Flower Covered Challah For Shavuot!
We are welcoming the beautiful Jewish holiday of Shavuot tonight, and I decided last night that it was time to make some decorated challahs to embrace the holiday, in which we bring flowers and greenery into our homes to remember the lush surroundings on Mt. Sinai. Yes indeed, I did take note of the relative luxury of this act while many of my fellow Israelis were in bomb shelters, and I am grateful to live in a location that is generally not a target, and we have never used the bomb shelter room in our home as such, though I am relieved that we have one! Okay, back to challahs and the upcoming holiday! I love to make round challahs, and they are especially lovely to distinguish a Yom Tov from shabbat…..and a four braided challah looks amazing and is so simple to do once you get the hang of it. Check out my four strand round challah, and become a pro, you can do it! Incase you missed it the link is HERE. Regarding the simple flowers that top this challah, keep on reading……
Whoops, I left the challahs in a bit too long, but that is okay, because perfection is not the key, rather the idea of making something special to honor the holiday! It does take practice to make decorated challahs, so don’t be hard on yourself, please!
First Step: Set aside a grapefruit sized piece of dough to use to decorate four challahs (2 kilos of flour)
Second Step: Decorate the challahs when they are almost completely risen
Third Step: To make flowers, cut a circle with your knife, and then make six slits around the perimeter. Pinch the sections together, and voila, a flower is born!
Fourth Step: Place the flower on the challah and then add tiny balls to the center.
It is true, the designs look much nicer before baking, and I have tried with dough that is yeast free in the past, though I can’t remember if it burned more quickly….hmmmm. So maybe do some research on that when you have the time, for now just use the same dough as your challahs, and enjoy!
Wishing everyone a wonderful chag sameach!
