Both my Taiwanese culture and my Jewish culture have a wide variety of great and distinct flavors and cuisines. This is why I started developing recipes that combine elements from both.
Challah is the first Jewish bread I learned how to make. I started with a friend’s family recipe and then was introduced to several unique variations out there, and they were all a bit different in terms of texture, techniques, or flavors. So when I started developing fusion recipes, challah was one of the first things that came to my mind.
Among all the flavors in East Asian desserts, matcha is one of my favorites. Matcha has so many amazing combos to pair with other staple Asian ingredients and I love them all. The rich and deep earthy umami flavor balances any sweetness seamlessly and effortlessly make any dessert so elegantly enjoyable.
Challah baking is part magic, part science and 100% spiritual. Learn more about Challah here.
This Matcha Honey Challah is great for either Rosh Hashanah or any regular Shabbat. The gorgeous green color when slicing the bread open is always a pleasant surprise to all of my guests. In the recipe, it calls for matcha honey, I use that only because my local honey guy has the most amazing matcha honey, but any regular honey works here. The quality of the matcha powder also plays an important role in how vibrant the green is, but regardless of the shade of the green, it’s a very elegant and pretty challah to put on your dining table.
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ teaspoons active dry yeast 10g
- ¾ cup warm water 110-115°F 76g
- 2 ¾ plus ½ cup sugar 12g + 40g
- 2 large eggs one for egg wash
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoons honey 24g
- 2 ⅓ - 2 ½ cups all purpose flour 290-310g
- 1 ½ teaspoons matcha powder 10g
- ½ teaspoon salt 3g
- Black sesame seeds for garnish optional
Nutritional Facts
Instructions
- Put the yeast in the water with the 12g of sugar in the mixing bowl, wait for several minutes until the mixture is foamy and activated.
- Add in the rest of the sugar (40g), honey, whole egg and the yolks, mix a little.
- Mix the salt and 2 ⅓ cups (290g) of flour together and slowly add it into the bowl of the wet ingredients. Add in more flour if needed. Do not over flour. Add in matcha powder and salt. Knead until smooth and elastic.
- Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover and rest until double in volume (about 2-3 hours).
- Punch the dough down, cover, and rest for another 30 minutes.
- Divide into equal portions (if doing three braids, divide the dough into three etc), cover and rest for ten minutes.
- Roll into long strands. Braid. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Whisk the remaining one egg to make the egg wash. Brush it on the dough, cover and final proof until when you lightly press a finger down on the dough it slowly rises back up halfway. About 60-90 minutes, depending on the weather.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Once proofed, brush another layer of egg wash, if you want seeds on top, sprinkle seeds after egg wash.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on rack.
