Have you ever Heard of a Schlissel Challah? Me either! Let me give you the 4-1-1…

Last year I had the good fortune to meet a new friend named Yael and she introduced me to this unique challah. She is quite an amazing baker. I believe we met sometime around Passover and I started to follow her on Instagram, drooling at each and every photo of bread she created – every one of them a masterpiece. Check her out on https://www.babysbread.com/ and her Instagram @babys_bread and you’ll see what I mean. She was telling me about a key shaped challah she was making and even though it is a tradition dating back hundreds of years, I had never heard about it and was so intrigued.

Before I get to the recipe, here is some information I found online… The week after Passover it is customary to bake a key shaped challah also known as Schlissel Challah. The word schlissel means key in Yiddish and the significance is to bring “segulah for parnassah” or a blessing to your home. Some say the shape will bring financial blessing as well. I’m all in for that! There are a few people who still wrap a real key in aluminum foil and bake it right into the bread. When I asked my friend if she does this, she reminded me that’s a great way to break your teeth! There is so much more information online if you are interested, I have included a couple of places you may find interesting: http://kitchen-tested.com/2012/04/20/shlissel-challah-key-challah/ and  https://www.kosher.com/lifestyle/shlissel-challahs-why-how-102
Today I made my first attempt and I have to say, I’m very proud of the results!  Of course you can use your favorite challah dough recipe, but I have included one here which is very easy to handle, especially for the beginner.

It makes three 1 pound challahs or two larger ones. Tonight, one bread is for my Shabbos table, one is for a friend who could really use some good fortune and the other to a new friend I met last night. When you bake this challah, may your key open the doors to bring you and your family good fortune and many blessings.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
1 ½ tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
4 ½ to 5 ½ cups bread flour (I use King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill)
2 whole eggs (I use extra-large but large will be fine too)
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup extra light olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
Sesame seeds (optional)

Egg wash
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 pinch of sugar
dash water

Directions
The temperature of the water used to bloom yeast should be warm like a baby’s bath. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar to the warm water. Mix it and set it aside for 5 or 10 minutes or until if foams up.

Into a large bowl, add 4 cups of bread flour and set aside.

I find it easier to use a large glass measuring cup for the wet ingredients so that I can pour it into the flour a little at a time. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, and oil and mix together well. Add the foamed yeast mixture and just stir once or twice. This helps to get the sugar off the bottom.

Make a well in the center of the flour and pour some of the egg mixture mixing slowly. Keep adding the wet ingredients into the flour until it’s all incorporated.  This will make a doughy slurry. Now add ½ cup flour at a time until you have dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl and holds its shape. At some point it will be easier to mix with your hands.

I like to knead the dough directly in the bowl but you can turn it out onto the counter if you like. Once it feels like nice plump dough, you are done. Pour a little oil in the bowl and put the dough back in.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place to rise for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size. After it has doubled, punch the dough down and divide into 2 or 3 pieces depending on how many breads you want to make. This recipe makes approximately 3 one pound challahs.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Into a small bowl add the egg, salt, sugar and water and beat well. This is the egg wash.

I made two different key shapes. One with basic braids and the other with rolls. There are many tutorials online if you need help. Here is how I did it…

For the rolls: Depending on how big you want your challah, will determine how many rolls you use. For mine I made 8 larger 1 ¾ to 2 ounce challah rolls plus two 1 ounce rolls (for the teeth of the key). To make the rolls, take your small dough ball and roll it into a snake about ½” thick by 5” long, tie it into a little knot. Place them as shown below
  
For the braided key: I used 9 ounces of dough for the shaft of the key, 6 ounces of dough for the head of the key, and 2 ounces for the teeth. These are estimates for the breads I made. You can make them larger or smaller as you like. Then I added a smaller braid to the center, but you can leave it an open key if you like as well.

Brush with a little of the egg wash and set it aside for the second rising -about 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees with your rack in the center of the oven. Before they go into the oven, brush the challahs with egg wash one more time. Sprinkle with sesame seeds at this time if you like.

Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown. I like to set my timer for 15 minutes then turn the baking sheet and set it for another 10 minutes. You can use a cake tester or toothpick to make sure they are dry in the middle.

Enjoy!