Rosh Hashana Challah Drops
There’s something especially festive about Rosh Hashanah Challah Drops. Instead of shaping one traditional loaf, the dough is divided into little balls and arranged in circles around a bowl in the center, creating a beautiful wreath that’s made for sharing. Once baked, you can tuck a bowl of honey right into the middle for dipping, making it a lovely centerpiece for the holiday table.
The dough itself is soft, slightly sweet, and wonderfully tender, with a golden, glossy crust topped with whatever seeds or sliced almonds you like. I also love that the little challah drops make serving easy. Everyone can simply pull off a piece and dip it into the honey. Now that sounds perfect for the holiday!
Start by activating the yeast in warm water with a little sugar. Once it becomes foamy, add it to the remaining dough ingredients in a stand mixer and knead until the dough is smooth and slightly shiny. If it feels excessively sticky, add a little more flour.
Gather the dough into a ball and give it a quick knead by hand until it feels smooth and satiny. Place it in a greased bowl, turning it once to coat the surface, then cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, divide it into small, equal pieces and roll each one into a smooth ball. This is the fun part!
Arrange the balls in three circles around a cookie cutter placed in the center of your prepared pizza stone. The open center will be just the right spot for a bowl of honey.
Give the shaped challah one more short rise, then brush the tops with egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sliced almonds, or a combination of all three.
Bake until beautifully golden and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Let it cool, then place your honey bowl in the center and bring the whole wreath to the table. And if you have a few extra challah drops, turn them into little knots and bake them alongside the wreath. They’re perfect for nibbling while you wait for dinner!
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Rosh Hashana Challah Drops
Makes: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 35-40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour plus rise time 2 & 1/2 hours
Ingredients
- 2 (0.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 cup warm water (a little hotter than lukewarm)
- 7 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 egg yolks
- poppyseeds, sesame seeds, sliced almonds for topping
Instructions
Combine yeast, sugar and water. Let sit 5 minutes.
In a stand mixer using dough hook, combine flour, sugar, salt, egg and oil. Add yeast mixture. Beat on medium for 8 minutes. The dough should start to get a little shiny. If it’s very sticky add up to 1/4 cup more, one tablespoon at a time.
Gather the dough into a ball; knead until smooth and satiny, about one minute. Place in a greased bowl, turning the ball over so that it has a light coating of oil all over it. Cover with a damp towel. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough. Weigh it and divide it into 45 pieces (my pieces were 33 grams each). Roll each piece into a ball and set on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Once all the balls are rolled, place a cookie cutter int the center of a parchment-lined pizza stone (see Chef’s Notes) and place a circle of challah drops around the cutter. Add two more circles of drops around the first circle. Cover with a damp dish towel and let the challah rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Beat the two egg yolks together and bruch them over the challah drops. Sprinkle seeds or almonds as desired.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until nicely crusted and golden. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped. Let cool.
Chef’s Note:
- If you don’t have a pizza stone (I didn’t have one), use a baking sheet. Your challah won’t be perfectly round, but who wants perfection anyhow?
- Figure out the ultimate size of the honey bowl that you will insert in the middle of the challah and match a cookie cutter to that size.
- You may have extra dough or drops after positioning them around the cookie cutter. Don’t throw them away…roll them into a long strip and coil each one into a knot, brush egg yolk and bake them with the challah for you to nibble on later!
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