Challah

Have you ever been invited over for a meal?

And I'm not talking one of those dinner parties where there's bound to be either holiday food or pizza. Though I hardly ever complain about pizza...nor holiday food, for that matter.

No, I'm talking about one of those events where someone cooks... just for you! Yes, you! They take precious time out of their schedule to choose the menu, shop for the ingredients, and set the plates just in time for you to ring the doorbell. It's quite a special meal.

I had one of those meals today. I felt most loved.

Knowing my hostess, I knew I would be leaving with plenty of food and presents, so I decided to bake her bread. I made challah, a Jewish bread that's traditionally served on the Sabbath. It's an egg bread with a beautiful dark-brown finish and sweet flavor that's perfect for making french toast.

Dough. I don't have a standing mixer, so I knead all my doughs by hand. Strangely, it is my favorite part of the bread baking process.

Two hours later, and this dough didn't seem to want to work with me much. And I lit the fireplace just so it can have a warm place to chill.  Just one tiny deflating punch later, and back to rising it was.

The directions tell you to make one dough about 1/2 of the other in size. But I wanted my challah to have a rounded dome shape at the top, so my smaller dough is 2/3 of the bigger dough.

Starting with the bigger dough, cut into three equal sections, and roll into 16-inch ropes. Tie one end together. A little pinch works wonders.

I think this counts as playing with my food. So what? Braids are super fun.

Finished rope! Yay.

Now for the smaller rope. Aren't they cute?

I don't like pastry brushes that much, so I just used the spoon for the egg wash.

Place the smaller rope on top of the bigger one. Brush again with egg whites. Marvel at this wondrous work of art that you created.

This bread was SO worth the (almost) 4 hours of rising time. And about 5 hours total from beginning to finish. If there's such a thing called "The Most Patient Baker" award, I would totally win it.

But the BEST thing is...my hostess loved it!!!

Challah

*makes one loaf*

Ingredients:

• 3-3 1/4 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
• 1 envelope instant yeast
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg separated (reserve the white for the egg wash)
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 Cup plus 1 Tbsp water, at room temperature

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 Cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together the 2 eggs, egg yolk, melted butter, and 1/2 Cup water. Add the flour mixture; using the dough hook, knead at low speed until a ball of dough forms, about 5 minutes, adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white together with the remaining 1 tablespoon water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the egg wash until ready to use.
2.  Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, turning the dough over to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Gently press the dough to deflate it, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size again, 40 to 60 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one roughly half the size of the other. (The small one will weigh about 9 ounces, and the large one about 18 ounces) Divide the large piece into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 16-inch-long rope about 1 inch in diameter. Line up the ropes of dough side by side and braid them together, pinching the end of the braid to seal them. Place the braid on a lightly greased baking sheet. Divide the smaller piece of dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 16-inch-long rope about 1/2 inch in diameter. Braid together, pinching the ends to seal. Brush some of the egg wash on the top of the large loaf and place the small braid on the larger braid. Loosely drape the loaf with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf becomes puffy and increases in size by a third. 
4. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack. Let the loaf cool completely before slicing. 

Source:  The New Best Recipe