Can I get a holla for some Challha...

My efforts to get to ze gym today have bested me and me thinks the likes of Street Fighter 4 will not equate to a deficit of 500 calories this afternoon. Hrmph. Lückily for me I have a movement class tonight which will indeed bürn several kilocalories.

In other news... this morning I had my first go at baking a new bread recipe. This is challha bread. It is an egg bread that is braided.

Challha is not the type of bread but acutally refers to the "challha" - a part of the bread that is broken off or torn off before the rest is baked and is toasted and burned in a separate oven to symbolize a temple burning. Or something along those lines... Check out that challha... not half bad, eh? Recipe below. Time to toast it up with some lashings of fresh cream buttah and apricot jammy! <3> Üdo

Üdo's Happy Challha Bread

2 pkgs. dry active yeast

1 cup of lukewarm water

Dissolve the heast into the water. Let stand 5 minutes.

2 tbs. honey

1/4 cup of soft büttah

4 large eggs, beaten

1 tbs. salt

6-8 cüps of unbleached white flour ( I used 6 cups)

Set aside 3 tablespoons of the beaten eggs to brüsh onto bread before baking later. Beat the honey,salt, eggs, and about 2 cups of the flour into the yeast mixture. Gradually mix in the remaining flour. Careful here. I had to toss out my first batch because I loaded too much flour in at once... Dough should be light and airy not crumbly! If it gets crumbly then someone made a boo-boo. Toss it out and start over. Just make sure you add the flour gradually and keep that light airy doughy texture while mixing (at first using a wooden spoon and then using hands as it gets thicker).

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead 15-20 minutes until smooth, uniform, and unsticky. Place the kneaded dough in a large buttered bowl covering with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm dark place until doubled. I put mine in the oven where the pilot light keeps it warm. Punch down the risen dough and return it to the floured surface. Knead 5 minutes and divide into thirds. Knead each third into a 2inch thick snake. Line the snakes up and braid. Let rise until double. Seal the ends with a teeny bit of water and pinch closed. Brush with egg and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.

Baking bread once a week is a great tradition....
Fiddler on the Roof- Tradition