Erica and I have both made challah many times before - personally, I think it's one of the easiest breads to whip up, and the braiding turns out really nicely. So we were excited by this months challenge, as we knew for sure that it would turn out well.
Scheduling, yet again, turned out to be the tricky part. So we planned to eat our challah together, but bake separately.
I made two unadorned loaves - one three strand braid, and one four strand braid. The four strand braid was tricky for me. The first time I tried it, based on an internet video, I ended up with a three strand braid and one strand just hanging out underneath. Whoops. But then I tried it again, and successfully incorporated all the strands - I like how textured it looks.
Erica was fancier - she added poppy seeds to her beautiful loaves.
Then came from the best part. We brought our four loaves to Big Basin State Park as part of a birthday celebration (won't say which one of us or which birthday, but the title provides at least one hint :-)).
We sliced them up, dipped them in eggy goodness, and fried them up on a camp stove. They say everything tastes better outside, but I'm pretty sure these would have tasted just as good indoors.
Early season strawberries provided the perfect topping.
Thanks to our hosts!
May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts
of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all
over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged
us to bake beautifully braided breads.
