Friday, December 11, 2009

Healthy Breads: Holiday Challah


Our second bonus recipe for the HBin5 baking group is a Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries and Orange Zest. Photos do not do this bread justice -- it is lovely in appearance and tastes delicious.


Because my braid was on the long side, I decided to form it into a wreath. It just seemed appropriate for the holiday season.



Just before putting it into the oven, I brushed it with an egg wash and then sprinkled the top with an orange zest-sugar mixture. For both the topping and the bread, I zested one of my blood oranges and used my fingers to rub the zest and sugar together. There was a great orange aroma in the kitchen afterwards, and I even have a bit of topping leftover for the future second loaf.


Fresh from the oven.


The topping was orangey and crunchy and yummy.



The crumb was nice, too. I'm not sure how much this bread was supposed to rise, but the insides look good to me.


For the recipe, head over to Michelle's blog. If you have the new HBin5 book, find the recipe for Whole Grain Challah and customize it with dried cranberries and orange zest for a great holiday treat.

16 comments:

Michelle said...

Looks great Judy! I, too, love the crunch of the Orange Zest Sugar topping. Loved this bread toasted with butter...just so good!

Megan said...

Mmmm - that sounds lovely. I am contemplating make a holiday bread for Christmas morning. But my braiding skills leave a LOT to be desired.

NKP said...

Beautiful! Love the shaping.

Free Samples said...

Mmmm, looks good! =]

Ezzie said...

I see that you mixed the sugar and zest together also before putting on your challah...did you have problems with the sugar and zest mushing together? Good pics! Love it!

Heather S-G said...

It's beautiful...I love the wreath shape!

Femalechef said...

Great job and pretty too!!!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

I love the topping on this bread too. I added some walnuts to my dough and it was great.

Cristie said...

Love your wreath, it's beautiful. I didn't make the orange sugar and I'm sorry for it, this looks so tasty!

Cathy (Bread Experience) said...

Love the wreath. Very nice! I enjoyed the orange sugar as well.

GA Jane said...

Very pretty. I made a note to add walnuts to mine next batch in my HBinFive book! Thank for the idea
SavoringTime in the Kitchen!

Kim said...

I really impressed with the wreath! It seems like it would be really difficult, but I would love to try it.

Bread Over Heels said...

I love the wreath shape! I'll have to attempt it at some point - beautiful!

Jenny said...

I like your wreath. The topping looks yummy, too. I didn't think I'd be able to afford bribing my daughter to zest another orange, though! So I just used poppy seeds.
~Jenny~

Joanne said...

This is so beautiful. I love the wreath idea for the holiday season.

Erin said...

Nice wreath shape! Blood oranges sound DELICOUS - hopefully they will appear in my PA grocery store soon...