Last week I decided I needed a new project, so I made
Challah! It was my first time baking bread and it was really fun! I used the recipe in
this article from the New York Times. I wished I had a family recipe, but I did have family dishes! The bowl was Susie's and the spoon was Grandma's. :) Next time I'll have to ask for the recipe.
The recipe says to let the dough rise 3 times: once after everything is mixed together, once after you punch it down, and once after it's braided. I didn't really know how to punch the dough so I looked it up on
Youtube, but I'm still not sure if I did it right because it didn't seem to get much smaller. After the dough rose again I started the fun part, the braiding!
I learned how to do a 6 strand braid on Youtube too. I watched this video maybe 7 times, including once mid-braid. It can get confusing!
It was really fun to braid the bread. I even impressed myself with how it looked when I was done! haha.
Then I made a round raisin version, which is usually made for Rosh Hashana, I learned. I guess I was a little late. Here it is with egg wash #1:
Then I let them rise again. I couldn't believe how huge they got this time! It was so exciting. :)
After I gave them egg wash #2 I baked the stick shaped loaf. But....
Oops. I forgot to pay attention and baked it too long. I think I have a hot oven. The round raisin version came out much better.
I love cooked raisins, don't you? This took a long time, but it was really fun and definitely worth it. I want to make it again and maybe other kinds of bread too! Have you ever made
challah? Do you have any tips or recipe recommendations? Thanks!
I think that traditionally pasta is made by putting eggs in a crater of flour on the counter. I tried it in a bowl because I was nervous. It wasn't as hard as I thought though so maybe next time I'll try the other way. 
I also added a little olive oil and mixed it all together. It was fun to see it come together!
Since I don't have a food processor I had to knead it by hand for about 10 minutes. My arms were really tired the next day! haha
After I let it sit for awhile I rolled out the dough. It was really elastic! I'm not sure if it's supposed to be or not but it seemed okay. Then I rolled it up and cut slices to make fettuccine. I realized that it's better to roll it up loosely so the noodles are easier to unroll. 
I unrolled them all except a few because I was lazy and I wanted to see if they would unroll themselves while they cooked. They didn't, but they tasted good rolled up too, just thicker. Some of my noodles came out like zig-zags. 
Then I boiled the noodles. I forgot how much fresh pasta grows! I ended up with some giant noodles. haha
Then I added some sauce and parmesan and we were ready to eat.... at 10. Oops! I didn't realize how long it would take.
It was super delicious! I just love the texture and the flavor. Looking at these pictures makes me want to eat it again. :)
