Protein filled filling bread–that impresses, too!

I absolutely LOVE making and eating challah bread! The thin cust is slightly crunchy with a wonderfully dense yet easy to eat crumb. Most of the liquid in the bread comes from eggs, making the bread itself filled with protein and very filling. And what a stunner! A six part braid is glazed with egg and sprinkled with seeds for added texture, look, and crunch. The bread comes out nicely golden, so I like using black sesame seeds and poppy seeds on top for contrast.

Darkish bread with grains

Dark, grainy breads, somewhat dense and immensely filling are among the things I miss the most about living in Norway and Germany. In Europe, you can go into any grocery store and pick up one of these beauties, or, better yet, zip by one of the bakeries on every street corner for amazing selections of breads with whole grains, seeds, rye, oats, barley, millet, or wheat. Or, if you’re in the mood for something lighter or sweeter, there’s ciabattas, baguettes, or wheat rolls,  raisin breads and “julekake” and “voerterkake” in Norway, and rolls, pretzels, and croissants are all proudly displayed in the glass counters. In Norway, we eat bread for breakfast and lunch; in Germany they eat bread for breakfast and dinner–the third meal of the day usually consists of something hot.