Pinky Double Winky Challah

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!

Happy Challah Birthday to me!

I have my sister to thank for giving me one of the most memorable birthday surprises! This year she out did herself and made a scavenger hunt for all my presents. I woke up in the morning to find my first clue on my door! Of course I ran all over the house trying to find present after present. The only problem was that I forgot to put my contacts in before I started. Not even hardcore squinting could compensate for my lack of vision so I had to stop and find my glasses before I could finish the hunt. Thanks to my sister for making my birthday that much more memorable and special.

One of my favorite clues

Like all the other challah's we have made there is a story behind the name of this one. Since my sister and I have come home from college we have been working on my wink. Apparently my wink isn't up to her or her friend Meesh's standards. I somehow always have either too much head tilt, too little head tilt or something else. One time when we were practicing my wink I told her about how my friends at school and I joke about double winking in our skating routine and how we call it a double winky ;) (for those of you that are confused it means winking twice in a row). Lastly, we dyed our challah pink because as most people know our favorite color is without a doubt Pink (specifically Tickle Me Pink for Lindsey)! For goodness sakes even the blog is pink!

Recipe: (makes 2 loaves)
3/4 cup water
1 packet of active dry yeast (about 2 tsp)
1.5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar
3 extra large eggs: 2 for dough, 1 for baste
1/4 cup oil
3-4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
Nutella
Caramel
Heath Toffee Chips
Chocolate Chunks
White Chocolate Chunks
Red and Blue food coloring

Mix water, yeast, honey and sugar in a mixing bowl. Place in a warm place. This could be next to a window that gets sunlight, or I like to place it in the oven at 120 degrees and then turn off the oven. Let stand for about 10-15 minutes or until the mixture starts to foam.

In a separate bowl mix 2 eggs and oil. Add to the yeast mixture after it has foamed.

• Since I was going to color the dough later I gradually added some die to the eggs and oil mixture (about 12 drops of the red and 4 blue) so that it would already have a pink tint before it rises. (You can always add more blue or red later so you get the perfect pink you a looking for)

Add 2 cups of flour, followed by the salt, and then the rest of the flour. Make sure you mix the flour as you are adding it. Continue to add flour until the dough is no longer sticking to your hands.

Knead the ingredients and form into a ball. Oil the large bowl and then roll the ball of dough in the oil. This prevents the dough from sticking to the bowl as it rises. Place the ball back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place it in a warm place. Let the bowl sit for about an hour and a half, or until the dough has doubled in size.

After it had spent about an hour and 30 minutes rising take the dough out and see if you want to add any more dye. Add in the dye by dropping dye on the dough and kneading it until it is a uniform color. When add more dye make sure to keep a ratio of about 3 red to 1 blue.

Remove dough from bowl and knead to get out all the air. Roll out the strands and spread a layer of Nutella on 2 strand and Caramel on the other. Then place white chocolate chunks, chocolate chunks, and Heath on top of the Caramel and Nutella. Pinch each strand closed.

We made a three strand challah, but you can do any shape.

After braiding the challah, place on a buttered cookie sheet and allow challah to rise for at least 30 minutes in a warm place. This allows the dough to rise again.

Baste with egg wash (1 egg and 1/2 tbsp water).

Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 or until internal temperature is around 170. If the top of the challah

is getting too dark or hard then place a piece of foil on top of it while the inside continues to cook.

  What a pinkalicous challah!