Vegan Pomegranate Challah Rolls
These rolls are perfectly sized for sharing at your table, or for handing out to neighbors and friends. Subtly sweet, fluffy, and delightfully shaped, these pomegranate rolls are sure to impress.
Servings: 10 rolls
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour plus more for kneading
- ⅔ cups water warm
- 3 tbsp water warm
- ¼ cup sugar plus a dash more
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp dry active yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- non-dairy milk
- maple syrup
Instructions
- Mix the sugar, oil, salt, and ⅔ cup water in a large bowl until everything is dissolved. Using warm water helps.
- In a separate bowl sprinkle the yeast over the 3 tbsp water. Sprinkle a dash of sugar on top. Set aside for at least 5 minutes until foamy looking.
- In the large bowl, add 1 cup of flour and mix. All the clumps may not go away. It’s okay, you can go on to the next step!
- Add about 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixture to the large bowl and mix.
- Slowly continue adding flour. As your mixture becomes thicker, add the flour more and more slowly. Add flour until the dough only slightly sticks to your hands.
- Knead the dough with your hands in the bowl at first for approximately 5 minutes. You’ll need to coat your hands with flour as needed, and continue reapplying the flour throughout so that the dough remains only slightly sticky to the touch. Then transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes more.
- Alternatively, you can knead in a stand mixer using the dough hook for 10 minutes on a medium setting.
- Transfer the dough back to the bowl (make sure it is lightly floured). Sprinkle flour on top of the dough and cover with a damp washcloth. Let is rise until doubled in size, for at least 30 minutes.
- After the dough has risen, preheat your over to 350° F. Transfer your dough back to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 11 equals balls of dough.
- Roll the balls until they are smooth. You may need to pinch the sides down to the bottom to ensure the edges are smooth. Repeat with 10 of the 11 balls.
- Divide the last ball into 10 smaller balls. In a small dish, place a little bit of water. Wet your finger and in the center of the top of one large ball, make a circle of water. Do the same thing on the bottom of one of the small balls. Stick the small ball to the large ball. Repeat with the rest of the balls.
- With a pair of scissors, cut the small ball in half about ¾ of the way down. Cut each of the half pieces in half as well. Repeat with the rest.
- Place the challah balls on a parchment paper lined tray. Gently cover over the pomegranate rolls with hand towels or reusable kitchen napkins and let rise until doubled in size and puffy, at least 30 minutes.
- Put your tray in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While your challah is in the oven, create the wash for the top of the challah by mixing equal parts non-dairy milk with maple syrup.
- After the 10 minutes, remove the rolls from the oven and wash with the mixture you created.
- Place the tray back in the oven for 10-15 more minutes, until golden brown.
- Once your challah is done, let it rest on the tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
For basically five years I pretty much ate challah right out of the oven. And then I had a day where I had to let it cool for some reason and couldn't eat it right away. And y'all, challah is EVEN BETTER when you let it cool completely first. You can always reheat it in the oven (350 degrees F for 3-5 minutes, wrapped in foil) if you like your bread warm.