Holla! (Challah)

I've been wanting to say that for a long time, haha. Oh, apparently it's also my 100th post. Yay me? But seriously, challah, where have you been all my life? You are delicious, slightly sweet, and beautiful. You've got it all, don't you? 

I had to use my honey sticks. It's okay, it was for a good cause. 

This challah is of the round and braided variety, which is supposed to be saved for Rosh Hashanah. The circular twisty shape is supposed to represent the cycle of a new year beginning, or something of that nature. It's too awesome to just be eaten once a year! I'm really bad at looking at pictures and figuring out what to do, so I had to watch a video to figure out the braiding. Here, I'll show you. It's quite useful.

Pretty!

Mmm. I want to eat the whole thing. I'm not exaggerating, I am not known to exaggerate about food things. It's sitting next to me as I type. I want it. Stop it, you temptress! On a side note, I'm the proud owner of a Pinterest, which is actually not a good thing for me. I make lists obsessively and this just gives me another excuse to do so. But if you want to look at it and feed my addiction...I won't stop you.

Messy desk! 

Round Braided Challah

by Cupcake Project

(I'll just let you look at the original poster's braiding instructions, or the video, cause it would be useless without the pictures and I don't want to post other people's pictures on here). 

1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar  
1/3 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons honey
4-5 cups all-purpose flour

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Knead until you've got a smooth sticky ball of dough.
3. Let rise for one hour (or until doubled in size) in a covered bowl in a warm place.
4. Punch down.
5. Divide the dough in half
6. Braid the dough (see braiding instructions below in link. Or just do a normal braid if you feel like it).
7. Transfer braided dough to a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper or a silpat
8. Cover and let rise for another hour.
9. Bake at 350 F for twenty minutes, until golden brown.