Notes: I volunteered to make the challahs for the upcoming Rosh Hashanah dinner at Dr S' parent's house, so I thought a trial run of this recipe would be a good idea. Apples are a traditional part of the Jewish New Year celebrations, and a round challah is also common for Rosh Hashanah. Having made a previous loaf from a different recipe, I knew that adding apples to egg bread would be a winning combination.
This challah recipe is a little unusual because it uses the chop suey or monkey bread technique. After the dough is made and proofed, the apples are encased in a bread dough envelope. Using a knife or bench scraper, the entire thing is cut up into smaller pieces which are then placed in a cake tin.
The trial loaf turned out quite well. It was tender and moist, with lots of apples. I found the egg flavour and colour to be lacking so I made the loaves for Friday using an additional egg. Leaving the skins on the apples wouldn't have been my preference, but I followed the directions as I thought doing otherwise would compromise the moisture level in the dough. The crown shape is a little unusual and I think I prefer the taste of a milchig loaf (like this one), but the challahs were well-received.
King Arthur has some step-by-step photos as well.
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