A FULL SHABBAT MENU ROLLS

Iwas recently hanging out with good friends and we got to talking about how hard it is to think up new creative dishes to make for Shabbat dinner or after a long day at the office. In my opinion, it’s important to have a number of recipes for dishes that are easy to make that everyone likes, and that always turn out perfectly. That way, when you’re lacking inspiration or energy, you just prepare your go-to menu and everyone is happy.

To that end, I’ve put together exactly such a Shabbat dinner menu. The first recipe is for rolls that are absolutely to die for. You cannot even imagine how incredible a feeling it is to bite into these little tastes of heaven. And they go perfectly with the beef stew, so you can mop up every last drop of the incredible sauce left on your plate.

In place of rice, I’ve included a much healthier but also extremely tasty cooked spicy wheat dish, as well as a celery and pepper salad.

B’tayavon!

Every Friday morning, I prepare challah dough. Some weeks, I make special shaped challah, or add unique toppings. A few weeks ago, I prepared rolls that require an extremely large amount of liquid. They came out so soft I just had to share the whole process on Instagram. I was inundated with so many requests for the recipe that I decided to include it here in my weekly column. When you make these rolls, however, it’s super important to follow all of the steps and not get worried that the dough feels too watery. I promise you that once you’ve tasted these rolls you never want to try any other bread recipe again. I recommend doubling the recipe, since sometimes when I make these rolls they all disappear before we even sit down to eat our Shabbat dinner.

Makes 16-20 rolls.

1 kg. flour, sifted

50 g. fresh yeast

½ cup sugar

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. salt

3½ cups water at room temperature ½ cup oil

Wash:

1 beaten egg plus 2 drops oil

Toppings:

½ cup sesame seeds mixed with ¼ cup nigella seeds

Add the flour, yeast, sugar and honey to the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the salt and while mixing gradually add the water. Keep mixing for 6-7 minutes on medium speed until mixed well. Dough should be soft and sticky.

Move the bowl onto the counter and slowly add the oil to the sides of the bowl while kneading the dough. This is the best way to incorporate the oil into the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise until it doubles in volume (about 90 minutes). Knead the dough again and punch out all the air. Cover bowl with plastic again and let it rise for another hour.

Note: The dough should be very sticky. So you should not spend too much time working it. Separate it into 16-20 balls (they don’t need to be perfect shape).

Place the balls with space between them on a baking pan covered with baking paper. Press down on them lightly and then brush with egg wash (since they’re very sticky, just dab them lightly, don’t press down when you add egg wash). Sprinkle with sesame and nigella seeds and let them rise another 15 minutes.

Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 200°C (392°F) for 25 minutes.