Yesterday afternoon I baked 64 nice sized challah rolls for a sheva brachot celebration that we the neighbors were holding for another neighbor’s daughter who got married last week.
After the traditional Jewish wedding the couple does not go on a honeymoon, they stick around for at least a week to continue the celebrations with friends and family, and get accustomed to their new status with loved ones close by. Once a day, for seven days, a festive meal is made, usually for a nice sized crowd, and specific blessings are said for the couple, which are called sheva brachot (seven blessings). As it turns out this particular meal was prepared for 150 people, and so everyone pitched in. I happen to know that the mother of the bride loves my rolls, so I just had to volunteer to make them, or at least 64 of them!
To make nice sized challah rolls, I recommend making no more than 32 rolls per 2 kilo batch. Of course you can adjust this number, this is just the exact number of rolls that fits perfectly on my oven tray. I should add that my oven is a 90cm freestanding oven, so the rack is almost (?) twice the size of that found in a regular built in oven. (The 90cm built-ins are substantially smaller, so consider that if you get to design yourself a kitchen! The six burners and the huge oven in my freestanding oven was one of the best purchases I ever made!)
You’ll Need:
- my no egg white challah recipe
- 2 kilos of flour per 32 rolls
How To:
Follow the instructions for making standard challah loves, just when making the balls, make 32, instead of the number you’d make for braiding loaves. After balls have rested, roll each ball in your hand to make a rope, about 8-9″ long. (My kids gladly helped with this part!) Loosely cross the right side over the left, and bring the top of the right side up through the hole just a bit, sort of like a belly button. Tuck the end of the left side under the roll and voila! Check out the photo above to see if yours look like mine. Set aside to rise until their nice and fluffy, and bake. Yummm!
For lots more posts about baking challah, simply type challah into the search bar on the top right of my blog, and you’ll get a list of all my previous posts. You’ll be a pro in no time, and believe me, there’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked challah on a Friday afternoon!
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