The Best Challah Bread

Happy Monday blogland! Last week was my first attempt at making challah bread, and let me tell you it came out AMAZING! My husband devoured a loaf in minutes (granted it was a mini loaf.)
I never knew how easy it was to make it! I am hooked, I am never buying challah again. 

What you will need:
4 cups bread flour or all purpose flour
2 tbsp. dry active yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup oil
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 egg
1 egg+water for egg wash

Put yeast, 1-2 tsp. of sugar, and add 1/2 cup of water in a bowl. Mix the ingredients together and let the yeast proof (activate) and foam up until it doubles in size.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg and mix the egg with a beater attachment. Then add all of the wet ingredients (the rest of the water, oil, yeast mixture) and mix together again. Add the sugar and mix again.

With the mixer on the lowest speed, add flour cup by cup until the dough starts forming a ball and pulling away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

At this point, swap out the beater attachment for a dough hook. At this point, add the salt. Keep adding flour cup by cup until the dough is no longer sticky to the touch. In total this should be roughly 4 cups of flour.

Knead the dough together by hand to make sure everything is incorporated together. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover the top of the dough with a thin layer of oil and cover with a wet towel. 

Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, this should be about an hour. Punch the dough down and let it rise for another hour.

Alternatively, which I have been doing more often, is to place the dough in the fridge up to 24 hours after if comes together in a ball. No resting time, no punching down and waiting again. Just form your dough, place in a greased bowl, cover and let it take a snooze in the fridge for 24 hours. Take the dough out approximately 30 minutes before you are ready to braid to come to room temperature!

At this point, you are ready to form the challahs. I like to do simple braids. 

I also stuffed the centers of one of my challah's braids with a cinnamon sugar mixture. To do this, all you need to do is combine sugar with cinnamon in a 4:1 ratio with a little bit of melted margarine.

Roll out your 3 ropes for the braids and flatten each. Lay out your filling in a thin line down each flattened rope and pinch up the sides to seal it in. Then just braid the challah like you would normally.

Once all of your challahs are formed, let them rise for an additional half hour. 

Top each challah off with egg wash (one egg with a little bit of water) and some cinnamon sugar if you want it sweet.

Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

Chocolate Filled Vanilla Cupcakes

The other week I finally decided to splurge on a KitchenAid stand mixer.  I had put one on my wedding registry, hoping someone would be ever so generous to spend the $350 on the 5 quart Ice KitchenAid stand mixer.  Well, that never happened!  So, while I did not get the exact one I wanted, I got the cobalt blue 4.5 quart stand mixer, a little cheaper and 1/2 quart smaller bowl.  A little smaller, which is actually a plus for counter space saved and gets the job done just as good!
The first thing I decided to make with my spankin' new mixer was chocolate filled vanilla cupcakes.  I was beyond excited to use my mixer!  And let me tell you, baking will never be the same again!!  I am in love with it.
Now on to the cupcakes:

What you will need:
Cupcake:
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2  cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup cold milk

Chocolate Filling:
1 cup milk
1 cup creme de cacao  
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3-4 TBSP. cocoa powder
2 TBSP flour

(Makes 1 dozen cupcakes)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, letting the mixer run in between each addition.  Add in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, stir together all dry ingredients.  Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixer.  Add in milk.

Bake for 18-24 minutes.

Allow the cupcakes to cool on baking racks as you make the chocolate filling.

In a medium pot, add the creme de cacao and turn the heat on high until it starts to bubble. Lower to medium heat and let that start to reduce. Add the milk, cocoa powder, and confectioner's sugar and whisk until completely combined. 
Allow this to reduce another 10-15 minutes, whisking occasionally. 
When the chocolate looks like it is thickening up, remove 1/4 cup of it into a small bowl in order to incorporate the flour evenly. Add the flour mixture back to the pot. 
Let the chocolate reduce for another 5-7 minutes, or until really thick. Once done, remove from heat and transfer to a container. 
I refrigerated my chocolate for an hour before piping it into the cupcakes as it was easier to handle.
{I was so excited about using my stand mixer for the first part that I totally forgot to take pictures as I was making the chocolate filling}
Once the cupcakes are completely cool, use a knife to cut a small circle in the middle of each.  Make sure that you don't cut all the way to the bottom of the cupcake, otherwise when you remove the paper the filling will run right out the bottom. 

Fill a plastic bag {or a piping bag if you got one} with the chocolate filling.  I inserted the plastic bag into a glass and let the ends of the bag over hang the glass, it makes it easier to pour the chocolate into the bag. 

Cut one of the corners off and you're ready to stuff those cupcakes!

I topped off my cupcakes with just some packages Hershey chocolate frosting to make it extra decedant.

 Enjoy!