Challah

For the those of you who haven't already heard - my son and his beautiful soul mate got married last month in the most magical and whimsical wedding ceremony ever.  Can you tell that I was beaming with pride and joy over this blessed union?  I know that I'm biased but it truly was a magnificent day. 

One of the hardest things that I had to do to prepare for their wedding day was to purchase a mother of the groom dress.  😬  When I started my search, I had no idea what I was about to get myself into.  I underwent a comprehensive search of all malls, dress shops and boutiques in the greater Atlanta area without finding anything even remotely close to what the dress that I had pictured in my mind.  Completely exhausted and frustrated, I turned to internet in pursuit of a proper dress.  (A process that lasted at least 2 months) 

​If you've ever searched for a mother of the groom dress, you know the struggle.  First of all, I'm not a hundred.  Second of all, I didn't want to wear chiffon or sequins.  Thirdly, I'm only 5 feet tall so there are very few dress styles that are actually flattering on my small frame.  

When I finally found a dress that I was happy with, my next challenge was to find someone who could cut a several FEET off of the bottom so it would fit me.  (No kidding.  What kind of giants are these designers making these dresses for?)  Luckily, I found a wonderful person to alter and hem my dress several weeks before the wedding and all I had to do was to maintain my weight until the wedding.  

You see where this is going, right?  I was on track and then May hit.  We celebrated Mother's Day with food.  Three days later we celebrated my birthday.  Four days after that we celebrated my birthday with friends in Atlanta.  Three days after that we celebrated my birthday AGAIN with some other friends.  I was feeling all the love but I wasn't feeling like I was going to fit into my dress anymore.  

I had two options really.  I could go back to the alterations person and have her let the dress out to fit my cake belly OR limit my sugar intake on the few non-birthday celebration days.  I opted for the second - much harder choice.  That means that this yummy Challah bread had to be put on hold until AFTER the wedding.  There is no way that I would have been able to resist the temptation to eat this delicious homemade bread if I had made it in May.  It was worth the wait.  It was amazing.  

Challah
Flour Paste
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons bread flour

Dough
1 egg + 2 egg yolks
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Egg wash
1 egg
​salt

Whisk together flour and water to form flour paste.  Microwave until thickened, stirring every 20 seconds.  (40-80 secs)

Whisk together flour paste, egg, yolks, water and oil.  

Add flour and yeast. 

Knead in standing mixer 3-4 minutes.  Let rest 20 minutes. 

Add sugar and salt and knead 9 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours. 

Press dough into an 8" square. 

Cut in half to form 2 rectangles. 

Cut in half again to form 4 strips. 

Roll each strip into an 18" rope.  

Arrange into a large plus sign with all 4 centers overlapping by 1/2 inch in the center.  Press centers to seal.  

Lift rope at 12:00 position and place at 5:00 position.  

Lift rope at 6:00 and move to 12:00 position.  

Lift rope at 9:00 and move to 4:00.

Lift rope at 3:00 and move to 8:00.

Adjust ropes to 12:00, 3:00.6:00 and 9:00.

Repeat braiding.  ​Pinch ends together and tuck under braid.  

Cover and let rise 3 hours.  

Whisk together egg and salt.  

Brush over loaf. ​

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350.  

Let cool 20 minutes on pan.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 2 hours before slicing.  

I'm so happy that I waited to make this challah bread because I ate A LOT of it.  I sampled it warm out of the oven.  I had a slice with dinner.  I had a piece with some avocado on top for breakfast the following day.  I had a tuna melt on challah for lunch and another slice with dinner the second day.  It was THAT good!

Ciao!

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