The one where Maple eats MY Challah

I took Robby to Katz's Deli a few months ago and couldn't get the Challah bread from my sandwich out of my head. It's so rich and eggy with a hint of sweetness. It was my first time to hear of that bread, and I called it CHallah. Apparently that is a no-no. I have since been corrected to pronounce it, Hallah. Ooops, guess you live and learn :) One of the food blogs I read posted a recipe for Challah a few weeks later, so I took it as a sign and tried a loaf or two. The recipe made a massive amount of bread - two huge loaves. That is not really a problem for us though. We have some serious bread lovers in our family (Hi Diana, Sara, and Amanda!). Also, the blogger was going on about the amazing french toast she made with this. Since Robby has been on a french toast kick lately, I knew I could get a few breakfasts out of it too. Here is one loaf of Challah about to bake. It was my first time braiding dough - that's what all of the size variation is about, haha.

Out of the oven to cool. I obviously couldn't wait and had to cut a few pieces for us to taste off the end. Glad we did...

I made this during the peak training season for the MS150. I baked while Robby biked. As the bread was cooling, he walked through the door. He was exhausted and had some stories to tell, so I was following him through the house as he put his bike and gear up. Not even 30 seconds later Maple was army crawling around the corner whimpering. She had the saddest eyes. I looked at her and panicked. Something was wrong. I thought I played with her too much right after she ate dinner and her stomach bloated. (panic much???) "Oh my gosh, what is wrong with her?!!!! Robby! Maple can't breath or walk - what's wrong with her????" Robby jumped out of the shower and ran over to her. She stood up and started wagging her tail as he pet her. Robby looked at me like I was a loon, and I looked at Maple like she was one too. I was SO confused. I walked into the kitchen and... it turns out the brown dog ate BOTH of my freshly baked Challah loaves. Her stomach was enormous! I was cracking up when I realized her reaction to seeing me. She knew she did wrong.

Robby was bummed because I had been building up how many meals of french toast he was about to eat. LOL. So, a few months later I tried another loaf. This recipe was a little different. I liked it better (you know, when compared to that TINY bite of the last loaf Maple shared with me). It was a hit plain and in the french toast department.

I got my braiding down a little better for this loaf :)