I have been baking and stuffing challah bread for what seems like forever.
This spiced apple and pecan stuffing has long been a favorite for fall, and the High Holidays.
This vegan challah bread is just as beautiful as it is delicious, and is sure to impress anyone who gets the privilege of tasting it.
Stuffed with fall spices apples, pecans and dates, this vegan challah is my favorite for Rosh Hashanah!
If you have never made challah, then by all means, you must! It’s not nearly as intimidating as it may seem, and the stuffing possibilities are endless!
Be sure to read the instructions on the challah very well. It is a common mistake to think you are measuring the liquid of the aquafaba, not the whipped product, (the recipe states to measure the whipped product but it still tends to be an issue for people, and I am often asked) BUT you need to measure out THE WHIPPED PRODUCT in the recipe not the liquid before you have whipped it!!!
Making vegan challah is easier than most people think, and the whipped aquafaba in the recipe severs as an excellent egg replacer in a bread that normally has 3 to 4 eggs.
Braiding challah is also easier than you may think but practice will improve your braids over time. I made sure to link my favorite braiding link so you can learn all kinds of fancy challah braids, from 3 to 5 strands and even a round holiday braid!
So if you are looking for a vegan High Holiday Challah, or just a delicious vegan fall bread, this may just be what you are looking for!
Challah
Follow the recipe for my basic Challah Y'all, Vegan Challah. You will follow the instructions through the first rise, then follow the below instructions for stuffing and braiding.
Filling Ingredients:
2 large green apples
1 cup chopped peans
1/3 cup chopped dates, or raisins
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Peel apples and finely dice them. You want pretty small pieces so they will fit in the challah braids, and cook through while baking. Next, chop pecans, and dates. Add fruit and nuts along with remaining filling ingredients into a bowl, and stir well.
Once Challah has completed its first rise, remove from oven and separate dough in half. This recipe will yield 2 stuffed challah loaves.
Cut each half into thirds. (each loaf will have three pieces of dough. Work with one loaf at a time, leaving the other three pieces of dough covered in a bowl until you are ready to use them)
Take one piece of dough in you hand and begin to stretch it both length wise, and width wise and the same, time, letting gravity help with the length. You want the dough to be about 12 inches long, and maybe 4 inches wide. Once you have it stretched length wise, you can put it on a floured counter top and press it to get it the width stretched.
Once your dough is the correct size, divide the apple filling in half. Then each half into thirds. This will give you 6 equal portions of filling for each strand of dough. Scoop a portion of filling into a row down the middle of a strand of dough. The filling will produce a liquid from the apples at the bottom of the bowl. Avoid scooping up any of this liquid with the filling. If the dough is wet it will not want to stick and seal. Now pull up the edges of the dough and pinch them together to seal the seam.
Repeat with the other two strands.
Once all three strands are stuffed, and formed, carefully braid the three pieces together. If the seams begin to open, add a little flour to them and pinch them back and continue braiding. Tuck both ends of the loaf under when done braiding. Once again I will refer you to Tori Avey's challah braiding guide if you are unfamiliar with braiding challah! She does a fantastic job showing all the different ways to braid your bread, plus she has some really great recipes on her site.
Repeat with the second loaf, and place both stuffed loaves on a baking sheet, and back in the oven to rise again for about 45 minutes. Once they have risen, remove from oven and pre-heat to 350.
Brush tops of challah with some of your left over whipped aquafaba and sprinkle with a little sugar.
Bake both loaves for about 35 - 45 minutes. You can tap the tops to see if they sound a little hallow. It is hard to tell when stuffed challahs are done when there are wet ingredients inside, so if they do not seem cooked through after 35 minutes, let them keep cooking for 5 - 10 more minutes.
Remove challah from the oven, and allow to cool before cutting.
