Wiener Dog Challah Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Carefully unwrap the crescent dough. You want to keep two triangles together to make one long rectangle.
• Lay the rectangle down on a clean counter.
• Put a hot dog on the dough and wrap the dough around it, pressing the edges together.
• Move it to a cookie sheet.
• Do this for 4 weenie dogs, SAVING 2 hot dogs for next step.
• Cut the 2 remaining hot dogs into thirds, and save the 4 rounded ends for the dogs' NOSES.
• Put the 4 NOSES on the cookie sheet, with the crescent wrapped weenies, and BAKE for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the dough on the wrapped hot dogs is BROWNED on the edges.
• While the dogs are in the oven, prepare their legs and tails: for each dog, cut 2 pickles in HALF horizontally (crosswise) with a butter knife and carefully push a toothpick halfway into the cut end of each one. Choose another pickle for the tail and stick a toothpick in it, too.
• Cut (use a kitchen scissors) the red bell pepper into teardrop shapes for the floppy EARS.
• Push a toothpick through the middle of a cherry tomato and stick the ears onto each side of the toothpick, kind of hanging down.
• When the dogs come out of the oven, let them cool awhile on the sheet, and then stick on the NOSES with a toothpick.
• With another toothpick, add the tomato head with its droopy ears.
• Push the toothpicks holding the legs and tails into the dogs.
• Last of all, cut the olives into thick squares for the EYES using the cream cheese to stick them on.
• Now, the fun part. Admire your dogs, ask mom if you can take a picture of it and post to RZ, and then chow down. Make sure you remove the toothpicks first!

Steps:

• Place sugar, salt, and oil in either a mixing bowl for an electric mixer with a dough hook or any large bowl. Add hot water, and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Stir in yeast, and let stand until mixture gets foamy. Add slightly beaten eggs.
• If using an electric mixer, add 4 1/2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Mix until flour is mixed in, and dough gets stringy. This stringiness indicates that the gluten has developed. Continue to add flour until dough is all on dough hook; 1 or 2 cups is usually sufficient. Let hook continue to knead for several minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic. To knead by hand, stir 4 1/2 cups of flour in to the yeast mixture. Turn soft dough onto lightly floured surface, and work in 1 to 2 cups of flour. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Place dough into a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat the surface. Cover bowl with a damp cloth. Let dough rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down after first rising, and allow to rise a second time. The first rising is about 1 hour, the second about 45 minutes. Two risings makes for a better bread, but if time is a problem just do one.
• Divide dough in half, and divide each half into three or four equal parts. Make two braids, and place both breads on a greased baking sheet. Cover, and allow to rise until doubled. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, if desired.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes until golden brown. Allow loaves to cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a large bowl, and stir gently to moisten the yeast. Stir in salt, sugar, margarine, and 4 eggs, and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour, 1 cup at a time, up to 12 cups, until the dough becomes slightly tacky but not wet. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Grease baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper and set aside.
• Cut the bread dough into 4 equal-sized pieces (or 2 pieces to make 2 large loaves). Cut each piece into thirds for 3-strand braided loaves. Working on a floured surface, roll the small dough pieces into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look. Repeat for the remaining loaves.
• Place the loaves onto the prepared baking sheets, and let rise until double in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk 1 egg with vanilla extract in a small bowl, and brush the loaves with the egg wash. Sprinkle each loaf with about 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are shiny and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the oil, salt and 3 cups flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into two long oval loaves. Place on two lightly greased baking sheets. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Just before baking, give the risen loaves three shallow slashes with a sharp knife. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, turn heat down to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), brush with beaten egg white. Return loaves to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the oil, salt and 3 cups flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into two long oval loaves. Place on two lightly greased baking sheets. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Just before baking, give the risen loaves three shallow slashes with a sharp knife. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, turn heat down to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), brush with beaten egg white. Return loaves to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped.