Honey Apple Challah
Welcome the New Year with honey apple challah: a moist and egg-y yeast bread infused with sweet honey, subtly cinnamon spiced, and studded throughout with tart, juicy apples. Perfect for Rosh Hashanah, or any other day of the year!
Good morning! I hope you had a fun and relaxing holiday weekend. This past Sunday marked twelve years (!) of marriage for me and my Mr. We celebrated with a fabulous meal at one of our favorite restaurants, and a mini-wine tour.
We visited two local vineyards and it was so much fun to taste all the different wines and meet the growers. As we were tasting, I couldn’t help but look forward to the holidays. We will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner once again this year, and as we were choosing our wines, I wondered what would taste best with all those warm holiday flavors.
But before we can start on Thanksgiving, we’ve got Rosh Hashanah to think about!
My in-laws are Jewish, and every year there is a big family get-together to celebrate the high holidays and the start of the New Year. We enjoy all the traditional foods, but the best thing on the holiday table is always the challah.
Have you ever had challah before? It’s a moist, egg-y bread that’s slightly sweet and comfortingly soft. It reminds me a lot of brioche, only it’s usually in the shape of a braid. I just adore it.
Rosh Hashana is traditionally associated with apples and honey, because they symbolize our wish for a year filled with sweet blessings. Many times, sliced apples are served, to be dipped into bowls of honey. I’ve always thought it would be so nice to incorporate those flavors right into the holiday bread.
My favorite thing about this loaf is how well-balanced the flavors are. The cinnamon is subtle, and the sweetness of the honey doesn’t overpower the savory, yeast-iness of the bread. The apples give a little bite here and there, with a slight tartness that’s so perfect for this time of year.
My kids and I love to eat thick slices of this bread, warmed slightly and slathered with butter, for breakfast or as a snack. But my hubby loves to make French toast out of it. I think it would be great as a bread pudding too. That is, if there are any leftovers!
I created this recipe for KitchenAid’s Apple Challenge! They’re partnering with Food Network and Geoffrey Zakarian, and you can get involved too! Create an original recipe using apple as the key ingredient, for a chance to win a cooking lesson with chef Zakarian and the new suite of KitchenAid appliances! Just share an image of your recipe using the hashtag #KitchenAidContest on Instagram or Twitter. Click here to learn more!
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Honey Apple Challah
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, (about half a packet)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons oil, (such as canola, vegetable, or grapeseed)
- 1 granny smith apple,, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch dice
- egg wash, (1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water)
Instructions
- Combine the water and honey in a liquid measuring cup, and sprinkle the yeast over the surface.
- Set aside and allow to proof (become foamy) for 5-10 minutes.
- Place the flour, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the center, and pour in the yeast mixture.
- Add the egg, yolk, oil, and apple, and stir, working the flour into the liquids a little at a time, until all the ingredients have incorporated and the dough forms a ball that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. (If the apples are juicy and the dough seems sticky, add a little more flour.)
- Dust the work surface with flour, and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes.
- Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough and knead for 5 minutes more.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, and roll each into a rope about 18 inches long.
- Pinch all 4 ropes together at one end. Starting with the left-most rope, weave it over the adjacent rope, under the next, and over the last. Repeat, to form the braid, until you have reached the end.
- Pinch the braid together at the bottom end.
- Brush with egg wash, and allow to rise for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Brush the challah once more with egg wash, and bake for 30 minutes.
Happy anniversary! What a great way to celebrate 🙂 I LOVE me a good loaf of challah. I love it any way – toasted with butter, straight-up, in French toast. You name it, and challah makes it that much better. Wishing you and your family a joyous start to the Jewish New Year!
Thank you so much Aida! And I am so with you, challah makes everything better!
Congrats, Allie! What a great way to celebrate. To many more years!!!
I go crazy for challah. I don’t know what it is about it, but I can’t get enough. And with small little apple jewels baked in? Ugh, I’m droolinggggg!
Totally! I love it too- something about that soft, sweet, yeastiness. It’s so comforting! Loved it with the apples too. Thanks so much Sarah! xo
Happy anniversary, Allie! I hope you guys had a great time celebrating. Those milestones sure feel like an accomplishment. We celebrated 7 years this past August. Woot! This challah looks so delightful. Love that you flavored it with apple and honey. I made my first homemade loaf of yeast bread last night and now I’m thinking this challah should be next on the list.
You should do it! As yeast breads go, this one is pretty simple to make and the result makes it so worthwhile. Thank you so much Jen and congrats to you too!
Allie happy anniversary!! Glad you had a great time and this challah bread looks divine! All the fall flavors and I can just imagine how good it must have tasted 🙂 Pinning!
Thank you so much Ami! We did have a nice time and this bread was definitely a highlight. Thanks so much for pinning!
Happy anniversary Allie! Hope you had a lovely celebration. This beautiful bread looks like quite the treat, just look at that gorgeous golden crust! I love making homemade bread, I look forward to trying this one!!
I love it too. I used to be really intimidated by the idea, but the more I do it the more confident I am becoming. So happy you like this recipe, and I do hope you have a chance to try it! Thanks for the sweet comment 🙂
Happy Anniversary! This looks like a great recipe! I was wondering If you know what the knead time is if I use my Kitchen Aid instead of kneading by hand? Thanks!
Thanks Michele! And thanks for the great question- I do believe that the knead time would be the same regardless. However, you might find that the apples want to escape from the dough if you do it that way. So I would say, knead it for close to the full time, and then just take an extra minute to work those apples back in as needed. Good luck and thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!
This challah is gorgeous, Allie! Love the chunks of apple in the bread – so delicious. Really like the idea of using it to make French toast! Yum! 😀
Yes! We have been doing that with the leftovers and it’s outstanding! Thank you so much Jess! xo
Happy Anniversary Allie! This bread is just beautiful! I LOVE challah bread, and I’m sure this recipe will not disappoint! On my list!!
Thanks so much Mary Ann! Hope you are having a great week, dear. 🙂
Happy Anniversary!! I’m glad you guys had a great weekend. This bread is making get in the mood for fall. Love the gorgeous brown and apples.
Thank you so much Zainab! It was a lovely weekend and now this week is shaping up to be the same. Hope you are enjoying as well!
Simply gorgeous! What fabulous flavors.
Thanks Melanie! Hope you are doing well, dear!
Wow girlfriend 12 years? That is so so amazing! Big congrats to you. Love is a beautiful thing especially when sustained. I am so in love with this challah. The beauty of it is seriously unreal.
You are too kind Jocelyn! Before you know it you and Frederick will be there too. It sneaks up on ya! 😉
Allie, the mini-wine tour sounds fabulous! and LOVE this honey apple challah!!! I once mispronounced “challah” and was immediately corrected by someone . . a memory that will now stay with me forever when I see or eat challah! 🙂
Um, that totally happened to me too. It was when I was first getting to know my husband and we were at a Jewish diner with one of his Jewish friends. I felt absolutely mortified!
EEE! Happy Anniversary, Allie!!! Sounds like you guys did it up right to celebrate and had a fantastic weekend!! While I am not Jewish, nor is the Hubster… I DIE for challah! But honey and apple challah? OMG! I could (and probably will) eat the entire loaf in one sitting! I can always diet tomorrow (or never). 🙂 Pinned!! Cheers, girlfriend!
You don’t have to be Jewish to love challah! I am living proof of that, lol. It’s so darn good. Thank you so much for pinning Cheyanne, and for the comment!
Happy Anniversary!! I hope it was awesome!
And this Challah is GORGEOUS. Can you believe I’ve never actually eaten Challah? I know, totally the worst food blogger EVER. But I need to get on it with this recipe! Pinned!
You seriously need to get on it asap! Girl you are missing out. A life without challah is like a day without sunshine. Thanks so much for pinning Taylor!
Yeah! Happy Anniversary to you two! Sounds like you had a nice celebration! I love challah bread – it’s just the best for eating straight and for french toast too (yeah!). This looks so golden and perfect, Allie!
Thank you so much Liz! I was really happy with the way it came out (after several tries, lol!), and we have been loving the challah french toast lately 😉
Oh wow, I could totally go for a great big thick slice of this right now! Swooning over this right now, it’s gorgeous!
Thank you so much Annie! I have been gorging myself on thick slices for days!