Holla for Challah

I kind of love how inspiration travels and spreads like a weed. One of my very favorite food writers Kathy Gunst published a book in 2016 called Soup Swap and my husband gave it to me as a holiday gift that year. It inspired me to do my own soup swap with my neighbors just a few months later. Kathy's soup swap was born during a harsh winter in Maine as a way for her and her friends to stay sane in the darkest, most frigid days of a long season. They found comfort, creativity and togetherness in bowls of soup. In the midst of a very grey, snowy and dark winter in Pittsburgh, Kathy inspired me yet again! I posed an idea to some friends over drinks recently that we get together once a month and make something, whatever it is that we enjoy making. Marie makes really delicious pickles, Suzanne is an expert cookie baker, Lynn makes amazing ravioli and my bread-making skills are pretty sharp. The more we talked about the varied and interesting culinary skills we all have, the more this idea started to take shape. We are also a bunch of bawdy women who can't resist a glass of wine, a dirty joke and rousing game of Cards Against Humanity. This is how "Bitchin in the Kitchen" got started.

We decided to start small with a group of 6 women, so I invited them all over to my house to teach everyone how to make challah - my absolute favorite go-to homemade bread. For novice bread bakers, this is a perfect recipe for teaching. Its relatively simple and only takes about four hours from beginning to end. Its a really soft dough that can be made without a stand mixer. Its a braided loaf, so there is an opportunity to learn some good technique and its also visually stunning, which leaves people with a sense of accomplishment when they're done. Since I've posted this recipe before, I'll just ask you to CLICK HERE if you're interested in making your own challah.

Lynn, Suzanne and I making dough

One person was unable to attend, so there were 5 of us baking challah in my kitchen. Normally, one recipe makes two large or three small loaves of bread, so I figured if we doubled the recipe we'd end up with six loaves - one to eat right away and one for each person to take home. Instead of combining them into a single batch of dough, we made two separate batches so everyone would have a turn to get their hands in the dough and knead. We all gathered in the kitchen, put on our aprons and assumed our roles. I started the yeast with warm water and honey in two separate mixing bowls while Marie read the proportions of ingredients out loud from my Baking with Julia cookbook. I put two pots on the stove and gently heated the milk, butter, sugar and salt until everything was melted and dissolved. Lynn and Suzanne each took a bowl and broke the eggs into the yeast, stirring to combine, then I poured the warm milk & butter mixture in and added three cups of King Arthur bread flour to each bowl while Suzanne and Lynn stirred. As the dough came together, we added flour gradually until the dough could be turned out onto the work surface and kneaded. Once Nancy arrived, we all got our hands dirty and took turns kneading the dough and as we made this beautiful dough, I talked about texture and feel and how to know when the dough is ready for its first rise. And of course, we drank wine, which lead to silliness and lots of laughter.

The kneading

When the dough was smooth and soft, we put it into two separate containers to rise and spent the next hour and a half playing games and howling with laughter. We took a break to deflate the dough and give it its second rise, then went back for more games , wine and hilarity. Finally, it was time to shape the dough. We turned it out onto the work surface and I cut it into three pieces each, then into smaller pieces for braiding. I showed everyone how to shape the dough and they all did a really terrific job. We ended up with four braided loaves and two twisted, round loaves. We set them aside for their final rise of about 30 minutes and turned the oven on to 375 degrees.

And there was much laughter

Just before baking, we brushed each loaf with an egg wash and sprinkled them with salt and seeds. During the 35 minute baking time, we hung out in the kitchen, cleaned up a little bit and talked about our day and what we learned. I rotated the pans a couple times and reglazed as the loaves as they expanded in the oven. When the challah was done, we stood in the kitchen and admired our work, but I can never wait until the bread is completely cool to cut into it. I chose a loaf and sliced it while it was still quite warm. The best part of the day for me was watching everyone's faces as they took that first bite of buttery, fluffy warm challah. It really is a moment of pure delight and half that challah was gone before we knew it. Everyone brought a challah home and they took my advice and made french toast out of it. So, we all had a ridiculous amount of fun, learned how to make bread and bonded over a shared experience. I ask you, what better way is there to spend a cold, winter day? We will be Bitchin in the Kitchen again next month, this time at Suzanne's house to learn how to make pierogies. I can't wait!!