Challah

I've been talking about it since my post on September 9 but today I finally made Challah! I will admit that I cheated a bit and used the bread maker instead of doing it all by hand. Because of this it came out like a regular loaf and isn't in the traditional braid. It is also missing the egg wash that you put on the dough after you braid it. As such, it's a pretty mild version of Challah. Perfect for someone who's not sure if they'd like a sweet egg bread or not. 


The recipe I used was from a website called Diana's Desserts. There were a few ingredient options but this is the version that I made. I added the ingredients in the order listed below but be warned, if you plan to try this, check your bread maker manual for the recommended order of adding ingredients. I baked mine on the Regular Bread setting and I set the Crust to Regular as well. It came out nice and crusty on the outside but soft on the inside.


Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water
1 large egg
3 tablespoons margarine
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast


I was actually pleasantly surprised that mine turned out because I made a pretty silly mistake. I added all the ingredients and even had the bread maker turned on when I realized that I forgot to add the mixing paddle! I had to pour all of my ingredients into a bowl so I could attach the paddle and then I dumped everything back in the bread maker. Of course the yeast had totally mixed with the water (a big no no) and I was afraid that it wouldn't rise properly. Not so! The bread maker worked it's magic and Chris and I were both extremely pleased with the results.


I would definitely make this recipe again, especially if we were having guests who had never tried Challah before. I think for Chris and I, I will be looking for a recipe with a bit of of a distinctive taste, or next time I might just use the bread maker to mix the dough and then follow the traditional way of making Challah with the braiding and egg wash.