Pina Colada Challah

With the weather just getting colder here in Connecticut this winter, I wanted a challah that reminds me of warm summers! This challah has dried pineapple throughout, very similar to adding raisins to challah, but with a bit of a tang. The coconut in the dough itself has a mild flavor, and the coconut on top is nice and crunchy!  

What you will need:

2 tbsp yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup pineapple juice

Splash of rum

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup dried pineapple, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup dried cherries 

4-4 1/2 cups flour

Directions: 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast, sugar, water, rum, and pineapple juice; stir to combine. Add the 2 eggs and mix the eggs with a beater attachment. Then add the oil and mix together again. 

With the mixer on the lowest speed, add flour cup by cup until the dough starts forming a ball and pulling away from the sides of the mixing bowl. 

At this point, swap out the beater attachment for a dough hook and add the salt, coconut flakes, dried cherries, and dried pineapple. Keep adding flour cup by cup until the dough is no longer sticky to the touch. In total this should be roughly 4 cups of flour. 

Knead the dough together by hand to make sure everything is incorporated together. 

Place the dough back in the bowl and cover the top of the dough with a thin layer of oil and cover with a wet towel. 

Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, this should be about an hour, or in the fridge up to 24 hours. 

Punch the dough down and let it rise for another hour. 

At this point, you are ready to form the challahs. I like to do simple 4 strand braids. 

Once all of your challahs are formed, let them rise for an additional half hour, or up to an hour in colder weather. 

Top each challah with egg wash (one egg with a little bit of water) and some flaked coconut. 

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

 

Enjoy!