The Parve Baker

Rich Challah

2 packets (or about 4½ teaspoons) active dry yeast
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon warm water
1 cup lite coconut milk
⅓ cup sugar
6-6½ cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup parve margarine, softened
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
Oil
Poppy or sesame seeds (optional)

Mix the yeast with ½ cup of warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes, or until it begins to foam.

In a large bowl, combine 4 cups of flour with the remaining sugar, salt, and margarine to form coarse crumbs. Add the yeast mixture, the coconut milk, and the eggs. Beat for 3 minutes by hand or with an electric mixer. Add just enough flour to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto to a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 10 minutes, adding small amounts of flour, as needed, to keep it from sticking. The dough should be very smooth and satiny. Put the dough into an oiled bowl, turning it so that all sides are oiled. To keep the dough moist and dark, cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and then a dish towel. Let the dough rise 1-2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

Punch down the dough and knead it a few times to remove any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. Divide each half into 4 equal pieces. Cover all of the pieces loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.

Shape one loaf at time by rolling 4 pieces of dough into strands of equal length (about 16 inches) on a lightly floured surface. To prevent air bubbles, do not pull on the strands to stretch them. For a loaf that tapers at the ends, make the centers of the strands a bit thicker. To braid the challah, place the four strands next to each other with the ends touching. First, pass the strand on the far right under the two to the left of it, then over the one that is now to its immediate right. Second, pass the strand on the far left under the two to the right of it, then over the one that is now to its immediate left. Repeat these two steps until reaching the ends of the strands. Pinch together the strands at either end of the loaf and tuck them underneath it.

Carefully set the loaves several inches apart on a large, greased baking sheet. Gently brush the loaves with a little oil to keep them from drying out. Cover them loosely with wax paper and let them rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour or longer.

Make a glaze by beating the egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water. Gently brush the loaves to cover with the glaze. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if using.

Bake the loaves on the bottom rack in an oven pre-heated to 375° F. for 40-45 minutes. If the loaves are browning too fast, tent them with aluminum foil. They are done when the crust is browned and the bottom of each loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Makes two large loaves.

Adapted from Gloria Kaufer Greene’s original The Jewish Holiday Cookbook (Random House) and reprinted in The New Jewish Holiday Cookbook (Crown). This recipe can be made without coconut milk by substituting water. For sweeter challah, increase the amount of sugar to ½ cup. For easier braiding, use three strands of dough for each loaf instead of four.