Beautiful and delicious recipe.
As always, ingredients may be improved by choosing cruelty-free, vegan alternatives.
Enjoy.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 480 g all-purpose flour, 236 mL lukewarm water, 59 mL vegetable oil, 50 g granulated sugar, 1 packet (7.5 g) instant dry yeast, 1 Tablespoon salt (kosher or preferred) and 2 large eggs (cruelty-free, local farm) at room temperature plus 1 large egg yolk (reserve white for topping) Mix and knead all ingredients by hand (or use a stand mixer as preferred) until you have a soft, smooth dough. It’s always a little sticky, but if the dough is overly sticky, add an additional 30 g of flour. Allow dough to rise in a lightly oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap, for about two hours or until puffy. It won’t necessarily double in bulk. This is normal.
Meanwhile, prepare apples. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer 6 small-medium apples, favorite variety, peeled, halved and cored, 1 L apple juice, all-natural, unsweetened, 85 g honey and 2 star anis pods uncovered for 30 minutes or until apples are tender. Carefully transfer apples to resealable containers and pour remaining poaching liquid over top. Refrigerate 1 hour or so.
Once dough has risen, preheat oven to 205C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Gently deflate dough and transfer to a lightly oiled work surface, add a little oil to hands too. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. If dough shrinks too much in this process, allow it to rest 10 minutes or so. Using a biscuit cutter or drinking glass, punch out 12 circles, and with a rolling pin expand each circle a little to accommodate apples. Place a poached apple half in center of each challah circle and transfer tarts to baking sheets. Brush challah dough with egg wash made with reserved egg white and a Tablespoon of water. Bake 20-25 minutes or until challah is golden. Remove tarts from oven, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, brush with honey and add optional sesame seeds. Decorate with natural leaves, the lovely ones pictured here are all from neighbor’s garden.
And the Wind blew, and the Sunshine said,—
‘Amber is the most wonderful incense, and there came a soft perfume, as from a church; there came a sweet breath from out of beautiful nature, that God has made. They were so happy and grateful for their peaceful home…’
Hans Christian Andersen,
Sunshine Stories
Quote from a wonderful storybook site, which has compiled his works at:
Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales and Stories
