SUNDAY WITH MARLENA- CHALLAH

This is a traditional egg bread that is served at celebrations. Since this is the Passover celebration this is one of the food served at meals. I did tweak this a little and I did one the traditional way and one I did as an Easter bread. As Marlena would say, it's a celebratory bread and this has been a celebration week.

makes 2 loaves

1Tbsp active dry yeast
1Tbsp lukewarm water
41/2 C bread flour
2Tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs lightly beaten plus one extra egg for the egg wash
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling

in a mixer or food processor mix the yeast, sugar and 1/2C of water. Sprinkle a little flour over the mixture, cover and leave in a warm place for about 10 minutes until the mixture begins to bubble.
Beat 1 tsp salt, the oil, 1/2 C water and eggs into the yeast mixture until well mixed. Slowly add the flour adding a little at at time until it is absorbed then adding it more quickly. If the dough is too stiff add a little more lukewarm water. knead for 5-10 minutes until the mixture pulls away from the sides., or by hand. Place the dough on a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place for 11/2-2 hours or until doubled in size.
Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead gently and return to the bowl, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight to rise. *I didn't want to refrigerate it so I put it back into the bowl and let it do a second rise for about an hour until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface, punch down and knead until shiny and pliable. Divide the dough in half, the divide each piece into 3 pieces. Roll each piece a long thick rope.
Pinch the ends of the 3 pieces together then braid into a loaf. This dough can also be sprinkled with candied fruits or golden raisins before braiding.Repeat with the remaining dough. This is what I did with the remaining dough. I colored uncooked eggs and braided the into loaf. The eggs will cook as the bread bakes.

Place the loaf onto a nonstick baking sheet or one sprayed with a nonstick spray. Combine the remaining egg, sugar and salt and brush over the loaves. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds and bake for about 25-30 minutes until nicely browned.This recipe makes a delicious slightly sweet eggy bread. I love using challah bread for making french toast. I'm so impressed with Marlena's bread recipes. I don't usually do bread or things with yeast because I have a hard time getting things to rise. I have had no problems any of Marlena's recipes, they so far have always turned out perfectly.

See what Mel and Shankari have for their Sunday with Marlena.