July Baking Challenge: Eenie Meenie Miney Moe

This month's baking challenge was super easy and super hard all in one. We had the opportunity to go back through past challenges and pick one that appealed to us. Naturally, just about ALL of the past challenges sounded great and like possibilities, but after much contemplating, I chose to make challah (again). The main reason behind this decision was I've been hankering for really good French toast and nothing makes better French toast than challah. 

Our dear family friend, Barb Simon, has supplied me with a few wonderful challah recipes over the years and I chose to make one of the recipes she sent to me along the say. (Thanks, Mrs. Simon!!!)

With this bread (makes 2 loaves, even though only one is shown below), I decided to return to the dreaded 6-strand braid. I found a resource online that explained it VERY clearly and now, I find the 6-strand braid a snap. Yippee!!!

In a "celebration" of past Daring Baker and Daring Cook challenges, Lisa challenged all of us to search through the Daring Kitchen archives and pick any one we'd like! The REAL challenge was picking which delicious recipe(s) to try!

Catholic Girl Challah

I've been slowly eeking out my own challah recipe and finally have gotten to the point where it is ready for prime time!

It is fairly safe to say that my family and co-workers, Annika's teachers, and a few of our neighbors probably have challah coming out of their ears. Little tweaks here and there resulted in many, many, many loaves of bread. That said, I'm pleased as punch with where the recipe is now ... not to mention the evolution of my braiding techniques. The 4-strand round and 6-strand oblong loaves are definitely my favorites, but I turn to the standard 3-strand braids when I'm in a hurry.

Thank you to all of my taste testers; you definitely helped shape this recipe.

(Please ignore the fact this isn't a bread knife!
I took this picture at work and we don't have a proper bread knife here)

Without further ado....

Catholic Girl Challah
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 1 c warm water 
• 1 pkg yeast 
• 1000 g AP flour 
• 1 c + 2 T sugar 
• 2 tsp salt 
• 2 T honey 
• 1/2 c butter (melted and cooled) + 85 g vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
    

• Egg wash: 1 egg, 1 T (approx) water whisked together 

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast and 2 T sugar in warm water. Allow to proof 10 minutes. 
2. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. 
3. With motor running (low), add eggs, yeast mixture, honey, butter, and oil. 
4. Knead (low) for 6-7 minutes. 
5. Knead (med) for 3-4 minutes. 
6. Drizzle lightly with vegetable oil, turn dough to coat, cover loosely with plastic wrap. 
7. Let rise in draft-free location until double in size (60-90 minutes). 
8. Gently punch down dough and cover with plastic wrap.  
9. Let rise again in draft-free location for 60 minutes. 
10. Divide dough into two even portions and shape each half into a braided loaf. 
11. Place each loaf on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 
12. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 60 minutes. 
13. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
14. Using pastry brush, coat exterior of loaves with egg wash. 
15. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

May Daring Bakers Challenge: One challah good challenge!

As those who are close to me (or are just within earshot while I'm gabbing about my baking) know, I've been on a serious challah kick over the past couple of months. When I saw that the May Daring Bakers challenge was to make challah, I giggled with glee and did a rather elaborate happy dance.

The initial  reason behind my challah journey was simple: challah makes great French toast (how multi-cultural, huh?). I looked on the Internet and through my cookbooks for a good recipe, but wasn't sure which would fit the bill. So, I did what any person in my situation would do, I called my honorary auntie who is Jewish! Mrs. Simon isn't a baker herself, but offered to look through her recipes to find a good recipe for me and wound up emailing two from her synagogue's cookbook. She also regaled me with humorous stories of her husband--a wonderful, wonderful man, but also not a baker--when he attempted to make challah. (I can listen to her tell stories all day long ... the laughter is wonderful for the soul!)

I whipped up the recipe from Mrs. Simon and was very happy, but still tried a few others that I found online. Eventually, I started to mix this recipe with that recipe and throw in a few of my own ideas. Eric and I realized we like the sweeter challah recipes (more often used for holidays) and I kept that in mind as I worked on my own recipe. I also liked how some of the recipes called for the addition of honey, which added a wonderful depth of flavor that I fell in love with. After many, many, many, many loaves of challah, we officially have a winner, which I have dubbed Catholic Girl Challah.

Not only do I enjoy baking and eating challah (really, who wouldn't?), but I also find myself drawn to the braiding side of challah. I prefer the 6-strand braid (definitely not easy to get the hang of, but so pretty) and I like braiding the 4-strand round loaves. Pretty and yummy .... win, win!

Voila!

6-strand Catholic Girl Challah

Up close and personal

May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.