I was so happy when I saw the an email in my inbox from Leah over at Tribes-a-Dozen. She told me all about this great new product – Voila! Hallah.
For those of you that don’t know, Voila! Hallah is a new product. It’s the first-ever challah mix in a box. You heard that right – a challah mix in a box. So cool, right?! When I first heard about the mix, I wasn’t so sure what to think. I like shortcuts. I don’t always have success with the boxed stuff. This is definitely a better approach than a frozen Kinneret challah though. And perfect for someone who wants to make a small batch of good challah with ease. You can learn more about Voila! Hallah on their website, facebook and tumblr pages!
I’ve had hits and misses with challah baking. I find that my challah never comes out the same twice. I have come a long way from my first challah baking experience. I now have one set recipe I prefer to use, and ever since I got a Bosch mixer, challah baking has been relatively painless. I tend make a huge 5lb batch of flour in to challah at time. I manage to stretch that challah to around 12 small challahs or so – which will last a month or more in our house. Still, I was intrigued by this box of promising challah.
Leah sent me three boxes. I am testing the regular plain challah as well as the spelt challah. I have one box of whole wheat challah mix to share with one lucky reader of this blog!
I am pleased that the instructions on the box were clear and easy to understand. Like other boxed mixes, you only need to have a few ingredients on hand – eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and optional toppings.
I chose to follow the instructions as stated on the box. If I choose, I can always play with other options for subsequent challah bakings.
Included in the box is a flour mix and a yeast packet.
You start by mixing the flour and yeast mixture with warm water. The you add the egg and oil.
At this point, I wasn’t sure how successful the mix would be. The mixture was sticky – though I was assured by the box, that it would indeed be sticky. I was just used to a different consistency for bread.
You let the dough rest and then you shape it and brush on some egg wash.
After the shaping, you let the braided loafs rise.
In to the oven they go for around 25 minutes.
It smelled so good while it baked. I was excited to pull them out of the oven. Lo and behold – I have two challahs! Perfect for Shabbat! So happy! I did set aside a small challah roll for sampling before shabbat. Verdict is in – it tasted great!
I highly recommend this mix – for the nervous or hesitant baker, or for someone short on time. This mix was easy and it came out perfectly.
Thanks to the kind folks at Tribes-a-Dozen, I have a box of Voila! Hallah to send to one lucky blog reader. Please fill out the raffle form below! Please note that this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
Shabbat Shalom!
