Rice Challah Recipe

Theodore Rosengarten
Rafael Rosengarten

"...Southern Jews ate challah, and they still do. Often baked by black cooks who learned the Jewish style of cooking—many learned to prepare food in accordance with Jewish dietary law—South Carolina challah has thrived by adapting to local grains and sweeteners...Cooked rice mixed with wheat flour gives the crumb lightness and luster. It gives the crust a surprising crunch, like an unexpected guest whose presence adds significance to a meal. Challah takes its name from an olive-sized piece of dough that is separated from the bulk of the dough before the bread is put up to rise. The piece is subsequently baked, burned, and thrown away. The ritual recalls the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and is completed with a prayer.

"Our recipe calls for brushing the risen dough with egg and sprinkling the braided loaves with sesame seeds—an African food known also as benne seeds and thought to bring good luck. In Jewish lore, the seeds, be they sesame or poppy, represent the manna which God gave the Jews to eat while they wandered the desert."

--(comments and recipe taken from an article on rice breads written for
Legends Magazine of Kiawah Island by Ted & Rafael Rosengarten)

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 TBS dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
4 TBS vegetable oil
5 eggs
1 TBS salt
3 cups cooked rice
6 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour (King Arthur)
flour for dusting

Directions
While the rice is still warm, thoroughly mix in flour. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 4 eggs, and salt. Add the combined rice and flour to the egg mixture, one cup at a time, beating after each addition. As dough thickens, knead with hands. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed, for 20 minutes. Cover with damp cloth and let rise 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled.

Punch down risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for 5 minutes, adding flour to keep dough from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll each third into a long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the 3 snakes together and braid from the middle. Grease 2 baking sheets and place 1 braided loaf on each. Cover loaves with towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat remaining egg and brush on risen loaves. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Bread should make a nice hollow sound when thumped on bottom. Cool on rack for 1 hour before serving. Makes 2 large loaves. Adding raisins or currants makes them holiday breads.