Here's how make the bake goods that are mainstays of the Jewish holidays

This year the Jewish New Year starts at sundown Sept. 15. The name "Rosh Hashanah" means "head of the year." The similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one is that most Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life and make "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year, and planning the changes to make in the New Year. I always explain to my non-Jewish friends that the date of Jewish holidays does not change since they are celebrated on the same day of the Jewish calendar every year. The Jewish calendar is lunar-based rather than solar-based which is used by most of the Western world, similar to Easter which shifts from year to year.

This month’s article is devoted to baked items commonly found in a Jewish bakery, many of which are associated with the New Year holiday. We are both from the southside of Chicago and truly miss the smells and all the goodies from the Shore Kosher Bakery. Let’s start with the challah.

The challah is a bread rich with meaning and a mainstay in the weekly celebration of the Sabbath. Challah is traditionally braided or made round for special holidays like Rosh Hashanah. Some see the round shape as a reflection of the continuing cycle of years and seasons. Incredibly Delicious is a great source for challahs and in the past has prepared round challahs when ordered in advance.

Second when we think Jewish baked goods are bagels. Brought to the U.S. by Jewish Polish immigrants in the early 1900s, an excellent fresh bagel highlights the multi-textured crisp-meets-chew that comes from boiling the rounds before baking them. Today everyone has their favorite: plain, salt, onion, sesame, poppy seed or the king of all bagel flavors, everything bagel (aka mishmash).

What would an excellent Jewish bakery be without a babka? The chewy, chocolatey, or cinnamon, airy bread is a much-loved staple within the Jewish bakery. Babka made its way to the U.S. via Jewish Polish immigrants around the late 1800s. Many acknowledge babka’s rise to fame was a direct result of the 1994 episode of "Seinfeld," entitled "The Dinner Party" during which Jerry and Elaine debate over the superior flavor: chocolate or cinnamon babka.

More: Sometimes, the whole reason to start a fire is to make S'mores; here's a different way

One of my personal favorites is Rugelach. The name comes from Yiddish, meaning "little twists." American-style rugelach is distinctive for two reasons. The yeasted and laminated dough commonly found in versions of rugelach outside of the U.S., like in Israel and the U.K., has been replaced with cream cheese. The result is a rich, easy-to-manipulate, slightly flaky dough perfect for smearing with jam, nuts, chocolate, or whatever filling you prefer and rolling into finger-sized twists.

There are many more baked delights (bialy’s, black and white cookies, Mandel bread, pumpernickel, rye bread, Kichel, honey cake) that I will feature in a future article. I thank Mary Beth Cohen for sharing her popular challah recipe.

Mary Beth Cohen’s Challah

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. This recipe makes two braided loaves or 3 slightly smaller braided loaves or around 16 rolls.

Ingredients:

1½ cups water

¼ cup honey (a little more adds additional sweetness)

1/3 cup oil (corn, canola, etc. Nothing strongly flavored)

1 T. salt

2 envelopes of instant yeast

½ cup very warm water

3 eggs plus one egg yolk

7 cups bread flour

A couple of egg yolks for wash

Poppy seeds or sesame seeds, if desired

1. Combine 1 ½ cup water, honey, and corn oil. This mixture should be warm when added to the yeast.

2. Beat eggs and yolk in a small bowl.

3. Sprinkle yeast into very warm water in a large bowl that you have warmed by filling with hot water, let sit, then empty and dry. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (Very warm water should feel comfortably warm when dropped on the wrist) and add a small amount of honey and allow it to sit until it bubbles – about 5 minutes. Then stir in the water mixture and the eggs.

4. Combine 1 T. salt and 4 cups of flour. Beat the flour/salt mix until the flour is absorbed and the liquid is relatively smooth with just a few lumps. (This is most easily done using a standing mixer with a bread hook.) Beat in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

5. Once the dough is mixed, beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. (If you are kneading by hand: Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 continuous minutes, using only as much flour to keep the dough from sticking. The soft velvety dough will absorb flour as you knead it and will become velvety soft.)

6. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead (this is mostly so that you can say “Yes, I kneaded the dough!”) until the dough is velvety soft.

7. Place in a greased large bowl. Turn to coat all over with oil. Cover with a clean towel. Let rise in a warm place, away from drafts (Such as a cold oven with the light on.), 45 minutes or until double in bulk. You can tell that it has doubled if you stick your finger into the dough and the indentation stays.

8. Punch the dough down. Let rise for 15 minutes or until almost double in bulk. Punch down again and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times. Divide in equal halves. One at a time, divide each half into 3 equal pieces. Roll each into a rope about 15 inches long.

9. Braid three ropes, fasten securely at both ends and place on a greased cookie sheet or better yet, on a sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Let rise again in a warm place, away from drafts, for 30 minutes or until double in bulk. Brush egg yolk over bread and sprinkle with seeds, if desired.

10. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 40 minutes (Check at 35 minutes) or until braids are golden, the bottom of the loaf is brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Place loaves on wire racks to cool.

Note: Check the humidity outside. If it is high (Over 70%), use a little less liquid. If under 65%, you may find you need less flour.

On behalf of Carol and myself, we wish you, L’Shanah Tovah to a good year!

Jay Kitterman is culinary and special events consultant, Lincoln Land Community College.

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Baking/Pastry, and Value-Added Local Food, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Here's how to make challah for Jewish New Year observances