Homemaker . 

You will need: 

2 1/2 Tbsp dry active yeast

1/3 cup warm water

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups wheat pastry flour

1 Tbsp salt

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 overripe (mostly black) bananas -- I actually used one banana and one extra-ripe plantain

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup cold water

another half cup of boiling water for brushing braids

raisins and/or poppy seeds

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water (I whisked mine with a fork until frothy), put to the side to stand for approx. 10 minutes.
• Mash bananas in your electric mixer until runny, like egg yolks.
• In large bowl mix together the canola oil, brown sugar, salt, and boiling water. Stir until well incorporated.
• Add the cold water to the large bowl. Stir in yeast mix.
• Add bananas.

• Add flour, one cup at a time -- this part is important. I used a spatula to mix mine, carefully one cup at a time. Near the end (last two cups), I used my hands.
• Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 5-10 min, dough should be smooth and elastic.
• Lightly coat the large mixing bowl in oil, turn the dough in it to just coat it with oil, place a damp towel or plastic wrap over the dough in the bowl and let it rise for about 1 hr (double in size).

The dough will rise quite a bit. Attack of the killer challah! 

• Punch dough down, turn out and knead again 2-3 min.
• Divide dough into 2 large balls. Then divide each ball into 4 or 6 sections, roll each section into long ropes (if using raisins, stick raisins about an inch apart in the center of each rope before braiding) and make 2 round, braided loaves. For a tutorial on how to do this, see this video. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Let the braids rise on a baking sheet for 45 min. Boil a little more water. Just before putting braids in the oven, brush them with boiling water, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake 30 min -- that's all the time you'll need. PPK says, "You'll know they're done when you tap them on the bottom and they sound hollow."
• Let cool on a drying rack for 10 min before slicing.

One of my favorite aspects of being vegan is the daily opportunity I have to rethink and reinvent traditions I have been practicing my entire life. I can't wait to make this part of my yearly tradition.