Challah Rolls (Pronounced like “Holla!”)

My mother-in-law makes these Challah rolls for our family every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. For those not familiar with the Jewish vernacular, Challah is pronounced like “Holla” (as in “Ain't no holla back girl”) or “Dolla” (as in “Dolla dolla bills, y'all”). Yep, we regularly raise the roof when we bake over here.

When I think of holiday bread, this is what comes to mind for me. The whole idea of Challah rolls and homemade breads used to totally intimidate me, until Heidi showed me how simple it really is to bake with yeast.

Challah Rolls
1/4 cup active dry yeast
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups First Street whole milk
1 cup First Street salted butter, melted and cooled slightly
8 eggs
10 cups flour
1 Tbsp salt

Put milk in a small saucepan on low until it reaches between 105 and 115 F (if you don't have a thermometer, just heat it up until it feels slightly above room temperature). Combine milk, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and let sit (to proof the yeast) about 10 minutes or until foamy. Add melted butter and eggs. Mix well.

Combine flour and salt and add to wet mixture 2 cups at a time, stirring between additions, until a soft dough forms (you may need to add more flour if you put in all 10 cups and it still feels a little bit too moist). Knead dough, either in a mixer or on a floured counter, until it feels elasticy. Place dough in a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.

Cut with a large knife or pastry cutter into 2 1/2-3 ounce rolls (I use a baking scale to make sure they're all the same weight, but as long as they're roughly the same size they should be okay) and place seam-side down on a cookie sheet. Alternately, you can simply cut the dough into three long loaves and place into greased loaf pans. Let sit about 45 minutes, until doubled in size.

Bake for an hour at 375 degrees F until golden brown.

These are so light and fluffy, and are even great leftover for breakfast with a little jam.