"Challah" Back Girl!

Sorry! I can't resist a bad pun!
      I find myself stuck at home this Saturday morning. My husband's car is in the shop and he needed to use mine to get to work (yes, he works on a Saturday, everything about this post is not Kosher for Shabbat). The weather is unseasonably cool, so I got up early and went for a run. Came home. Ate breakfast. Took the dog out. Now what? So I got to thinking, I have a whole day to kill at home. What can I do that takes almost all day and I can only do from home? Bake bread! Duh!
    After the success of my bagels I was feeling ambitious and really wanted to attempt bread. Of course not just any bread. I have to keep with my Jewish homemaker theme and make challah bread. Challah bread is a traditional Jewish bread that is served with Shabbat dinner (the Sabbath). Jews making challah bread dates back more than 4,000 years where it is mentioned in the book of Leviticus & things pertaining to Moses. It is usually a braided loaf, but is a braided round on the high holidays. It can contain raisins but I've always preferred it plain with a shmear of butter. It is similar to brioche or any type of egg bread. Here is a bit more about this history of Challah if you are interested History of Challah. It's history could really warrent its own post.
It has been so hot here for the past week, I haven't wanted to turn on the oven, but with temperatures in the low 70s this morning, I figured now was as good a time as any. I came across this recipe for Challah Bread from my favorite food blog www.smittenkitchen.com.  Needless to say, if Jews are going to make it, they usually do it Friday before sundown (or buy it at Publix :) ) not Saturday morning. Anyway, it turned out delicious and even your average shiksa can do it!  Keep reading for the recipe I followed.

Homemade Bagels! YUM!

I love bagels. A bagel with lox and cream cheese is probably my all time favorite breakfast/brunch item. I am fortunate to live close to not one, but two very good bagel places. However, I've always wanted to try to make them myself. I figured,
"How hard could it be? Make some dough, shape it, boil it, bake it." 
I wasn't that far off, but there are a few more steps and a lot of waiting for dough to rise and rest. Luckily, I had my trusty Kitchen-Aid stand mixer to help me along the way.
I used a recipe I found on a baking blog here  http://bakingbites.com/2007/06/homemade-bagels/ .  It takes you step by step through the process with great photos. I sprinkled sesame seeds over the top of mine before baking them, but you could make them plain or top with your favorite bagel toppings. You can click on the link above or you can follow my directions. The only ingredients I had to buy were bread flour and yeast, which was a total of $4.00. Though more labor intensive,  that makes this a lot cheaper then going to buy a dozen bagels.