Baking Challah

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!