Challah, that bread with a history, a holiday, and most often a very spongy loaf which I detest! Still, maybe it's my Jewish DNA because I still want to give it a try. I made this version with a more Mediteranean than Ashkanzai flavor; safran, golden raisins, whatever.
It's designed to hope for a sweet and golden [Jewish] New Year, bringing in some sun in this hybrid version. Since sweet breads are a pain in the neck in rising due to sugar and yeasty issues, I gave in to time constraints and snuck in a pinch of yeast. As my friend Gregoire Michaud told me, don't worry, it's all yeast; wild or commercial.
Upping the ante, I added flavor olive oil rather then just plain grapseed or canola oil, inspired by a similar replacement of it for butter in a recent batch of biscottis.
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