Almond Croissant Breakfast Challah is swirled with fresh marzipan and topped with sliced almonds. It’s part bread, part pastry, and makes the most incredible breakfast you’ll ever have.
When I first published this recipe and portions of this article in The Nosher, it instantly became a wild success! Home bakers fell in love with my Almond Croissant Breakfast Challah because the directions are easy to follow and the results are truly spectacular!
My favorite bread, to both bake and eat, is challah….but not the challah you serve for Shabbat dinner. My ideal challah is served the next morning, for breakfast. There is really something magical about Shabbat morning and Shabbat breakfast. The world almost stands a little still. Growing up, my most vivid Shabbat morning memories were from my aunt and uncle’s table and being welcomed into Shabbat morning with an array of special cakes and Danishes served alongside tea and coffee. It was a special treat. As an adult, I try to bring that special Shabbat morning of pastries and cake into my own home with the concept of a breakfast challah. I began creating breakfast challah with leftover dough filled with cinnamon and sugar. Over the years, I have created variations of breakfast challahs that embrace the flavors of the season and my favorite pastry fillings.
You’ll Love This Almond Croissant Breakfast Challah!
This challah recipe is based on My Most Delicious Challah Recipe. It’s a wonderful dough that is so versatile. My favorite breakfast challah is this one…my winter challah; filled with bright citrus and marzipan; reminiscent of almond croissants enjoyed in little European cafes. Marzipan, a traditional confectionary of both Mizrachi and eastern European Jews alike, is an unlikely breakfast food. However, when laminated into challah, it results in a delicate cross between challah and pastry. The layers of the challah fall away in delicate folds of citrus infused butter and fresh marzipan.
The world claims you can’t have it all…but with this challah…you can.
Baked in a traditional babka crown shape, this challah encompasses everything of my childhood; the marzipan treats, fluffy challahs, and the cake served for Shabbat morning breakfast. Showcase my Almond Croissant Challah as the centerpiece for your next brunch, or simply as a special breakfast for your family. It’s perfection sliced with a cup of coffee early on Shabbat morning or for the late afternoon when you feel that little extra need for that little special something. This challah is also the perfect festive bread for the winter holiday season.
Some Tips for success!
This recipe does have a few steps to it. But don’t despair! All steps are easy to follow and relatively quick! Just follow the directions and you will be successful!
It is very important to use an angel food cake pan for this recipe. The hollow center of an angel food cake pan allows air flow and heat to circle the challah, cooking it evenly. If you do not own an angel food cake pan and have no desire to acquire one, a Bundt cake pan can also work.
I hope you enjoy my recipe! Stay cozy, friends! Happy Friday!
Almond Croissant Breakfast Challah
Ingredients
For the challah dough:
- 1 cup warm water see notes
- 1 tablespoon + 1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 500 grams bread flour roughly 4 cups, plus more for kneading
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for greasing bowl
For the marzipan:
- 1½ cups almond flour
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 teaspoons disaronno liquor or rum
- 2 pinches kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons water see note
For the citrus butter:
- 1 stick 113 grams unsalted butter, softened
- Zest of 2 large tangerines/clementines roughly 2 heaping teaspoons
- 1 tablespoon bread flour
For the topping:
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon water
- Sliced almonds for topping
- Powdered sugar for finishing, optional
Instructions
Make the challah dough:
- In a small bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and let it rest about five minutes, or until yeast has bloomed/foamed up. (if your yeast has not bloomed/foamed up by this point, your water was too warm or your yeast is dead).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, kosher salt and sugar. Mix well to combine.
- Add the eggs, olive oil and yeast/water mixture. Stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon or dough whisk to create a rough, shaggy dough.
- Pour the dough onto a clean kitchen counter and begin kneading the dough by pushing the dough with the palm of your hands, dragging it forward on the counter, and then folding it back over itself. Give it a quarter turn between each knead.
- Depending on the weather, the dough may be sticky, so add a little additional flour as you knead (anywhere from ¼ -⅓ cup), until the dough is slightly smooth and supple, but still has a little tackiness left.
- Lightly coat your mixing bowl in olive oil, a few tablespoons. Put the dough in the bowl and give it a little swirl around the bowl. Flip the dough over so all sides have been covered with oil.
- Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap, cover in a towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size.
- After 45 minutes, fold and punch the dough dough four times, giving the dough a quarter turn between each fold and punch.
- Cover the dough back up and allow it to rise another 35 minutes.
Make the citrus butter filling (while the dough rises):
- In a small bowl, combine the soft (but not melted) butter and clementine zest until fully incorporated.
- Add the flour and mix until fully combined. Set aside.
Make the marzipan: (while the dough rises)
- In a bowl of a food processor, combine the almond flour, powdered sugar, almond extract, liquor/rum, and kosher salt.
- Pulse the processor a few good whirls until the ingredients are fully combined.
- With the processor running on low, slowly drizzle in the water and let it mix until the marzipan forms. The consistency should be spreadable, but not dry. Place marzipan in a bowl and set aside.
To assemble the challah:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Divide the dough in half, sprinkle it in flour and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rest for five minutes.
- Lightly flour the counter and roll out the first piece of dough into a 13×20 rectangle. (The dough will be rolled out very thin, that’s what you want.) Position the dough so the long part of the dough (20”) is parallel to the edge of your counter.
- Dot the dough with half of the butter mixture. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, very carefully spread the butter all over the dough in an even layer. Do not leave a border.
- Dot the dough with half of the marzipan. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, very carefully spread the marzipan over the butter into an even layer. Do not leave a border.
- Carefully roll the dough snugly towards you (like making cinnamon buns) until you have a long rope.
- Set the dough rope aside and repeat the process with the other half of dough and filling.
- Twist the two dough ropes together and secure them to each other, creating a circle.
- Place the challah in a well greased angel food cake pan, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. To make sure the dough is ready, poke the dough with your finger, when the dough doesn’t spring back, it’s fully proofed.
- Combine the egg yolk and ½ teaspoon of water in a bowl and mix together. Brush the challah with the egg wash and allow it to dry for one minute. Brush on a second layer and scatter generously with sliced almonds.
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until deeply golden. If parts of the top begin burning or turn too dark before the challah is finished baking, loosely top those areas with small pieces of aluminum foil while the challah continues baking.
- Remove the challah from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
- Carefully turn the challah out from the pan onto a cooling rack. Allow it to cool thoroughly before serving.
- Optional: before serving, lightly sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.
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