Rosh Hashanah Apple Challah

Happy New Year! Well, the Jewish new year that is.  Today is Rosh Hashanah and I took the day off from school so that I could go to services with my family and then have lunch with them.  It is going to be a lovely day and I am excited for some family time.

I kicked off the day with a nice 3 mile run.  This week also happens to be the week before the Chicago Marathon and therefore my final week of taper before the big race!  This will be my fourth marathon!  I can't believe it and I feel so positive and strong.  Running has become so important to me and I love that I have accomplished so much.  It was especially nice to run 3 miles this morning after sleeping in a little longer than usual because of my day off!

Last night, we went to my brother's house for a Rosh Hashanah dinner.  I have been obsessed with my new bread maker and so I decided to make a challah to bring to the dinner.  On Rosh Hashanah, you eat round challah because it represents the end of a year meeting the beginning of a new year.  You also eat apples and honey because you want a "sweet" new year.  So, I made a Round Apple Challah!

Round Apple Challah

Ingredients:
Dough:
3/4 cup water
2 eggs
3 tbsp canola oil
3 cups bread flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp SAF yeast
Filling:
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. I used a bread machine to make the dough and all you have to do is add the dough ingredients, in order, and then press start.  If you don't have a bread machine, you can add all the ingredients to a stand mixer and mix everything together and then knead for 8-10 minutes, let it rest for about 30 minutes, then knead again and let rise in a warm place for an hour.
2.  To make the filling, toss the chopped apples with the lemon juice, honey, and cinnamon in a bowl, and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
3.  Once your dough is ready, place it on a lightly floured surface.  Using a rolling pin, roll it out until you have a rectangle about 18 inches by 12 inches.
4.  Place the apple filling on the dough rectangle and press it into the dough.  Then, starting with the long side, roll the dough into a long log.  Make sure the seam side is facing down.  Roll the log out so that it becomes a few inches longer.  Then, wind the log around so that you have a circle.  Tuck the end of the dough under the circle.  Place your round challah in a 9 inch cake pan and let rise for another hour.
5. About 15 minutes before your challah is done rising, preheat the oven to 325 and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven.   Sprinkle some sugar over the challah and then, bake the challah for 40-45 minutes.  Let cool for about 20 minutes before removing from pan.

Enjoy :)