I teasingly threaten my mother with sticky fingers
When I originally created my “Life To Do List“, I reached out to my peers and mentors and asked for their input on items I should include on the list. My awesome hometown rabbi, Avi Schulman, gave me a list of “70 things every Jew should do.” I perused his suggestions with interest, happily discovering I had already completed many of the items on the list. One of the items I had not yet done was “Bake A Challah.” Thus entered #73 on the list.
My dear mother (and avid reader of 25andlive) wanted to tackle this one with me. In fact, she “claimed” this item from my list and specifically instructed me to wait until the next time I came for a visit to cross it off the list. Alas, I am in NorCal. Alas, #73: Bake a Challah is complete.
Rolling out the dough
Ingredients:
2 pkgs dry yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp salt
7-8 cups flour
3 egg of 4 yolks
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 cups warm water
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Instructions:
Put the flour in a bowl and make a well. Add the eggs in the well. Then add the oil, sugar, warm water, salt, and optional raisins. When completely mixed, add the yeast (AFTER PROPERLY FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS, MOM!).
Knead until smooth and elastic. Put it in a warm spot, let it rise for about 1 to 1.5 hours (we totally didn’t do this). The dough is ready when you poke a hole in it and the hole stays instead of bounces back.
For directions on braiding the dough, watch this informative video created by yours truly (and Mom. And Patty):
My favorite part of the video is when my mom asks whether or not we are going to put poppy seeds on the challah. I happen to not like poppy seeds. Without saying a word, my mother used her “Mom Eyes” to tell me she wasn’t necessarily excited with my decision. I abruptly try to negotiate with her. I hope I inherit that skill when I become a mother. She says so much with no words at all…
The finished product
Though the final result looked amazing, it was unfortunately a bit dry. I blame the fact that the recipe called for old school yeast and we instead decided to try that new fancy stuff that cuts the cooking time in half. My mother and I are infamous for never really following a recipe.
Overall, it was a really fun experience. You literally get your hands a bit dirty. I can’t explain the pride I felt that evening when we took the challah with us to Shabbat Services at temple and got to share a piece with the rabbi that inspired it!
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