Challah Made Easy

I have had a blast exploring Paula Shoyer's The Kosher Baker.  I absolutely love it! It truly is like taking a master class in traditional Jewish and parve cooking. There are so many recipes that I want to try; it is so hard to choose. But before I get too deep into this wonderful cookbook, I had to try making her traditional challah recipe.

Since I was not able to make challah for Friday night, I thought I would cheat a little bit and use my other favorite kitchen accessory, the bread maker. Baking with the bread maker could not be easier. All you have to do is put all of your ingredients in, choose the proper settings for the type of bread you want to make, and walk away. The bread maker does it all for you. Homemade bread with very little effort and almost no clean up...it doesn't get any better than that!

Next time I make challah I will go all out and make a beautifully braided one like the recipe calls for, but since I was just using the bread maker and didn't need so much challah, I halved the recipe. The measurements below reflect what I used. For the original measurements and full recipe, consult The Kosher Baker cookbook.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon canola or vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 ounce (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups of bread flour

Baking with the bread maker is beyond simple. In 3 easy steps my house smelled delicious and I had a large loaf of homemade challah. YUM.

Step 1: Pour all ingredients into the bread pan, making sure to add the yeast last.

Step 2: Insert the bread pan into the bread maker and choose the proper settings. (Settings are listed in the recipe book that comes with the bread maker.)

Step 3: Wait about 3.5 hours for the challah to finish baking. Without fail you are guaranteed the perfect loaf of bread to enjoy.

Josh and I have made challah before, but it did not taste 'authentic' to us. This challah on the other hand was so tasty that it did not last very long, if you know what I mean. We could not get enough of it. Amazing tasting challah that we can make in an easy, no mess way...you better believe we will be making this again! I might even try a braided one next time.