Her Modern Kitchen

Eating & Living in Austin, Texas

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Six Strand Braided Challah Bread

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Looking for an at-home baking project? Why not master the six-strand braided Challah Bread with my lastest Baking Bucket List post.

My baking bucket list for 2020 started with Challah Bread.  I have no idea why I chose it other than because it meant needing to work with yeast, and I find braided baked goods especially beautiful.

Challah Bread

Initially, I thought working with the yeast would be the difficult part of this whole bake but in reality, it came down to the six-strand braid. 

I gave my bread dough a real working while attempting to braid it and scrapped the braid so many times I lost count.  I watched countless videos and reviewed a number of diagram tutorials.

Eventually, I stopped trying to think so hard about it, and the braiding naturally flowed….

…Or at least it resulted in Challah Bread that looked braided. I’ll let one of you review my handy work and tell me if it was actually braided correctly or not. (Like seriously, someone look at this braid and tell me if I did it right).

Either way, I don’t care too much.  The result was a beautiful loaf of bread that actually tasted really good too with a delicious, subtle eggy-ness to it that you would expect when eating Challah Bread. I especially enjoyed it’s crusty outside (thanks to a splendid eggwash!) when toasted with a little strawberry jam on top.

I don’t have a recipe to share this go-round as I defaulted to the King Arthur Challah Bread recipe and followed it to a T.

Read for the oven

Challah bread, braid completed

Challah Bread egg wash

An egg wash before baking results in a nice golden color

Just a Couple Tips

My two tips for those of you attempting a six-strand braided Challah Bread is to 1) practice with some string before you head into braiding your dough. I’m sure my own bread would have baked a little bit lighter if I hadn’t beat it up so much figuring out the braiding sequence.  I would also 2) ensure your dough is laid out in the same direction as whatever video or diagram you’re following.  Watching someone do it from a different angle made the task even more difficult than it had to be.

Challah Bread close up

Here are a few resources for completing the six-strand braid

If I were to make Challah Bread again, I would probably stick to a three or four braided bread as I truly enjoyed the eggy flavor of the bread once baked and it’s an easy way to use up an abundance of eggs.

So, who’s making Challah Bread as we head into the Easter season?

Challah Bread Baked

California Breakfast Toast: a wine country inspired meal

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In March 2015, Mayank and I took a trip to wine country which inspired this California Breakfast Toast recipe with a 6-minute egg and lemon ricotta. Here’s a recap of our trip and the California Breakfast Toast recipe we’re still making today.

This post was originally published in April 2015 and updated in July 2019 with new California Breakfast Toast photos and recipe modifications.

Mayank and I both love wine and thought a trip to Sonoma County and Napa Valley would be a great, long weekend getaway where we could relax, enjoy some delicious California reds, and refine our wine pallets.

Our Trip Recap

California

We started our trip off with a tour of Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma. This was, by far, the BEST brewery tour either of us had ever been on. The guide was engaging, the beer (and oh, there was a lot of beer) was delicious, and learning about the history of the brewery was fascinating. I highly suggest a visit to Lagunitas if you make your way to California. It’s quickly become our favorite brewery.

We also visited many wineries, including Buena Vista Winery, the oldest winery in California, Robert Mondavi (home to Mondavi’s high-end wines, not the cheap-mass produced bottles you find at your local wine shop), Failla Wines, which cellars its wines in caves within the mountains of Napa Valley, and a few other select wineries. All were wonderful. We split tasting at most wineries, which kept us even-keeled throughout the whole trip.

Mondavi

Over the weekend we enjoyed ourselves, indulged in some delicious red and white wines, relaxed and bought 5 bottles to ship home to Texas.

What surprised us during our trip though, is that most of the other winery visitors were at least twice our age — making us the youngest patrons at all of the wineries! We always knew we were old souls but we were surprised by this fact.

Evenings during our trip were a bit slow. We found that most of the attractions and shops within Sonoma (where we stayed) closed by 6pm. Restaurants, of course, remained open but after sipping wine all day our appetites were small.

We weren’t sure if shops were closed because most people had gone home after wine tasting all day (and passed out) or if the town just didn’t offer many evening activities.

failla

During our trip, we indulged in some delicious, wine country food. The Girl & the Fig in Sonoma. We split a memorable goat’s milk cheese plate there one night for dinner and came back again the next evening to enjoy a true meal. I even came home with a fig spread to enjoy with our own cheese plates!

cupcake

And of course, I couldn’t go on vacation without trying a local cupcakery. Healdsburg’s Craft Cupcakes was recommended to us but we were sadly disappointed with our choice of cupcake – the Cherry Almond – which tasted like nothing more than a vanilla cupcake.

California Breakfast Toast

Although many meals throughout our trip were wonderful, fresh and delicious, my Avocado & Egg Toast I had for breakfast at Sunflower Caffe in Sonoma stood out as a favorite — something I knew upon the first bite that I had to make at home.

California-Breakfast-Toast-3

The breakfast is simple, light and refreshing with an added twist of lemon-y ricotta smeared beneath a layer of avocado on a piece of crusty multi-grain bread. The lemon added a brightness to the dish while the creamy, cool ricotta gave it a contrasting texture when compared to the chewiness of the bread.

6-minute egg

Arriving back home in Austin, I immediately recreated this dish, of course, healthifying it some with skim-milk ricotta so it could be enjoyed on a daily basis rather than as an indulgent vacation breakfast.

Here’s my version of Sunflower Caffe’s Avocado & Egg Toast (with Texas Hill Country’s White Lemon Balsamic) – though I call mine, the California Breakfast Toast. It isn’t as grand of a meal as Sunflower Caffe’s but I am definitely willing to bet on the flavor and the ease of which it comes together during a weekday morning rush!

California-Breakfast-Toast-Pin

5.0 from 2 reviews
California Breakfast Toast
 
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A deliciously light breakfast with creamy avocado, bright lemon ricotta and a soft-boiled egg
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 slice whole grain bread, toasted
  • ¼ cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ of a small avocado, sliced (about 1 ounce)
  • 2 slices turkey bacon, cooked and slightly warmed
  • 1 6-minute egg, instructions here
  • coarse sea salt
  • fresh black pepper
  • White Lemon Balsamic Vinegar, optional
  • Harissa Olive Oil, optional
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl stir together the ricotta, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
  2. To assemble, spread your toast with the ricotta, top with avocado slices, followed by the bacon and 6-minute egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt & fresh pepper to taste
  3. Drizzle with balsamic and harissa oil if desired.

Monday Morning Frittata with Zucchini, Basil & Burst Tomatoes

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Breeze through Monday morning breakfast with this healthy & delicious Monday Morning Frittata starring zucchini, basil, burst tomatoes, and Italian sausage.

I don’t know why it never occurred to make to make a frittata as part of my weekly meal prep but I made one a couple of weeks ago and then reheated it every day for breakfast throughout the week. It revolutionized my morning.  Since then I’ve continued to make a frittata and love how it’s streamlined my morning routine.

Monday Morning Frittata

Making the frittata ahead of time means no more crazy morning dishes or scrambling eggs or chopping veggies.  It has saved me so much time and it’s filling, healthy, and delicious!

Fritatta’s are awesome because they’re totally customizable.  You stick to a base recipe then just add in whatever you like! But, if you’re the type who needs a specific recipe then give my Monday Morning Frittata a try.

For this recipe and to simplify the prep, I use Cece’s zucchini spirals but you can totally make your own if you want (~1 zucchini).  The key to using zucchini spirals in the frittata is ensuring you get all of the excess water out of the zucchini before baking the frittata. To do this, simply toss the zucchini noodles in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze the heck out of them.  Whatever you do, do not skip this step. You don’t want a watery frittata.

Monday Morning Frittata

Also starring in my Monday Morning Frittata are burst cherry tomatoes.  I sauteé them quickly with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper until they gently burst. I mix all of this into a base of eggs, milk and a little parmesan cheese and fresh basil.  For added protein, I throw in some kind of cooked meat — some days it’s chopped Italian sausage while other days it’s as simple as ground turkey. Whatever you have on hand.

Bake it all up in the oven for about 50 minutes and you’re breakfast is served!  For me, this makes 6 large slices and lasts all week. I simply warm a slice in the microwave each morning for about 2 minutes and dig in.

How do you simply breakfast during the work week?  Are you a meal prepper or a breakfast skipper? 

Monday Morning Frittata Pin

Monday Morning Frittata with Zucchini & Burst Tomatoes
 
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Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 package Cece's Zucchini Noodles
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, cut into ½ inch slices
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 7 eggs
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped basil
  • 1 cup cooked ground turkey or chopped Italian sausage
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • olive oil spray
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375*F and spray a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil. Line the outside of the pan with foil and set the springform pan on a large baking sheet then set aside.
  2. Remove excess water from the zucchini noodles by placing the noodles in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze the noodles until no additional water is released. Set aside.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet for medium-high heat.
  4. Add in the onions and garlic, season with salt & pepper and cook until onions soften, 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add in the tomatoes and cook another 3-4 minutes until tomatoes soften and onions begin to caramelize then remove move from heat and let cool slightly.
  5. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the milk, flour, and cheese. Add in the eggs and whisk well.
  6. Fold in the onion-tomato mixture, zucchini noodles, basil, and meat (if using). Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
  7. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and cook for 50-55 minutes until the center is set.
  8. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
  9. Release the frittata from the pan and cut into 6 pieces.
  10. Once fully cooled, cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.