Mandylicious Honey Challah for Your High Holiday Entertaining

Mandy Silverman’s new book on challah making may be called Twisted, but her support for Hadassah is straight up.

Silverman, known to her Instagram fans as Mandyliciouschallah, is celebrated for her inventive takes on challah and other braided breads. Her new cookbook, Twisted: A New Approach to Challah, Babka, and Other Twisty Breads, provides photographs and step-by-step instructions to make classic challah with lots of sweet and savory variations as well as stuffed challahs, babkas, challah-crust pizzas and much more – including recipes for challah toppings and dips.

She now has almost 85,000 fans on Instagram, a new television show and more than 500 recipes, but she got her start thanks to her local Hadassah chapter.

“I have done tons of work with Hadassah,” Silverman says.  Her challah business started out of her Sharon, MA, home when she began bringing samples of her bread to area Hadassah dinners in 2013. The reception to her loaves inspired her to invent recipes, teach challah making and begin selling her loaves.

Silverman’s work with Hadassah continues. Recently, she taught a babka class to members of the Boston chapter and conjured up and donated two giant challahs that spelled out the number “80” to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of what is now the Hadassah Greater Blue Hills chapter.

Among Silverman’s more than 60 recipes is her Mandylicious Honey Challah, which provides a perfect way to celebrate the Rosh Hashanah holiday and our wishes for a sweet New Year.

Want more Mandylicious? Twisted is available wherever books are sold.

Mandylicious Honey Challah
Adapted from Twisted: A New Approach to Challah, Babka, and Other Twisty Breads
Makes 2 medium loaves

This is Silverman’s twist on a classic challah with honey, a Rosh Hashanah favorite. She recommends adding 2 tablespoons of cinnamon or apple pie spice to the recipe, along with the brown sugar to give this challah “a burst of even more holiday flavor.”

Bake on baking sheets for a classic braided or round challah or use loaf pans for a more regular shape and additional height.

1 cup (240 ml) water
1 ⁄3 cup (80 ml) canola oil
4 large egg yolks
1/ 2 cup (120 ml) honey
2 Tbsps. packed dark brown sugar
2 tsps. table salt or fine sea salt
4 1/4 cups (575 g) bread flour, plus more as needed
1 Tbsp. instant yeast
Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing (optional)
1 large egg, beaten well, for egg wash
Topping of choice (optional)

IF USING A BREAD MACHINE, add the dry and wet ingredients to the bread machine in the order specified by the manufacturer. Set the machine for “dough” cycle. When the dough cycle is complete, remove the dough from the bread machine. Continue with directions below for shaping the dough and the second rise.

IF MAKING BY HAND OR IN A STAND MIXER, in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the water, oil, egg yolks, honey, brown sugar, salt, flour and yeast and knead or mix for 5 to 7 minutes at low speed until a smooth dough forms (it will be tacky). Add more flour or water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Grease two 5-by-9-inch (12 by 23 cm) loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and divide it into 6 equal portions. Roll into ropes, 9 to 10 inches (23 to 25 cm) long, flouring the surface only as needed.

Braid the ropes (see below) to make two loaves.

Transfer the braids to the prepared pans or place on the baking sheet, spacing them about 8 inches (20 cm) apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes. (The dough will rise but not double.)

While the loaves are rising, heat the oven to 350°F.

Brush the loaf tops with the egg wash and top as desired. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer the loaf pans or baking sheet to a wire rack; let cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Store any leftovers in a resealable plastic bag or plastic loaf bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw on the counter overnight, then wrap in foil and reheat in the oven at 350°F. until warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Braiding Directions: Place three ropes vertically side by side. Start halfway down the strands by crossing the middle rope over the right, making an X. Cross the left strand under the new middle and repeat right then left, tapering as you go, until the half is fully braided. Pinch the end and tuck it under. Return to the middle of the challah and cross the left strand over the middle then the right over the new middle strand. Repeat – tapering, pinching and tucking in the end. Repeat for second loaf.

To make round loaves: Divide dough in half. Roll each half into three ropes about 15 to18 inches long and braid as above. Coil each braid into a loose spiral, keeping the swirl wide so it bakes evenly through the center. Tuck tail underneath to form a round loaf.

The author does not speak on behalf of Hadassah and the views expressed herein are the author’s own and not necessarily those of Hadassah.

Faith Kramer is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place. It’s where they celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts. Hadassah members are proud of their Zionist mission and their role as keepers of the flame of Jewish values, traditions and beliefs as well as advocating for women’s empowerment and health equity for all. Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 800 columns in The Times of Israel Blogs and other Jewish media outlets. Interested in writing? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org.