In The Wild Heart Kitchen

Saffron & Orange Blossom Celebration Challah is vibrant, light and airy, and studded with orange blossom soaked golden raisins. It’s my dream Shabbat Purim Challah as an ode to Queen Esther herself who would undoubtingly serve this at her feast.

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While social media is saturated with hamentachen recipes, savory adaptations, Dubai chocolate fillings and more….I…as you know…beat to a different drum.

My drum.

It’s the recipe I dreamed up about nine years ago when I was pregnant with my first child one night when I couldn’t sleep.

I envisioned a recipe for a challah fit for a Queen. A Persian inspired challah embracing all the elements of a feast Queen Esther herself would have offered to her guests long ago. And then, life happened as life often does. My daughter was born and then a few years later one more joined. The dreams of creating the recipe for my royal challah vanished. But…..the image of it always lingered in my mind. All the way in the back where you keep your hopes and dreams and the “maybe one days.”

But this year my challah needed to come to life because Purim landed on a Friday.

This Friday.

And I simply couldn’t resist sharing it with you all.

This challah is my own Queen Esther……My Saffron & Orange Blossom Celebration Challah.

The Queen of Challahs is my Saffron & Orange Blossom Celebration Challah:

My Saffron & Orange Blossom Celebration Challah embodies the luxuries of Queen Esther’s finest banquet; the dough is infused with deep flavor and vibrant color from saffron and citrus, and lightly sweetened with honey. Studded with golden raisins and topped with sliced almonds, this celebration challah is buttery and rich; perfect as your seudah centerpiece. 

The base of this dough is similar to my Almond Croissant Breakfast Challah and My Most Delicious Challah with an extra egg yolk for richness (yes, I know…eggs!) and olive oil for that buttery flavor. Do not be afraid of olive oil as oppose to flavorless oil in a challah. It’s a beautiful addition to that elevates the flavor of the challah. The dough is soft and easy to work with. This recipe makes a small batch of dough, so it’s very comfortable to knead by hand quickly.

A flavor you may be unfamiliar with is orange blossom water. Orange blossom water is used in middle eastern and southeastern (Indian) cuisine. You can shockingly find bottles of it in most grocery stores like this one. Orange blossom water smells like you’ve just wandered into an blooming orchard of tender white blossoms. It’s delicate and elegant. It’s beautiful in cakes and baked goods, especially this challah.

The difference is in the saffron.

What makes this dough so incredible is the saffron adding both color and flavor. True, saffron is considered the most expensive spice in the world, but a little goes a very long way. I pull out my saffron for very special occasions and I think Shabbat Purim is such an occasion.

Saffron threads are the dried stigma from the Saffron Crocus. When crumbled into warm water, the saffron steeps into deep golden hues. It was used historically for dying cloth (for the very wealthy), and still used for cooking, and herbal remedies. The saffron yields a buttery, rich flavor to this challah as well as a deep golden color. Perfect for a Persian inspired meal.

Below is a photo of our very own saffron that we grow here, on our Accidental Homestead.

A few tips and some notes for this recipe:

First time bread or challah baking? I suggest you read my post, The Beginners Bread Baking Guide. This quick article will help troubleshoot water temperature for your yeast, rising, shaping, baking etc..

Don’t want to make a huge celebration challah? No worries! You can shape this dough however you like. Regular challahs, rolls….make the shape your own!

This challah seems a little more involved than a regular challah! Yes, this is true! This is a raisin stuffed celebration challah with a few extra ingredients. But don’t worry! I have written very detailed instructions.

I have all the extra ingredients but I don’t have orange blossom water! The orange blossom water really puts this challah into the “oh wow” category. But if you cannot find any, you can omit it. BUT, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND you get yourself a bottle.

I hope you fall in love with my Saffron & Orange Blossom Celebration Challah and share it at your Purim feast! Chag Purim Sameach!

Print Recipe

Saffron & Orange Blossom Celebration Challah

Saffron & Orange Blossom Celebration Challah is vibrant, light and airy, and studded with orange blossom soaked golden raisins.

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: banana bread, Celebration, challah, Orange Blossom, Purim, Raisins, Saffron

Servings: 1 Large Challah or 2 medium Challah

Author: wildheartkitchen

Ingredients

For the challah:

• ½ teaspoon saffron threads measured then crushed to powder.
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon + 1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon orange blossom water
• 2 eggs + one yolk lightly beaten
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for greasing bowl
• ⅓ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon clementine zest
• 500 grams bread flour roughly 4 cups, plus another ¼ cup more set aside for kneading
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅔ cup golden raisins roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons orange blossom water
• The juice of the clementine roughly ¼ cup juice

For the topping:

• 1 egg yolk
• ¼ teaspoon reserved water from the raisin mixture regular water also ok
• Sliced almonds for topping, optional

Instructions

Make the challah dough:

• Measure out the saffron then rub it firmly between your palms, crumbling it as small as you can. In a medium sized bowl, add the saffron to the warm water and let it steep for about 4 minutes.
• Add the yeast and sugar and stir to combine. Allow the yeast to bloom/foam up, about 5 minutes.
• Once the yeast has bloomed, add the ¾ teaspoon orange blossom water, eggs, egg yolk, olive oil, honey and clementine zest and whisk until combined. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and kosher salt and mix to combine.
• Pour the yeast mixture into the flour and stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon 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.
• This dough starts off very 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 then with a towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size.
• While the dough is rising, combine the roughly chopped golden raisins with 2 teaspoons orange blossom water, the juice of the clementine and allow the raisins to soak. Set them aside.
• After 45 minutes, fold and punch down the 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.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
• You can now braid two individual challah or a celebration challah. For the celebration challah, divide the dough into 2 balls of 200 grams each and one ball with the remaining dough.

  The 200 gram balls will be for the 3 stranded sides and the remaining dough will be for the main challah.

The 3 stranded sides:

• Divide each 200 gram ball into three equal parts. Spread each piece out slightly into a flat rectangle with the short ends of the rectangle parallel to you and the long sides pointing towards you. Roll up the rectangle, working towards you, lightly dust with a bit of flour, cover them with plastic wrap and set them aside for 5 minutes to rest.
• Once rested, roll each piece out into an 11 inch strand with tapered edges.
• Braid two, three strand challahs with tapered ends. Cover them with the plastic wrap and set them aside.

The 6 stranded middle:

• (Please note. If you do not want to make a 6 stranded challah you can also make a 4 stranded challah. Follow the filling directions as listed below.)
• Divide the large dough ball into 6 equal balls.
• Stretch or roll each ball into a flat 4×6 rectangle, with the short sides parallel to you and the long sides pointing towards you.
• Drain off the liquid from the raisins and set aside for later. Equally scatter the raisins over each rectangle. Reserve the liquid on the bottom of the raisin bowl for later!
• Roll up each rectangle, working towards you, lightly dust them with flour, cover with plastic wrap and set them aside for five minutes to rest.
• Once rested, roll each piece out into a 12 inch strand with tapered ends. Braid into a 6 strand challah with tapered ends.

Assemble the challah:

• Place the 3 stranded challahs on the cookie sheet in a long, tapered oval shape and connect them on each end. (There should be roughly 4 inches of negative space between the challahs at the center of the oval.)
• Nest the 6 stranded challah in the middle of the 3 stranded challahs. (The 6 stranded challah should slightly overlap onto the 3 stranded challahs.)
• Secure the challahs together on both ends.
• Cover the challah and let it rise in a warm place until doubled. (The dough is fully proofed when you poke the dough with your finger and the dough doesn’t spring back right away.)
• Combine the egg yolk and ¼ teaspoon of the clementine/orangle blossom water from the raisin bowl (or water is fine too) 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 34-38 minutes until deeply golden and the bottom of the challah is browned and sounds hollow when you tap on it. If the top of the challah begins burning or turns 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 completely cool on a wire rack.

Notes

• The temperature of the warm water should be delicately warm enough for a baby’s bath. Or, place a finger to the bottom of the cup of warm water. Keep it there a few moments. If it feels nicely warm without an “ouch” sensation, the water is the proper temperature.
• Using a kitchen scale is the best measurement method for baking. Especially for bread.

• If you choose to create 2 medium challahs, adjust the baking time to roughly 30 minutes. 
• Don’t skip the dough resting times! They allow the gluten to relax between each step.