Dine and Dish

Food blog with family recipes

Baby Fever

When you look at the photo associated with this post, what do you think? “Mmmmm… fresh homemade Challah bread.” That would be the logical thing to think, now wouldn’t it? When I took this bread out of the oven today, do you know the first thing I thought of? “Oh… it looks like a little newborn baby all swaddled up burrito style.”

It is official everyone… I have baby fever.

I know! You thought after this incident, that baby fever wouldn’t hit again, didn’t you? Reading through that post from that awful day, I am honestly amazed by it myself. Then you thought, “Oh, her kids are getting a bit older now, things are running fairly smoothly these days… she can get out of the house without a diaper bag full of the necessities for a newborn. She gets to sleep through the night… no nursing sessions every 2 hours each and every day. Why would she want to add another baby into the mix to just cause chaos in her already semi-chaotic world?” Yeah, exactly. You are so right. I should listen to you more often.

But, you know what, it is still there and it isn’t going away.

A special thanks for starting this whole fever goes out to you, you, you and you know what… I’m even blaming you a bit just because my Ella was born on the same day as Shiloh, and here you are going and having more babies. It also doesn’t help matters that Ella is at about the cutest stage of life ever… well, minus the humongous fits and incredibly strong personality… she really is doing some adorable things these days. Really, she is… trust me.

There was a reason we have been getting rid of all of our baby stuff the second Ella grows out of it… my husband is 100%, completely and totally happy to have three kids. It is probably a good thing he doesn’t read my blog or I imagine I would be padlocked away in a room somewhere until I reached menopause.

Tomorrow, I am sure I’ll change my mind. Someone will puke on my head, we will have a grocery store meltdown, or even worse… the children will eat all the bread that I made and I won’t get a single bite. Oh, wait! That did happen. In fact, it happend tonight with my little bambino loaf of Challah bread. I took the bread out of the oven, had one tiny nibble while it was still hot (because I personally can’t contain myself when it comes to waiting for bread to cool), left for a two hour meeting and came back to no bread. Not even a single crumb. Hubby placed blame on the kids, which I am not completely buying, but I do bet those little selfish creatures had a lot to do with it.

Well, guess what. Baby fever is officially out the window. I can share my body, I can share my life… I can even get through diaper bags, 2am feedings, grocery store meltdowns, puking on the head, etc., but I draw the line at sharing food with one more person in this family. So, back off baby thoughts, the next loaf is mine. All mine.

Print

Braided Bread Machine Challah

Course bread
Keyword bread recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 7 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup water

Instructions

  1. Place ingredients into bread machine according to manufacturers directions.
  2. Set on dough cycle.
  3. Place dough onto a lightly floured board and divide into three equal parts.
  4. Stretch or roll each part into 9" ropes and braid.
  5. Place on greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 350°.
  7. Mix together one egg yolk and a tablespoon of water and brush over bread, then sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired.
  8. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.
  9. Cool on wire rack.

Ahhhh, you like homemade bread, do you? Check out these tasty recipes from other bloggers around the blogosphere:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. [eatingclub] vancouver || js says

    “When I took this bread out of the oven today, do you know the first thing I thought of? “Oh… it looks like a little newborn baby all swadled up burrito style.”

    LOL.

    Is it still baby fever when it does look like a baby? LOL It does, it really does!

    [eatingclub] vancouver || jss last blog post..Our Own Domain

  5. Nella says

    What a goog blog! Certainly stirred up(good cooking term) some memories. I know. I now have grands and when they were babies, just holding them and smelling their heads made me feel good. Just like it did when my 34 year old daughter was a baby. The “urge to have” has been replaced by the “urge to hold”. Keep up the good writing and cooking!

  6. Terry B says

    Since you speak of your current kids in the plural, let me tell you our little rule of thumb babywise: Never let your kids outnumber you. I know plenty of people do, but we stuck to two and have somehow managed to maintain at least some of our sanity.

    Sorry you didn’t get any of that beautiful bread, but it seems to have served as an early warning device for you. Maybe that’s enough.

    Terry Bs last blog post..Black-eyed pea salsa, big-flavored steaks

  8. Terry B says

    Oops. Just checked About Your Hostess and see that you have three kids. “You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din.”

    Terry Bs last blog post..Black-eyed pea salsa, big-flavored steaks

  13. Deborah says

    I’m super excited for our new addition, but I sometimes wonder what I’ve gotten myself into after stories like this!! 🙂 But then again, I already have a husband that eats everything. In fact, I got a call the other day – sorry, I know you said to save some cookies so you could take a picture, but I ended up eating all of them…

    Deborahs last blog post..The Daring Bakers – July

  15. Trysha says

    Hehe…I’ve got a kid bouncing on my lap playing Power Rangers, the other on my right side getting “packed up for kindergarten” (even though school doesn’t start for another 2 1/2 weeks) and ANOTHER kid jabbing me in the ribs.

    But I’d do it all over again. 🙂

    And anytime you want to come on over and change newborn diapers you just let me know. The doors open.

  16. Carmen says

    Wow ……… we’ve been married 1 year and no kids yet – and reading your post about the doctor’s visit makes me not want to have kids..at all…haha. 🙂 I admire mothers. I just don’t know how you do it! The bread looks delish!

    Carmens last blog post..Red Curry Tofu

  17. The Cat's Pajamas says

    Okay. If I could explain really quickly: for the past 3 weeks I have been TERRIFIED that I was preggers. About 15 minutes before I clicked on your site, I found out that I was indead, not preganant- just crazy. So imagine, if you will, having an all out freakout when I opened up to see that picture. The title above didn’t even register to me… it really looks like a baby! You’re not seeing things.
    ~The Cat’s Pajamas

    The Cat’s Pajamass last blog post..Barefoot! Coeur a la Creme

  18. Sylvia says

    I really spent a great time here and you make me laugh on your previous post. I had the same problems when I started to get green. 9 to 10 times I forgot my bag and sometimes I had to carry packages in my arms(the grocery is near my place)
    Thanks for visit my blog Your blcg is cool.

    Sylvias last blog post..From Sicily with love : Sicilian Caponata

  21. Jeanine says

    LOL, your post made me giggle. I have a 2 (nearly 3) year old, and can relate. Funny how your loaf of bread spoke to you, it’s almost like seeing the face of Mary in a slice of toast, huh? 🙂

  26. heather morrow says

    hey, now! i don’t make these babies….i just photograph them. next time i shoot a newborn i’m sure i’ll refer to her as a little loaf of challah and my client will look at me like, WHUUUUUUT? and then i can blame YOU! :o)

  27. Gina says

    Having my third child almost sent me over the edge – I was ready to run away from home and never come back. And when I found out that #4 was on the way (um…don’t send the kids packing to grammie’s when you’re fertile) I was terrified. But now, he’s almost 6 months old and you know what? Four is *much* easier than three. 🙂 And as happy as I am that he’s our last baby, I’ve actually found myself crying over the fact that he *is* my last baby (apparently I’ve already forgotten about my delivery and recovery…both of which were less than fun)

    Ginas last blog post..Operation Baking GALS

  28. Jo says

    Look at that beautiful challah – and made by gentile hands, no less! (Ummm, calling it “challah bread” was a dead giveaway…it’s simply “challah.” Delicious, doughy, infant-like challah. Nice job!)

  29. Hillary says

    This blog post could not come at a more appropriate time for me. First of all, lovely challah! Secondly, I’m expecting a new niece or nephew any minute now (my sister in law’s due date was yesterday) so I’ve got babies on the brain as well! I can’t wait for the phone call but maybe I should prepare some baby challah to bring over first! 🙂

    Hillarys last blog post..We’re on So Good Blog!

  31. :) says

    Oh god, I love LOVE LOVE Challah bread! I used to eat it all the time when I lived in NYC and now that I’m in California, I don’t get as much (it’s more of a Sourdough state). I’m going to definitely try this recipe out!

    :)s last blog post..Scandanavian food: Copenhagen

  33. Marni says

    maybe if you took another look at that challah photo, you’d see that it’s not a baby at all, but a lightbulb, or a hot air balloon, or an ice cream. see? you had it wrong all along! 🙂

    Marnis last blog post..Fruit Squares

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  1. […] without any additions. Last week I happened upon a lovely Challah post on Tastespotting from Dine and Dish. Just the sight of the Challah made me salivate and I could almost smell the fragrant honeyed […]