Why make one challah when you can make three? The result you get when mixing a large batch of dough is actually much better than what you get when making a small batch. With a good amount of dough in the bowl, it is easier for the mixer to do its job and properly knead it. Challah freezes beautifully—you can freeze a loaf whole, or slice it and then freeze it for toast or French toast. Or have one loaf for dinner or breakfast, and give the other loaf to a friend or someone close to your heart. The offer of fresh-baked bread is a beautiful gesture that is better than any bottle of wine or store-bought hostess gift.
Making bread doesn’t have to be serious or scary. Follow the recipe, weigh out the ingredients, learn the dough, then be like a jazz musician and take the bread on your journey, wherever that road leads. I am inspired by shapes and like to play with dough. Sometimes I leave the ends of the challah loose like fingers on a hand (like the hamsa, a famous good-luck symbol); sometimes I overlay other twists of challah on top of the dough to create an almost Medusa-like shape that is at once otherworldly and completely organic. Play with the dough. Leave the ends open, or twist instead of braid. Try different seeds—pumpkin seeds, nigella seeds, black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. For Rosh Hashanah, bake a bowl for honey into the bread (an oven-safe bowl, of course)! Then fill it with honey right before serving the challah.
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