Ingredients
- 1.5 kg of plain flour (approx.)
- 1.5 cups of lukewarm water
- 1 portion of fresh yeast (approx. 40g, otherwise 1 tablespoon of active dried yeast)
- 4-6 tablespoons of runny honey (plus one more teaspoon to mix in with the yeast)
- 2 eggs (plus one more egg white for the egg wash)
- 1 tbsp of salt
- 1/4 cup of sunflower oil
- 3-4 cooking apples (peeled and chopped)
- Fresh bees’ honeycomb (try Hilltop Honey under KLBD supervision)
- Rolling pin
- 2 oven proof bowls wrapped in foil and lightly oiled (one large and one small)
Method
- Dissolve the yeast and teaspoon of honey in the water and, once bubbles start to appear, add a third of the flour, followed by the two eggs, the rest of the honey, the salt and the oil.
- Combine by hand, adding flour little by little, until a ball of dough forms which doesn’t stick to your hands.
- Knead for 5-10 minutes before placing in a lightly oiled bowl covered with cling film to rise for about an hour and a half or until doubled in size.
- Roll the honey dough out long and flat on a floured surface using a rolling pin and then cut 6 long strips of dough (approx. 5cm wide) and 3 long strips (approx. 1 cm wide) using a sharp knife.
- Place small pieces of apple down the middle of each of the 6 strips of wider dough, drizzle with honey and fold the strip together up and around the apple.
- Braid these up, three strips at a time to make 2 three strand braids, and place one long, apple and honey filled braid in a circle on a lined baking tray around the larger bowl and the other around the smaller bowl.
- Braid the three narrower strips in a three strand braid and then wrap the braid under and over each of the circles of dough as a decoration.
- Egg wash the challahs and bake for 25-30 minutes at 180 degrees.
- Once cooled, break the honeycomb apart carefully and arrange chunks on top of the challahs so that the honey oozes from the comb and tops the challah with sweetness.
