A little over a month ago I asked for challah recipes for my bread machine. I’ve been working my way through the many kind contributions, and wanted to report back. This report will inspire in you little or no confidence in my ability to make bread machine challah.
The first recipe I tried came from Minnesota Mamaleh. It’s noteworthy for its use of 5 yolks and no egg whites. (I made meringue cookies with the whites.) Unfortunately, the first time I made the recipe, I forgot to add the sugar. Then I added it late in the process. The second time I made it, I remembered the sugar, and tried brown, instead of white (the recipe calls for either.) I haven’t tried it yet with white sugar (although I meant to.) Amazingly, it was quite good both times.

The second recipe I tried came from my friend Judi (see in the comments section of the original post.) I realized after finishing the dough that she had not written down a temperature or time. So, I went with 350 and used my meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. One undercooked challah (ok, actually two undercooked challot) later, I discovered that my meat thermometer is broken. They look done, don’t they?

Today we are trying the recipe posted by Michael Fessler (also in comments). I still don’t have a working thermometer, so I had to go by the feel of the loaf and the sound of the thunk when I hit the bottom of the loaf. This recipe only uses a few tablespoons of sugar, and although he said it makes three loaves, I humbly disagree. Even just the two are a little on the puny side.

I’ve since ordered a new thermometer, and look forward to baking a few more loaves before Passover. With luck, I won’t screw anything up.

Shabbat Shalom!