Mastodawn

Chocolate challah

https://piefed.ca/c/bready/p/547060/chocolate-challah

This was a while ago, but I made a loaf of [challah](https://piefed.ca/post/216959), and having had success with babka in the past, decided why not…

Felt fancy, baked Challah bread.

Finished my challah-bread fabrication, which baked up while we had supper.

It's been a couple of years since my last, as my Mastodon record-keeping tells me. (I'll boost the old ones from a few years ago in a sec)

I should make this more often just to keep in practice. I probably could've proofed these slightly longer. One takes a bit of a left hook there. lol

Challah bread in process. Just formed up the enriched dough into the requisite braids. Waiting for a rise then bake.

And sliced.

Challah for Hanukkah.

Which I realised only today is kosher brioche.

And the kitchen smells amazing! 🤣

🧑‍🍳 🍞 🍽️ 🍜

Chag Chanukah Sameach! 🕎

Because keeping it celebratory in the face of everything is the whole point of the day, and because I saw a poll asking if vegans avoid challah, here is my go-to (vegan!) challah recipe: https://www.lionsbread.com/the-best-vegan-challah-bread-water-challah-recipe/

Alterations/substitutions I do to make it like the egg one (still vegan!):

Replace 1 tsp of the salt with kala namak/black salt (so 2 tsp kosher or table salt and 1 tsp kala namak) to make it egg-flavoured
Add a hefty sprinkle of turmeric to give it a nice golden colour (it will turn more yellow as it rests so go light unless you really like turmeric in which case adding "too much" gives it a great warm flavour)
Brushing the top with marmalade works just as well as apricot jam or maple syrup
I honestly don't recommend adding water to thin out whatever you choose to brush it with because it will just run off and burn the bottom
Kalonji/nigella/onion seeds are a great topping (in addition to or in lieu of sesame and/or poppy seeds; they kind of taste like a combination of sesame and poppy seeds, at least to me)