Challah

Bread Challenge Week 35

*Today will be spent catching up on bread challenge posts, since I’m ahem a little behind.*

I had a hair appointment scheduled for right after Luke usually gets home the other night. Since I was planning to spend the rest of the evening out and about all by myself I thawed some steak and shrimp and shucked some corn for Maddy and Luke to have for dinner. The cooking was up to Luke but at least there wouldn’t be any guilt on my part for staying out all evening do whatever I chose because all the pieces of the meal were there for them ready to go.

I had started making a loaf of challah bread, using Judith M. Fertig’s book, Prairie Home Breads: 150 Splendid Recipes from America’s Breadbasket, at about 4:00pm that same day so it still had a few minutes of bake time left on it when I was running out the door toward my hour of zone-out-while-someone-plays-with-my-hair-time. In other words I left my beautiful challah loaf and its sweet smelling aroma in Luke’s hands.

Before leaving I quickly took a cell phone picture of it baking in the oven and told Luke that he and Maddy could dig into the loaf as part of their dinner if they desired. I knew they would of course because they like carbs. A lot.

I came home a few hours later to the faint aroma of my challah loaf still floating through my house and a much prettier challah loaf picture taken by Luke. Lucky for me. Also ? Very lucky for you, not that my cell phone picture wasn’t totally awesome.

Luke and Maddy ate some of the fresh loaf warm with dinner and they loved it. Loved it. It’s a soft, slightly sweet bread that looks good too. I expected the loaf to get thumbs up reviews from both Luke and Maddy.

This morning I had a slice of challah toasted and slightly buttered while I was packing Maddy’s snacks and Lunch for our busy day of dance class, playgroup, gym and running errands. Of course I toasted it. After all toasting bread is always one of the ways I test a loaf. Also I like toast so why not. I was not disappointed. I’ve said it a million times here before, I prefer hearty whole wheat breads to white breads any day. I would not have minded if this bread was a little more hearty but I realize that challah is not meant to be hearty. It’s a white bread that is meant to be slightly sweet and rich.

This particular challah took about 20 minutes of hands on time and about 2 hours total with rise and bake time. 20 minutes of hands on time for a beautiful loaf of bread? Sold. The ingredients are all very basic and in the average home cooks cupboards.

I’m in love with how this bread looks. The braided dough and the sprinkling of poppy seeds makes me happy. This loaf comes out good sized too, which means bread for everyone! Challah is not exactly a loaf of bread that I plan to make again and again for sandwich bread. Although I do plan to make it when I’m in need of a beautiful loaf of bread. So will I make it again? Yes, but with some tweaks. I think another egg would up the nice yellow color and richness too. Will I make it often? No. Should you make it? Yes, I would recommend it. It’s pretty simple, it’s pretty and it’s yummy too.

Flavor: 5
Hands on time: 4
Total time: 4
Recipe: 5
versatility: 4
make it again: 3
Catherine: 1
Luke: 1
Maddy: 1

Total Score: 28
(what is this Bread Challenge and how are recipes scored?)

Previous Bread Challenge reviews:
Whole Wheat English Muffins – Week 34
Pumpernickel – Week 33
Green Onion-Sesame Flatbread – Week 32
Beer Bread – Week 31
Country Seed Bread – Week 30
Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels – Week 29
Crunchy Crackers – Week 28
Ciabatta Bread – Week 27
Cornmeal Pancake -Week 26
Lemon Poppy Seed – Week 25
Sourdough – Week 24
Tortillas – Week 23
Honey Wheat Hamburger Buns – Week 22
Garlic Studded Baguette – Week 21
Quinoa Bread – Week 20
Asiago Herb and Garlic Bread – Week 19
Cranberry Pecan Rye Bread – Week 18
Rotis – Whole Wheat Unleavened Bread- Week 17
Farmhouse White Loaf – Week 16
Honey Whole Wheat Slow Cooker Bread – Week 15
The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake – Week 14
Hot Cross Buns – Week 13
100% Whole Wheat Bread – Week 12
Thin Wheat Crackers – Week 11
Irish Soda Bread – Week 10
Double Blueberry Muffins – Week 9
Oatmeal Batter Bread – Week 8
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls – Week 7
Cheesy Pretzels – Week 6
Light Rye Bread – Week 5
Country-Style Whole-Wheat Pita – Week 4
Carrot Raisin Quick Bread – Week 3
Potato Bread – Week 2
Focaccia – Week 1