Who hasn’t been baking bread during this pandemic? This is a recipe that I found from Food 52’s Genius Recipes, and it is exactly that…GENIUS! No stand mixer required, no kneading, just gather the ingredients and let time do its magic.

Jessica Fechtor's No Knead Challah

Makes 2 loaves

Listening to: La Gozadera (ft. Marc Anthony) by Gente de Zona

Drinking: Margaritas

Dry ingredients

500 grams bread flour or all purpose ﬂour

5 grams dry yeast

8 grams fine sea salt

Wet ingredients + shaping

2 each large eggs

1 each large egg yolk (save the egg white for glazing later on)

190 ml water

75 grams olive oil

85 grams honey

Optional: For topping, before baking: Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, flax seeds, rolled oats, sunflower seeds, fennel seeds, pumpkin seeds, herbs, whatever your heart desires

FOR DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS, head to Food 52

TO SHAPE, see photos below!

Normal people after too many margaritas: wake up in the middle of the night due to the pain in their lower back and neck from passing out on the floor.

Me after too many margaritas: craves challah bread for breakfast; takes out the scale

Enter the Drunken Baker!

Usually when people drink, the thought of cooking isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. You want to munch, but desire something that is speedy.

Not I, I plan! I attempt to schedule for the next day to wake up to fresh bread. And let’s be real, is there a better concept of happiness than that of freshly baked bread?

The sober surprise of what I had accomplished the night before had me astounded. My husband and the roomies couldn’t comprehend how it happened…I was a culinary magician in their eyes.

Challah is the bread of celebration in the Jewish tradition that appeals to everyone. With it’s rich, slightly sweet and deep golden pillowy oh-so-smooth interior, it’s also one of the most beautiful loaves of bread.

It’s distinctive braid, which symbolizes, among other things, the joining of family and friends, lends itself to be an all around gorgeous and uncomplicated bread.

The essence of this recipe is time. Overnight dough is your best friend; it is a wondrous and magical chapter of making bread. Only simple kitchen tools allowed, minimal kneading and mixing required, and a restful sleep is necessary to benefit the baker & the dough!

Grab yourself a drink or two or three, whip out your scale, and let’s get our Drunk Baker Chronicles on!

The Drunk Baker Chronicles: Challah Bread