Braided Egg Bread

Alright, here's the egg bread recipe! Doesn't it look tasty? I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com and I made it without the poppy seeds sprinkled on top. Also, I kept the kneading times the same but let my stand mixer do all the work on speed 2. This recipe got 5 stars from everyone in our family!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• TOPPING:
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat water and oil to 120 degrees F-130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients along with eggs. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Set a third of the dough aside. Divide remaining dough into three pieces. Shape each into a 13-in. rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Divide reserved dough into three equal pieces; shape each into a 14-in. rope. Braid ropes. Center 14-in. braid on top of the shorter braid. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
4. Beat egg and water; brush over dough. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cover with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I really felt like soup for lunch today and since the kids' favorite veggie is broccoli and they love cheese.....

Ingredients:
4 tbsp. butter
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken stock
2-2.5 cups baby broccoli florets
1 cup half & half
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in deep saucepan over med-low heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add flour and whisk or stir for 1 minute until flour has cooked. Remove from heat and slowly add chicken stock, whisking or stirring until incorporated. Return to medium heat and bring to a simmer stirring frequently. Add broccoli (if you want smaller pieces of broccoli in your soup just chop them smaller!) and simmer about 8 minutes or until tender. Add half & half, stir to combine. Add cheese, stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The kids loved this soup and so did I! We ate it with leftover braided egg bread that I made for dinner last night, I'll be posting the recipe for that soon!