Polish Jewry:
Community and Heritage

1. To begin, mix warm water and honey. When honey has dissolved, crush the yeast in your hands and add it to the mixture. Don’t mix the yeast and water with a spoon.
2. Let your yeast rise. One way to do this is to heat an oven to 120 degrees, and place the covered bowl on top of it. For an eco-friendly option, cover the bowl with a cloth and place it near a constant heat source, whether that’s your cat, your kid, or your partner. After about 10 minutes, the yeast should start to activate and rise.
3. While the yeast is rising, sift your flour into a large bowl. Mix in sugar, then salt. Next, crack two eggs into a separate bowl and beat together.
4. Using your fist, make a hole in the middle of your dry-ingredients bowl. Mix the eggs in slowly. Once the dough has absorbed the eggs, make another hole in the center and mix in the yeast mixture, slowly. Remember: Yeast doesn’t like drafty weather or sudden decisions.
5. Once you’ve mixed all that together, leave the bowl in your warm place for about 10 minutes. Then, add in the olive oil and knead the dough until it’s smooth and flexible. Put the bowl back in your warm place an hour or two to let it rise.
6. Braid two challahs and let them rise for 30 minutes. In the meantime, mix the remaining egg with a tbsp. of water.
7. Glaze the challahs, top with any desired spices or seasonings, and bake them in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, until golden-brown.

Ingredients for Chocolate Topping:

1 bar of white chocolate
A dash of milk
1 tbsp. of butter
Food coloring of your choice

Instructions for Donuts:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl.
2. Then, take the mixture out of the bowl and knead it for awhile.
3. When the dough seems ready, put it back to the bowl.
4. Cover the bowl with a cotton cloth and put in a warm place.
5. Wait until it doubles its size.
6. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it for a few seconds.
7. Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it’s 0.4 inches thick.
8. Cut out donut shapes. (You should get 10 donuts, more or less.)
9. Pour oil into a frying pot and wait until the temperature gets to 320 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. Fry your donuts on both sides until they are golden-brown.
11. Place them on a paper towel to dry and cool down.
12. Once they are cool, dip them in the chocolate topping and sprinkles. Enjoy!

Instructions for Chocolate Topping:

1. Melt chocolate in hot water
2. Add a dash of milk and 1 tbsp. of butter.
3. Mix all the ingredients.
4. Add food coloring of your choice.
5. Whisk until the color blends. Voila!

Polish gefilte fish

7 cups, carp, ground
3 cups, whitefish, ground (pickerel or rockfish, cod, and haddock are also acceptable replacements)
1 onion, chopped finely (you may fry your onion first for additional flavor; if doing this, take care not to brown onion)
1/2 cup matzah meal. (For a gluten-free alternative, replace this with GF matzah meal or omit altogether)
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp sunflower oil1 egg
Large lettuce or kale leaves, for presentation Equipment
1 jar
1 large pot
1 8-inch X 8-inch piece of cheesecloth
1 8-inch piece of kitchen twine
1 large serving dish

Instructions

1. Peel beets and horseradish, and soak them in cold water for an hour (this saves you the hassle of cooking the beets).
2. Drain well, and grate using a box grater or a food processor fitted with a fine grating disc.
3. In a bowl, mix with sugar, salt, and vinegar, taking care to incorporate all ingredients completely.
4. Transfer to a jar, cover with lid, and let rest for at least two hours before serving (chrein keeps well in the refrigerator, only getting better with time).