Okay so last Tuesday I wanted to bake something new, you know? Something kinda special for breakfast. Saw this headline about simple Challah recipes you can supposedly whip up tonight. Challenge accepted! Grabbed the tablet, pulled up the recipes, decided to start with the absolute first one listed – the “Classic Six-Strand”. Looked fancy but they said simple, right?
First step: raid the pantry. Needed flour, sugar, yeast, eggs, oil, salt… usual suspects. Realized halfway through measuring the flour I was totally out of yeast. Classic move. Had to run to the corner store, grumbling the whole way. Got back, yeast packet ripped open (maybe too enthusiastically), warm water measured, sugar sprinkled in. Waited for it to get foamy. Nerves tingling a bit – yeast hates me sometimes, but this time? It bubbled! Tiny victory dance.
The Dough Saga
Okay, feeling confident now. Big bowl time. Flour mountain in the middle. Made a well – felt like a pro chef for a sec. Poured in the yeasty water, cracked in the eggs (one slipped, egg white disaster on the counter), glugged in the oil. Pinch of salt… wait, was that tablespoon or teaspoon? Panicked. Went with teaspoon. Fingers crossed.
Started mixing with a wooden spoon. Quickly turned into a sticky, gluey mess. Flour flying everywhere. Counter looked like a blizzard hit it. Flung more flour at the dough. Kept kneading right there on the counter. Pushed, folded, turned. Arms burning after like 5 minutes. Dough felt dense, uncooperative. Remembered the recipe said “smooth and elastic”. Mine felt more like… playdough left out too long? Kept at it, muttering under my breath.
Eventually, after what felt like forever (maybe 10 minutes? Time flies when you’re covered in dough), it softened up. Pulled a bit off – it stretched without ripping! Hallelujah! Shoved the lump into a lightly oiled bowl, covered it with a slightly damp towel. Found the warmest spot in my kitchen – top of the fridge. Set the timer for an hour and tried to ignore it.
Rising & Shaping: Fingers Crossed
Timer beeps. Lift the towel… WHOA. Dough doubled! Gently poked it – it sighed back slowly. Felt soooo satisfying. Punched it down. Oof, that release! Took it out, weighed it on the kitchen scale just ’cause, then divided it into six vaguely equal blobs. Started rolling each into long snakes.
Here comes the fun/scary part: braiding six strands. Looked back at the recipe photos. Step-by-step:
- Pinched them all together at one end.
- Started crossing them, over-under-over, trying to remember which strand went where.
- Totally messed up around strand four. Undid it, took a breath.
- Tried again slower. Whispered instructions to myself: “Over, under, skip one… no, wait…”
- Got to the end, kind of messy but pinched those ends together too. Looked like… an abstract braid? Good enough for home cooking!
Carefully lifted this slightly wonky creation onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Egg wash time! Whisked an egg with a splash of water (avoided the shell this time!), brushed it all over that dough braid. It suddenly looked… real!
Second rise time. Covered it loosely with plastic wrap this time. Back on the warm fridge spot. Another 45 minutes. Checked nervously – it definitely puffed up more. Egg wash again right before oven time. Sprinkled some sesame seeds over half because why not?
Bake Time & The Reveal
Preheated my stupid oven. Waited for the little light to go off. Slid the sheet onto the middle rack. Set the timer. Smell hit me maybe 15 minutes in – that sweet, yeasty, bread smell. Amazing. Peeked at 20 minutes – golden getting deeper! Rotated the pan because my oven’s uneven. Total bake time: about 30 minutes.
Oven beeped. Pulled it out. Deep golden brown, shiny from the egg wash, sesame seeds toasted on top. Bottom sounded hollow when tapped! SUCCESS. Hardest part? Waiting for it to cool! Let it sit on a wire rack while I agonizingly cleaned up the flour apocalypse in my kitchen.
Finally, couldn’t wait anymore. Grabbed a serrated knife (sawing, not pressing!), sliced off the end piece. Still slightly warm. Crust crackled. Inside? Soft, tender, slightly sweet, beautiful strands. Ate it plain. Absolutely delicious. Shared pics with friends immediately. Felt proud! Definitely trying another recipe from that list this weekend.
