Challah!

While the rap revolution may have popularized the word (written in the slang "HOLLA!") not much has changed in the way of making this ancient holy Jewish bread. It doesn't do all that well sitting around, so it really is best enjoyed fresh from the oven or later the same day you bake it.


1 teaspoon yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 stick of butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups, unbleached white flour (you will need more then this most likely)

1. In a large bowl combine water, sugar, yeast - let sit 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a smaller bowl, and whisk to break up yolks and combine with whites.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan on the stove.
4. Combine butter and eggs into the yeast/water bowl. Add 4 cups flour and the salt.
5. Keeping one hand 'wet' (in bowl), and one hand 'dry' (holding onto bowl), swirl your hand in a circular motion to start combining the ingredients. As the dough begins to form a ball you can start to kneed it with the one hand in the bowl. Add more flour as your need it if the dough becomes to sticky to work with. Continue to knead until dough is soft and smooth - maybe 5-7 minutes.
6. Remove dough from bowl, drizzle bowl with olive oil, replace dough in bowl and roll in oil to completely coat.
7. Place kitchen towel over bowl and let rise 45 minutes - 1 hour.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with PAM cooking spray.
9. Divide dough into 3 sections. (Technically it should be six, and at one point I was taught how to properly braid the Challah with its 6 sections but I can't lie, I don't remember how to do it in the slightest!)
10. Taking each each section by itself, place both your hands side-by-side on top of the piece of dough. Roll your hands simultaneously back and forth over dough moving the hands outward to the edges as the dough starts to roll out into a rod formation. Lengthen the dough to about 1 foot. Repeat with remaining two pieces of dough.
11. Place the three rods of dough next to each other. pinch the top end together, then start braiding it as you would hair. When you get to the bottom, pinch the three ends together again to form a seal so that the braid doesn't unwind in the oven. Transfer to baking sheet and put into oven.
12. Bake for 30 minutes. It will be slightly browned and will have risen to almost double in size.
13. ENJOY!!!

Serve with traditional accompaniments of honey and Kosher salt or butter if you like or just enjoy piping hot from the oven with lunch or dinner!

Don't settle for bad bread

A follower recently had a baby who has since been diagnosed with soy and dairy allergies. At first thought that doesn't seem like a huge life altering disaster, but the baby is breast fed and thus mom can no longer eat soy or dairy products as she will pass those allergens through her system and breast milk to the baby. The only real problem mom has had with this restriction is finding bread at the store which does not contain soy or dairy (today food manufacturers get their kicks from putting dry milk solids and soy lecithin in everything!). She found one product at Whole Foods but stated that it tasted "atrocious". Being a bread fanatic myself, I understand her pain and so here, my dear, is a bread recipe you can make at home which will taste 4 times better anyway because you are going to eat it piping hot from your own oven!


1 teaspoon yeast (I get the Bread Machine yeast in a jar-it ends up being cheaper)
2 cups warm water
4-6 cups UNBLEACHED white flour (you might need even more)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried rosemary (optional)

1. Find a BIG bowl in your house. Combine yeast and water in the bowl. Give the yeast about 3 minutes to start to "wake up" before putting any more ingredients in.
2. Add 4 cups of flour, oil, then salt (and rosemary if desired).
3. Combine ingredients. Use one in the bowl, and hold onto the bowl with the other hand here is your motto, "One hand dry, one hand wet." Swirl the 'wet' hand around in ingredients to get the flour to incorporate into the water at the beginning.
4. Continue to add more flour (about 1/4 cup at a time). Each time making sure to kneed all the loose flour into the dough. You will have to kneed it for about 7-10 minutes, adding a dusting of flour each time the dough gets to sticky. You will kneed the dough until it starts to feel soft and look smooth - not straited or bubbly.
5. When the dough feels nice, take it out of the bowl and put a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom of the bowl. Replace the dough into bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with dish towel and let rise on counter top for 1+ hours.
6. Heat oven to 375. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam. Punch down dough and form into a ball or loaf-type shape and place on cookie sheet. Let dough rise a few minutes while the oven heats up.
7. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes
ENJOY!