>>>Some years, I even skip the bakery and make my own challah (using my grandmother's recipe) that day, but I was still feeling pretty sick Friday, so buying was much easier. Fortunately, there's no real gift shopping in the little area near here where the bakery is, so parking wasn't a problem.
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>>There is nothing better than home made bread. I sometimes make my own Challah too. Beyond the obvious glory of the aroma permeating the house (even just from the yeast rising the dough), there is also something theraputic about the kneading that is quite enjoyable.
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>I confess that I let my mixer (I have a KitchenAid stand mixer) do the kneading. But you're right about the smell.
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>Plus, for me, using my grandmother's recipe brings her back vividly. This is her own recipe that she worked out over time and it has all kinds of comments from her about the process. I actually have a one-page version and a three-page version.
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>Tamar

And did Bubbe use an electric mixer for kneading? ;)

I have a small bread maker, but when I make challah, I do it entirely without the machine. I don't know another bread that has quite the wonderful feel of challah at the kneading stage.

A friend eating it once asked me if I made it completely from scratch, and I told her that I did, and that the hardest part was grinding the wheat. ;)