kitchen remodel and challah

anytime the universe thinks we have an extra dollar, something in our house quits working.  a recent example is the dishwasher.  it sucks, the dishes come out looking more dirty than when i put them in. really, this is not a big deal, i'm perfectly capable of washing dishes by hand but then, the faucet in the kitchen sink started leaking bad above and below.  no good.  i wish the universe would listen more carefully, hear the word "not," universe.  we do not have an extra dollar. quite breaking things.  you're confused.

it's not like it was a toss up; dishwasher vs. faucet.  dishwashers a more expensive, right?  so, we went with a faucet and even this wasn't cheap, especially when you consider the fact that i will always choose the most expensive "option."

my talented father-in-law spent an evening this week installing our new faucet.  i think jake helped.  i did what i do best in these situations; observe, comment and cook.  i fed them fajita's in between tasks and was thrilled to clean up the dishes using my shiny new faucet.  our newly remodeled kitchen.

check it.

polishing it is fun.  did you ever think a faucet could be so exciting?  me neither. but it has been.

with my new faucet i've continued to work my thing in the kitchen.  ruining a few things here and there and mastering a few others.  at least there's balance, right?

yesterday i made challah bread.  i was nervous because just two days earlier i failed miserably at my attempt to make wheat bread.  luckily, this time was triumphant!  it is so flippin' delicious but not at all nutritious so it goes here rather than the other blog. 

first, someone said "it's easy."  it wasn't.  not according to my scale anyway.  kneading the dough was a serious upper body workout and the raising took forever! maybe my kitchen was cold? but, watching it cook was worth every drop of sweat (i didn't sweat in the challah, don't stress).  i was giddy.  this bread is sweet.  it will be wonderful for french toast on sunday.  i can't hardly wait!

challah bread {i made two batches)

{recipe}

2 tsp instant yeast

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (divided)

1/4 cup warm water

3 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 tsp salt

for glaze

1 egg, lightly beaten

sesame seeds or poppy seeds are the traditional toppings.  i did one with poppy seeds and the other i sprinkled sugar over the top.

directions

in a large bowl, mix the yeast with 1/2 cup of the flour.  add the warm water, stir and let this mixture, called a sponge, sit until it starts to puff up, 15-20 minutes.  {this didn't mix like i expected it to so the first batch i used my hands trying to get it mixed together better.  don't do this!  that batch did not rise nearly as well as the second batch which i just mixed as well as i could with a spoon.} add the eggs, oil, honey and salt; stir until well combined {add the oil first and then the honey.  the honey will slide right out of the measuring cup}.  the sponge will remain lumpy-this is fine.  add the remaining flour and mix the dough in the bowl until all ingredients are combined.  

turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until fairly smooth, about 2 minutes {was more like 5 minutes for me}. the dough should feel very firm and will be hard to knead.  if it's soft and sticky, add more flour until it's very firm

drop a small amount of vegetable oil in a large, clean bowl.  coat the bottom and the sides {i used a paper towel} then drop the dough in, move around to coat the bottom side with a little oil and then turn over.  cover well with plastic wrap and a clean towel. let it rise until it's doubled in bulk and very soft to the touch, about 2 hours, depending on the room temperature {mine took 3 hours}.

line an insulated baking sheet with parchment paper or oiled foil.  if you don't have an insulated baking sheet, stack two sheets together (this keeps the bottom of the bread from over-browning during baking).

when the dough is done rising cut each round into six equal pieces.  i followed the directions (sort of) from the recipe by putting a little flour on the work surface, flattening the dough with my hand to make a square then i cut it in thirds and then in sixes to make six strands.  brush the flour off the work surface.  cover 5 of the squared with plastic wrap (loosely). 

roll the first square out 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick with a rolling pin.  once it's flattened, roll the dough up like a carpet.  my dough was a little dry at this point so i got my fingers wet before i started rolling and then used a tiny bit of water as necessary to keep the dough sticking together.  before i made my strands, i watched this video below to learn how to shape them and how to braid the bread.  it was very helpful.

Braid a Six-Strand Challah Bread Loaf: How to Bake a Traditional Challah Bread | eHow.com

once you've braided the bread, put it on the parchment paper lined baking sheet, cover lightly with plastic wrap and let it rise another two hours.

before

after

when it's done rising, position the oven rack in the bottom 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.  lightly beat one egg and get your toppings ready.  brush egg mixture generously over the top of the bread.  add toppings.  for the sugar, i just sprinkled it on.  you could also just sprinkle on the seeds but i dipped my thumb in the egg mixture and then in the seeds and put "prints" all over the top.  i thought i looked pretty.

bake for 20 minutes then rotate the pan 180 degrees.  bake another 15 minutes.  after about 5 minutes the bread started looking like it was getting too brown so i lightly covered it with foil for the last 10 minutes as the recipe suggested.

after baking cool on cooling rack.  we let it cool for a mere 15 minutes before we indulged.  so good!!! i fed this to the kids for breakfast today. gavin took one bite and shimmied his body "mmmm."