It's Friday, Friday, Friday

Happy Friday! Before I make the mad dash for my bus to NYC (is there any other way to approach a bus?), I thought I'd share one of my new favorite challah recipes. I like to think that this is the kind of challah Paula Dean would make if she were ever so inclined to host a Shabbat meal. Anyway it's delicious. 

If you're interested in making this pareve for a meat meal, be my guest, my friend Avi might have a few suggestions. My suggestion? Butter makes it better. 

Adapted from "The Silver Palate Cookbook" by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 4 eggs, at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (I use half bread flour, half regular unbleached)
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• poppy seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring milk, 6 tablespoons of butter, and the sugar to a boil together in a medium-size saucepan. Remove from heat, pour into a large mixing bowl, and let cool to lukewarm (105º to 115º F).
   
2. Stir yeast into the milk mixture and let stand for 10 minutes.
   
3. Beat 3 of the eggs well in a small bowl, and stir them and the salt into the milk-and-yeast mixture.
   
4. Stir in 5 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, until you achieve a sticky dough. Flour a work surface lightly and turn the dough out onto it. Wash and dry the bowl.
   
5. Sprinkle additional flour over the dough and begin kneading, adding more flour as necessary, until you have smooth elastic dough.
   
6. Smear the reserved 2 tablespoons of butter around the inside of the bowl and add the ball of dough into the bowl, turning to coat it lightly with butter. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside to let dough rise until tripled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours (letting it rise in the fridge overnight will do just as well).
   
7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and cut into halves. Cut each half into 3 pieces. Roll the pieces out into long "snakes" about 18 inches long. Braid three of the snakes together into a loaf and tuck the ends under. Repeat with remaining snakes. (I skipped this in favor of my previously disclosed 4 strand method).
   
8. Sprinkle a large baking sheet with the cornmeal, and transfer the loaves to the sheet. Leave room between the loaves for them to rise. Cover loaves with the towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.
   
   
   

   

   
   

9. Preheat oven to 350º F.
   
10. Beat the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon cold water together well in a small bowl. Brush this egg wash evenly over the loaves. Sprinkle immediately with poppy seeds to taste.
    
11. Set baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when their bottoms are thumped. Cool completely on racks before wrapping. Makes 2 large loaves or 3 medium loaves.
    

    

    While not the prettiest challahs I have ever made, Crossing my fingers they will be yummy.

Shabbat shalom ya'll and have a great weekend!