a gift of bread

As a food lover, I beg to disagree with a yahoo article I read recently that was strongly discouraging gifts of food during the holidays. As mentioned in the article, there's already so much food during the holidays therefore, it's not advisable to give more. It may be true for some, but dedicated food lovers will always be excited and thankful. It has been my favorite holiday activitiy to make cookies and bread for gifts.

This year, I was inspired to bake challah bread in a french baguette pan (as shown below) instead of the usual loaf pan. Challah bread has always been in my list of breads to make for the holidays because of its impressive braided look. I made it narrower and longer this time to fit the baguette pan and tried the 4-strand braiding technique that I learned from Shiksa in the Kitchen. Thanks to her helpful tutorial, 4-strand braiding is now my favorite. Neatly wrapped and tied with a little holiday ribbon, they make thoughtful gifts that are always well appreciated by family and friends.

Enjoy the blessings of the holiday season!