King Arthur Bake-A-Long: Classic Challah

 I have had the hardest time sitting down to write this week.  Well, actually getting anything done.  It's been crazy and fun and we are finishing up our third 4 day week in a row.    February brings three 3-day weekends every year and each year it shows up and I'm quickly reminded on how much I both love and hate them.  I love them because I get my boys home for 3 whole extra days in February and we veg and have fun.  I hate them because it means 3 Tuesday-Mondays and throws the whole week out of wack.  If you are a mom of school aged kids, you probably know what I'm talking about.  For some reason these days are worse than normal.  It could be my imagination, though. So let's talk about something that makes me happy. . . bread. 

It's probably no surprise to you, that I am a big fan of bread making.  I will confess though, that the idea of baking Challah was a little intimidating.  It's just so pretty!  I can totally braid hair, but bread?   I baked up this bread twice before I got it ready for posting.  The first time, it came out wonderful, but when I was adding yeast, I realized that I didn't have the full amount (less than half, actually) and I had already had all the other ingredients in and so I just went with it.  Oops!  It came out wonderful, but I wanted to try it out again with the full amount of yeast to see what would happen.

I'm glad that I did because the yeast, made a little bit of difference in rise between loaf one and two, but other than that, it didn't really change anything about the taste and flavor of the loaves. 

The first loaf, I made trying out the 6 strand braid.  I struggled with that one.  There are so many video tutorials and I kind of just felt lost about half way through.  It still came out gorgeous and delicious (even with out all the yeast!).  The second loaf, I just did the basic 3 strand braid and that was easy and only took a few seconds!  Maybe I will just bake Challah every week so I can get some braiding in. . . ha ha! 

This bread was amazing!  We all found ourselves snacking on the loaf as soon as it cooled enough to touch and managed to save enough to make some french toast with it.  Sweet Readers, can I tell you a little secret?  

THIS bread makes the best french toast.  Period.

My kids are obsessed.  They just finished up the last of what I froze from the last loaf this morning.  In fact, when I pulled out some French Toast I had made with some leftover dinner rolls, my oldest (who has been suffering from some tween angst this week) made it very clear that that was not good enough.  Oh, man, I feel bad for his future wife.  We've got a little foodie growing up under our roof! Ha Ha!

Anyway, I wanted to get this recipe to you all because it is definitely worth your time this weekend.  Make this.  Slice it.  Snack a little.  And then make French Toast. For Dinner.  Because you should also sleep in and enjoy your weekend.  Really.  Make it first thing in the morning, then get ready for your day, while it rises.  After lunch, roll it out and bake!  Bam.  Super easy. 

 Classic Challah 
(King Arthur Flour Bake Along: January 2018)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp yeast*

 Directions:
Measure out your flour by scooping and leveling.  Don't let it be overflowing.  
 Mix the ingredients in your mixer, using the dough hook.  The dough will be kind of rough looking.  Keep kneading in your mixer until it turns nice and soft.  Grease a bowl, and place the dough in it.  Cover and let it rise for about 2 hours.  It will get puffy, but not double in size.

Decide on how you will braid the bread.  The bake along blog shows how to do the 6 strand, plus there are a ton of tutorials on you tube for making a Challah braid.  Find the one that works for you.

Divide your your dough in to the amount of strands you want.  I recommend weighing your dough on a food scale so you have equal dough strands.  Shape each of your pieces into a log.  Cover those babies up and let it rest for about 10 minutes.  Roll each piece into long, skinny ropes.  I found that when they seemed to stop getting longer, I let it rest for a few minutes and then continued to roll them.  There's something scientific about letting the gluten relax. . . I dunno, but it works.

Attatch your strands at the top and follow the tutorial of your choice, depending on your braid.  The King Arthur Flour Blog tutorial is great!  The three strand braid is just like you would braid a little girls hair.  Easy Peasy.

Place your loaf on a your baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Let it rise for another 2 hours.  Preheat your oven to 375 and brush your bread gently with an egg wash (whisk an egg and a splash of water together).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Check to see if it is a deep golden brown.  If it is, place a tented piece of foil over the top.  If not bake for 10 more minutes and then tent.  Once you've tented it, bake for 10 to 15 more minutes.

Let it cool. . . if you can.  Just make sure you don't burn your fingers.  This bread is wonderful!


*original used instant yeast, I used active dry yeast.