From My RV Kitchen: Challah Bread

We all make choices on how to outfit our RV kitchens, based on our own family’s cooking habits and preferences. For example, my husband and I are not “grill people” or “panini people,” so we don’t carry a portable grill or a sandwich press, but we know other RVers who couldn’t live without either one.

We do, however, prefer homemade bread to store bought, so my trusty old bread machine was one of the appliances that made the cut when we downsized from a suburban household kitchen to a 5th wheel’s galley.

I use the dough setting only, which mixes all my ingredients and gets them through the first rising, and then I remove the dough and shape it as I please — into a standard loaf, rolls, or maybe even a braid or holiday-appropriate character if I’m feeling particularly crafty — before giving it a final rise and then baking it in either my gas or convection oven.

This is my family’s all-time-favorite, make-it-every-holiday, and-don’t-show-up-at-a-potluck-without-it recipe for challah (Jewish egg bread, a nod to my heritage). I printed it from a web site back in 1998, and was delighted to find that it’s still there. Thank you, Dick & Alma Hanson! We just call it “The Bread.”

Braided Challah

3/4 cup warm water

1 egg

4 TBSP sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

3 TBSP butter, cut into small chunks

3 cups bread flour

2 1/2 tsp yeast

Put all ingredients in the machine, in order recommended by manufacturer. Set to dough cycle.

When done, remove to floured surface and divide into 3 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a long rope (14”-16″) and braid them together on a greased cookie sheet, tucking the ends under. Alternatives: dinner rolls, any shape you see pictured here, or one from your own imagination. The following directions remain the same, regardless.

Cover dough with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft free location for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

After dough is done rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove tea towel and brush dough lightly with mixture of:

1 egg yolk

1 TBSP water

Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds if desired.

Bake uncovered for 12-15 minutes, to desired brownness. Cover lightly with sheet of foil and continue baking for another 8-10 minutes. It should not take more than 25.

Best eaten the day it’s made. If there’s still some the next day, it makes great French toast or bread pudding.

(Author’s note:  a version of this post appears at Heartland RVs. It is printed here with permission.)