Celebrate Tu B’Shevat and Shabbat Shira with the cutest little bird challahs

Hello, friends! We’re so excited to welcome Shabbat this week! It’s Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of Song), a special time to honor birds and thank them for their songs! This sweet custom comes from a story in the Torah, when birds nesting in trees began to happily chirp and tweet as the Israelites crossed through the parted Red Sea on their way to freedom.

In Hebrew, bird is pronounced tsipor, and one of our favorite ways to thank tsiporim (birds) is to make them a cozy home or yummy cereal bird feeders. We can also honor our feathered friends by making adorable “bird challahs” for Shabbat.

diy bird bread rolls — Thanks little birdie for the sweet songs!

These bird challahs are just so adorable, and best of all, they make us happy! We make them from defrosted bread dough rolls (Shh! Don’t tell)! They might look complicated, but the shape of their body comes from a simple knot!

After cooling from coming out of the oven, we decorate the challahs with sprinkles and almond slices! They’re especially wonderful to make with or for littles, and they can even be “painted” with edible paint to extend the fun! So grab a little human, and let’s go bake some little tsiporim challahs for Shabbat Shira!

Bird Challah for Shabbat Shira

Here’s what you’ll need to make one dozen:

12 frozen bread dough rolls (we used Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls)
Egg mixed with 1 TBS of water

Optional:

Toothpick
Almond slices
Pre-made frosting
Chocolate sprinkles (Jimmies)

Here’s how to make them:

1. Spray a plate with cooking spray. Have your little take 12 rolls from the package and place them on the plate, then cover with plastic wrap.

Now comes the hard part - waiting! Let the dough defrost on your kitchen counter until they’re soft and pliable (about 30 - 45 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen). Your little can poke the dough after about 30 minutes with their finger. If there’s a little finger indentation, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and get ready to start shaping your birds.

2. Take one piece of dough and roll it into a log. If your dough is sticky, you can sprinkle it with a little flour. By the way, littles are good at rolling!

3. Now it’s time to make the body by taking the ends of the log and making a knot in the center (a big kid or grown-up might need to do this part) leaving the ends of the knot sticking out.

Gently stretch the dough at both ends like in the photo below. One end will become the bird’s head, and the other end will become the tail.

4. To shape the head, roll one end back toward the body and tuck it into the top of the little knot.

5. Pinch the front of the head to make a beak (another wonderful job for a little)!

6. Cut a few slits of the dough with scissors or a dull knife to make a feathered tail.

7. Place the completed birds on a baking sheet that’s lined with parchment paper. When they’re all shaped, it’s time to give them a little bath by gently brushing the egg wash over the birds (another good step for littles). I think it’s best to brush around the beak to prevent it from burning. Then bake at 350 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.

8. After they come out of the oven and cool, you can decorate them with chocolate sprinkles (eyes) and sliced almonds (wings). To make the eyes, gently press the toothpick into the head, and then insert a chocolate sprinkle into the toothpick hole. Then use frosting to “glue” on almond wings and feathers.

These bird challahs are just so adorable. If you want, your littles can paint them with edible paint from natural food colors.

diy edible paint — Learn how to make “edible paint for challah here.

Shabbat Shira comes on the Shabbat right before Tu B’Shevat, the Birthday of the Trees, and we can’t wait to start our holiday celebrations this year by making bird challah!

If you’d like, you can say a blessing before eating your challah. In Judaism, there are blessings you can say for almost every moment - from planting a seed or tree on Tu B’Shevat to seeing the first blossoms on the Shk’eydeeyah (almond tree) this year, to eating cute food, like a bird challah on Shabbat Shira.

Ba-Ruch A-tah A-do-noi, Elo-hai-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lam, Ha-motzi Leh-chem Min Ha-aretz.

If you’re looking for more ways to celebrate Shabbat Shira and Tu B’Shevat, visit our Roundup, and for more baking fun for Shabbat, you can make:

We have a complete Round-up of all our Shabbat activities, and we have more activities for winter too!

Shabbat shalom and Happy Tu B’Shevat!

~ Jennifer