Challah!!

Happy day! Challah is my favorite bread. That is not a statement I make lightly. I love bread. I mean I loooooove bread! I tried the South Beach diet a couple years ago, and it was the hungriest day and a half of my life. I just can't function without carbs. So, I was beyond excited when I found the most amazing challah recipe. It was doubly exciting because it is nearly impossible to find some good challah in Provo, Utah.

I have made several challah recipes (and eaten many people's fair share of challah), but this one is beyond amazing. My husband, who is not so into carbs (other than his ranch choodles. More on those later) raved about it. It is the challah recipe in The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. It makes sense that a New York City bakery would have a killer challah recipe, and this one totally delivers.

I didn't make the traditional braid, opting instead to make sandwich rolls out of it. I had to restrain myself from eating them all while they were warm. As it is, we finished half the rolls with dinner last night. I'm sure it would make an amazing base for bread pudding, too, but we'll never have this recipe last long enough for us to find out.

A Confession

       I like to cook (most of the time), but I love to bake. My cooking consists of pretty standard fare with the occasional foray into various ethnic foods. I don't really get into gourmet cooking. The only truffles I have in my house are made of chocolate, and that's fine with me.

      However, baking is an entirely different matter. I will, and have, driven twenty-one miles to buy pearl sugar. Sadly, there are no gourmet or upscale grocery stores nearby. Our grocery stores around here are great for the basics, but they are completely lacking in anything out-of-the-ordinary. So, I have to search (much of that online) for unusual ingredients like potato flour and fleur de sal, which have found their way into my kitchen via online retailers.

I also love specialty bakeware. I am completely happy with my set of cookware I received as a wedding present. I find that with a couple pots, my 10" and 12" skillets, and a few pans that I can cook pretty much everything I want to make. Bakeware is different. It speaks to me. For some women, it's Jimmy Choo or Monolos, for me, my kryptonite is Amazon and Williams-Sonoma. Bakeware comes in a dizzying array of sizes, styles, and there is a mold or pan for almost everything. Bundt pans alone come in an amazing variety of sizes, styles, and shapes, and I love them all.

       The other day I spent hours looking at cannele and brioche molds. I was trying to justify buying cannele molds, which are not cheap, by thinking that the molds would double as decorations when not in use. I restrained myself, though, at least for the time being, mostly because I think my husband's head will explode if he sees one more package from Amazon on our doorstep. So, for now, I will just have to get my french specialty fix from my madeleine pan.