My Challah Project has ended, but I am still enjoying trying to make new and different challah. Thank you to my cousin Bentzi for sending me the directions for this beautiful challah.

The added treat was the dough, my  new favorite for a standard challah.  It was easy to work with, has a beautiful texture and tasted delicious – just the way I imagine a challah should taste.

As for the design, it was surprisingly easy to do. In addition to the roses, I also played around and made a pull apart challah using spiral rolls.

Crown of Roses Challah

From metukimsheli.com

7 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

2 large eggs (from Farmer Kim)

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup honey (locally made)

1½ cup lukewarm water

For the Glaze-

4 tablespoons honey diluted with 2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions

Sift the flour into the bowl of a standing mixer, add the salt and mix well. Add the yeast and mix again until fully incorporated. Add the sugar, eggs, oil, and honey and knead the dough using the dough hook. Gradually add the water until the dough is soft. Add more lukewarm water as necessary, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough is very soft. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until the dough is only a little sticky. Grease a bowl with a some oil, roll the dough into a ball and roll it in the bowl until it is well greased all over. Cover the dough and let rise until it doubles in size, about an hour to an hour and a half.

Line a pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Grease the outside of a 2-inch ring or cookie cutter and place in the middle of the pan.

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and roll each until it is approximately .1 in thick. Cut out 4″- 5″ inch circles. The circles will shrink, that’s okay.

Make to the roses: Use four 12 cm circles and place unto them in a line, one on top of the other, so That Each circle is overlapping the one Beneath it. Starting with the bottom circle, roll the dough into a cylinder. To tighten the cylinder, roll gently on your work surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll in half. Place each piece, flat side down, in the pan, about 2-3 cm (1 in) apart. Repeat the steps above to make enough roses to fill the pan. Cover and let rise for 30-40 minutes. In the meantime, heat the oven to 350˚ F.

Bake the challah for 25 minutes until golden. Meanwhile, Prepare the glaze: Mix the honey with the Boiling water.

When the challah is done, brush each challah with half of the honey glaze.

Let the challah cool a bit, and then remove from pan using a sharp knife. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

The challah is best to eat the day it is made. However, it can be made ahead of time, wrapped in plastic, and frozen for up to one month.

Makes 2 Challot.