Potato Knish Challah

What do you get when you stuff mashed potatoes and mushroom inside of your challah strands? Potato knish challah! And that’s exactly what my house smells like as this challah is cooking. 

This challah is oh so savory, and so good served warm! One of my favorite savory mashup creations yet!

What you will need:

Challah dough {recipe here}

Filling

3 Maine or Yukon gold potatoes

2-3 garlic cloves

Salt 

1 container mushrooms

Topping

1 egg

Mushrooms

Fried onions {I use Trader Joe’s fried onion pieces}

Directions: 

Prepare challah dough according to directions. 

Preheat the oven to 300°F. 

On parchment lined sheet tray or greased aluminum foil, spread out the mushroom slices and bake for about an hour. This helps remove all the excess moisture in the mushrooms that could make the challah soggy! {or use Trader Joe’s Crunchy Champignon Mushroom Snack to save a step, but we just finished our last bag on a pizza!}

While the mushrooms are in the oven, start on the mashed potatoes. I peel and cube my potatoes so they boil faster. I place it all in the pot with a generous amount of salt and garlic cloves. Boil for about 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. 

Drain the potatoes, but save the starchy water! This helps the mashed potatoes become creamy without having my to add margarine. 

Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes and gradually add the starchy water until creamy, but not too liquidy. Add salt and any other seasonings. 

Allow the mashed potatoes cool, if the filling is too hot it will be hard to shaped the challah. I usually do mine a day in advance. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Divide dough into 4 equal parts and then roll each part into a log, long enough to fit a loaf pan.

Gently flatten each log so that it is about 2 inches wide. Place cooled mashed potatoes along the log, and top with some dehydrated mushrooms. Pinch closed and braid. 

Place the challah in a greased loaf pan and let the challah rise 30 minutes. 

Once the challah has risen, brush with an egg wash, and sprinkle with reserved mushrooms and fried crispy onions. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the challah is cooked through.

Enjoy!