I love carbs!!!!!
All recipes are created by Jenna unless stated otherwise! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
I literally crave carbs and there is nothing
better than a homemade loaf of bread right out of the oven. The aroma that
fills the room suddenly transforms your house into a home. Takes me right back
to when my Grandma Mavis would come to visit. I loved coming home from school
to that smell. It feels like yesterday. She really knew how
to make a mean loaf of bread.
Challa bread, also known as egg bread, has that same great
smell and that same great fresh bread taste only it is dense (because of the
eggs) a trait in which I have really grown to appreciate and crave.
The first time I made challa bread was the first Hanukkah my
now husband and I were together. We had been dating about 3 months and I really
wanted to impress him. I wasn’t sure what I was doing but I figured it was just
like bread with a little extra goodies here and there and I totally winged
it…and I totally impressed him…win!
The second time I “made” challa bread I learned the importance the
temperature of the water makes in order to make the dough rise. Not too hot
folks…trust me…we ended up enjoying my new pretzel recipe instead. The dough was super dense!
By the third time I was a master and finally getting some
good use out of our Kitchen Aid.
Below is my recipe and a few pictures to help you along as
you prepare for your next Shabbat dinner, Jewish Holiday or just because you
love bread like I do!
What you will need:
2 ½ cups warm water, not boiling, (too
hot is what turned mine into pretzels. I used the hot water tap we have built
into on our sink…oops.)
1 tbsp active dry yeast
½ cup honey or to taste
Occasionally I will put about 1/3 cup molasses too (if
you’re up for it you should try it)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs (or 3 if you want to whisk one & brush on top of the loaf to make it pretty…I usually skip this part just because we have a lot of egg sensitivity in my family so the less egg the better)
1 tbsp salt
8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (this will end up being
more like 12 cups…don’t be afraid to keep adding if the dough is too sticky)
*Sometimes I add raisins if I want something sweeter or
sliced kalamata olives if I want something savory but really I don’t think it
needs either. Up to you...with this recipe you can get creative.
1) In a large bowl (I use our kitchen aid) sprinkle 1 tbsp yeast over 2 ½ cups warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs and salt.
2) Add flour, 1 cup at a time, continuing to beat or stir as you do so. Once dough is too thick to beat with kitchen aid or other tool then switch to kneading with hands.
