For a long time my greatest pleasure was to make hallah (I prefer this spelling) for shabbat. I started my dough on Thursday evening, left it to rise overnight in the fridge, shaped and let it rise again, and then baked it, filling my home with the smell of warm bread in preparation for shabbat.
And then I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. No gluten for me. It seemed like the days of nice, homemade, delicious hallah were out of the question forever!
According to Jewish law hallah is the action of taking a pinch of dough and symbolically give it to the Cohanim (the priestly clan) as part of the tithes the ancient Israelites brought to the Temple in Jerusalem. As we finish making the dough we take a little piece, either burn it or put a lot of salt in it, and say the blessing Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu lehafrish hallah (You are the Source of Blessing, Eternal, our God Sovereign of the universe, that has made us feel connected to You by separating a piece of this dough). To be acceptable as bread we must take a piece of the dough, and it has to be made of at least 51% of wheat, oats, spelt, rye, or barley. From these grains, only oats do not have gluten. All the other grains are out for people with Celiac disease, and oats have to be certified gluten free. Most gluten free hallah (or matzah) commercially available do not have the required amount of grain required. I asked around, and a friend found me a recipe that I have been using. I am sharing it here with slight variations from the recipe entitled, The Only Gluten-free Challah Recipe You’ll Ever Need. I have tried to find the author of this recipe online, but have yet to find them, and I apologize for not giving them attribution. Whoever you are, please know you made my life much better!
Ingredients and steps:
1) Boil some water and preheat the oven to 200°F.
2) Measure the dry ingredients (I put these straight into the bowl of the mixer):
2 1/4 cups GF oat flour (grinding your own is more economical)
1/4 cup GF rice flour
1/4 cup GF potato starch
1/4 cup GF tapioca flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp xanthan gum
3) Mix the ingredients for the rise (in a separate glass):
3 tsp dry yeast or 1 envelope
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water
Dissolve the teaspoon of sugar in the warm water.
Add the yeast, mix well with a fork and set aside until frothy.
4) Last, measure the wet ingredients (I mix that into a glass measuring cup):
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup warm water
2 large eggs (or the equivalent egg replacer to keep it vegan)
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix to combine. Add the yeast mixture.
Mix well for 3-5 minutes (I use my KitchenAid and have it run with the whisk or bread attachment for about five minutes).
Turn the oven off.
First Rise: Cover the dough bowl with parchment paper and leave in the warm (but off!) oven for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Take the bowl out and turn the oven back on to preheat to 200°F.
Stir the dough down and spoon into your lightly greased pans—small loaf pans work. (I use a silicon pan in the format of 4 small hallahs, dividing the dough among them. I have also used a big silicon pan and it also worked.)
Turn the oven off.
Second Rise: Cover the pan(s) with the same parchment paper, return back to the warm (but off) oven, and let rise again for another 40 minutes or so, until the dough has doubled.
Remove the rising challah from the oven.
Baking (~ 30-35 minutes) Preheat oven to 375°F.
Part One: Bake uncovered at 375°F for 15 minutes.
Line a cookie sheet with the parchment paper you used to cover the dough.
Remove pans from oven and invert half-baked loaves onto the cookie sheet. They should be solid at this point.
Part Two: Bake uncovered at 375°F for 15-20 minutes. You’ll want the tops to have a nice, golden-brown coloring. If the hallah is getting too dark, cover it with parchment paper.
Move to wire rack to cool.
People tell me that this is a great hallah. I hope it helps someone else with gluten intolerance or Celiac disease as much as it has helped me.