Sweet Honey and Saffron Challah

Preparation 1. Place the saffron into the cup of hot water and stir to dissolve. Pour into a large bowl. Pour in the honey and whisk until dissolved. Add the yeast and stir again. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and stir to mix everything together. Cover with a clean dish cloth and let sit for 30 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, in another bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, place 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, and margarine. Using a whisk, an electric mixer, or the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, cut the margarine into the dry ingredients until it looks like sand and there are no big clumps of margarine. 3. After the half hour, the yeast mixture should have changed: It will either look thick, have bubbles, or have increased in size. If the mixture has not changed, your yeast may be dead and you should dump that mixture and make a new one with new yeast. Beat 2 of the eggs in a small bowl. Add the eggs to the yeast mixture and mix using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Add the flour and margarine mixture in three parts, mixing well after each addition. With your hands or a dough hook on the stand mixer, knead the dough and add 1/4 cup of the flour. If the dough remains sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour. Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky and feels soft when you slide your hand across it. 4. Wash the bowl, dry it, and rub the oil round the bowl. Add the dough and rub the top with the oil on your hands. Cover with a dish towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours. 5. Sprinkle the top of the cookie with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and bake for 35 to 37 minutes, until the edges start to look golden. Remove from the oven and immediately cut the cookie into 8 or 12 large wedges or about eighteen 1 x 3-inch bars, if you like. If you wait until the cookie cools to cut it, you will not get nice clean edges. 5. Place the dough on a floured surface and punch it down to remove air pockets. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 balls, depending on how many challahs you will bake. Divide each ball into three pieces. Roll the three pieces into strands the same length, shorter for a fatter challah, longer for a long and narrow challah. Braid the strands. *See instructions in "Braiding Challah" below. 6. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise another 1 1/2 hours. Beat the remaining egg and brush the challahs with the egg. 7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is browned and when you lift the challah and tap on the bottom, it sounds hollow. Remove the challahs to a wire rack to cool. *Braiding ChallahThis braiding method is for making 3-braided challah. To braid the dough, place the three strands in front of you vertically, about 3 inches apart. Gently press the top ends together. Start at one side and pull one outside strand into the center. Take the outside strand from the other side and place that between the other two strands. Go to the other side and pull that strand into the center of the other two. You want to pull the dough a little each time to braid tightly. Keep alternating sides until you reach the bottom. Braid as far down as you can and then press the ends of the strands together, tuck under the loaf, and press tightly. Turn the loaf around. Undo the strands that you loosely pressed together when you started braiding. Now you will braid underneath: Take the outside strand that looks like it is on top of the other three and pull it under and in between the other two. Take the opposite outside strand and pull it under the other two. Repeat until you can braid no more, press the ends together and tuck underneath, pressing tightly. From The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy by Paula Shoyer. Copyright © 2010 Brandeis University. Reprinted with permission from Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England.

Preparation 1. Place the saffron into the cup of hot water and stir to dissolve. Pour into a large bowl. Pour in the honey and whisk until dissolved. Add the yeast and stir again. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and stir to mix everything together. Cover with a clean dish cloth and let sit for 30 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, in another bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, place 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, and margarine. Using a whisk, an electric mixer, or the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, cut the margarine into the dry ingredients until it looks like sand and there are no big clumps of margarine. 3. After the half hour, the yeast mixture should have changed: It will either look thick, have bubbles, or have increased in size. If the mixture has not changed, your yeast may be dead and you should dump that mixture and make a new one with new yeast. Beat 2 of the eggs in a small bowl. Add the eggs to the yeast mixture and mix using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Add the flour and margarine mixture in three parts, mixing well after each addition. With your hands or a dough hook on the stand mixer, knead the dough and add 1/4 cup of the flour. If the dough remains sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour. Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky and feels soft when you slide your hand across it. 4. Wash the bowl, dry it, and rub the oil round the bowl. Add the dough and rub the top with the oil on your hands. Cover with a dish towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours. 5. Sprinkle the top of the cookie with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and bake for 35 to 37 minutes, until the edges start to look golden. Remove from the oven and immediately cut the cookie into 8 or 12 large wedges or about eighteen 1 x 3-inch bars, if you like. If you wait until the cookie cools to cut it, you will not get nice clean edges. 5. Place the dough on a floured surface and punch it down to remove air pockets. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 balls, depending on how many challahs you will bake. Divide each ball into three pieces. Roll the three pieces into strands the same length, shorter for a fatter challah, longer for a long and narrow challah. Braid the strands. *See instructions in "Braiding Challah" below. 6. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise another 1 1/2 hours. Beat the remaining egg and brush the challahs with the egg. 7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is browned and when you lift the challah and tap on the bottom, it sounds hollow. Remove the challahs to a wire rack to cool. *Braiding ChallahThis braiding method is for making 3-braided challah. To braid the dough, place the three strands in front of you vertically, about 3 inches apart. Gently press the top ends together. Start at one side and pull one outside strand into the center. Take the outside strand from the other side and place that between the other two strands. Go to the other side and pull that strand into the center of the other two. You want to pull the dough a little each time to braid tightly. Keep alternating sides until you reach the bottom. Braid as far down as you can and then press the ends of the strands together, tuck under the loaf, and press tightly. Turn the loaf around. Undo the strands that you loosely pressed together when you started braiding. Now you will braid underneath: Take the outside strand that looks like it is on top of the other three and pull it under and in between the other two. Take the opposite outside strand and pull it under the other two. Repeat until you can braid no more, press the ends together and tuck underneath, pressing tightly. From The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy by Paula Shoyer. Copyright © 2010 Brandeis University. Reprinted with permission from Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England.