Pumpkin Challah

Amy Kritzer
Recipe by
Amy Kritzer

An unconventional twist on traditional challah, this dough incorporates pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin purée.

Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast
3 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg + 1 egg yolk for the dough and 1 egg for the glaze
Directions
  1. Mix the yeast into the hot water water in a bowl. Leave for 10 minutes to dissolve.
  2. Meanwhile, mix the flours, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl.
  3. In the bowl with the water and yeast, whisk in pumpkin purée, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, oil, and honey.
  4. Make a well in your flour mixture and add in the pumpkin mixture to form a dough. Add more flour if your dough is sticky.
  5. Knead dough for 5-10 minutes.
  6. Put dough in a warm, dry bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours until tripled in size.
  7. Form dough into a braided challah.  For a simple three-strand braid divide your dough into three parts and start in the middle, braiding each side and securing at the ends.
  8. Put challah on parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap for 45 minutes until it doubles in size again. While it is rising, pre-heat oven to 350°F.
  9. Brush challah with an egg yolk wash and bake for 35 minutes until golden brown.

Amy Kritzer is a food writer and recipe developer in Austin, TX who enjoys cooking, theme parties and cowboys. She challenges herself to put a spin on her Bubbe’s traditional Jewish recipes and blogs about her endeavors at What Jew Wanna Eat. Her recipes have been featured on Bon Appetit, Daily Candy, The Today Show Blog and more. You can follow her on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook and watch her cooking videos on Google+.