Challah

What a wonderful weekend filled with lots of baking and cooking! What made it even more special is that I had an extraordinary assistant... my mom! :) My mom was gracious enough to join me in the kitchen for two days, doing what I love most, and man was she a trooper. This bread was the first of our creations. Given that neither of us have ever made homemade bread before, we knew we had to attempt this recipe together. You see, I have very fond memories of challah from my childhood... known to me as "egg bread" when I was younger. Mom would ocassionally take me grocery shopping at Publix, and we would always start in the bakery. We would browse the bread selection, and if I was lucky, we would stumble across a loaf of "egg bread". It was always so tasty and freshly made, we would bust open the bag and nibble on it while we shopped. Then once we got home, if we had any left over, we'd pull out the butter and finish off the loaf! Ah, it makes me smile just remembering those times. :)

I mean, just look how beautiful this bread is... how could anyone resist?!

Ingredients
Dough (yields two loaves): 
2 (1/4 oz) packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
4 eggs
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Topping:
1 egg
1 tsp cold water

Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, sugar, salt, eggs and 4 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough, about 2 more cups.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes, using remaining flour to keep dough from sticking to hands and surface. Place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, then divide each half into thirds. Shape each piece into a 15 inch rope. Place three ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Beat egg and cold water; brush over braids. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and place on wire racks to cool.

 Source: The Taste of Home Baking Book