Crafty Natalie

back in highschool (geez, that was about ten years ago!!) i worked at a bread store called Great Harvest Bread Company. one of my very best friends and i worked together and it was by far probably the most fun job i ever had! if you’ve never been to one, you should definitely try it! as soon as you walk in, music is blaring, and you’re offered a fresh slice of bread which you can smother with butter or honey (both plain and flavored). there’s also an assortment of muffins, scones, and cookies! from what i remember, the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were each a quarter pound, and were definitely super yummy! before i worked at Great Harvest, i only ever ate white bread. i wasn’t even much of a wheat fan. then the luxury of having fresh, hot bread kicked in and i became a bread snob and white is definitely not a bread that i ever buy in my house anymore! unfortunately a few years after i left Great Harvest the owner sold the shop to another family and i’m not sure what happened, but it is no longer open there is another location close by my house but i have yet to go there, because i know i’ll get sucked in and come home with more than hubby and i can eat! some of my favorite breads were spinach feta, cheddar garlic, maple bread, and apple scrapple (and no it does not have scrapple in it- still not really sure what that is but i do remember having to say that every time someone asked! rather, its a a sweet bread with apples and a sugary crumble crust on it that tastes like shortbread). i also loved when we started making challah bread. challah bread is a traditional jewish bread. it’s kind of a sweeter bread. it’s great to just snack on and is also great for making french toast. there are tons of challah recipes online but i found this one that i used. ( if you do try this recipe, just make sure to read the directions carefully. in the ingredients section it says, 5 tbsp water, then 1 1/2 cups water. where it says 5 tbsp water it should say 5 tbsp sugar. i totally overlooked that, and didn’t bother reading the full method description so i never caught the full amount of sugar, and only used ONE tablespoon for the whole loaf! needless to say that first loaf was very bland!) i still need to work on the braiding, but i think for not actually being a bread baker at Great Harvest, it turned out pretty darn good!

with the loaf that turned out really bland i ended up making challah french toast with cinnamon and sugar! i made this for breakfast when my nephew was over and cut them up into french toast sticks, and he seemed to enjoy them (plus the fact that he could douse them with maple syrup!)

if you need a quick recipe for french toast here’s a good one to follow:

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

cinnamon sugar mixture (if you don’t have the pre-made kind, you can just mix a 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon)

4 thick slices of challah bread

mix eggs, milk, and vanilla. dip the bread in the egg mixture and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mix. put the side with the sugar mixture face down on the pan, and sprinkle the other side with more cinnamon sugar mixture. cook until brown, and flip. the french toast is done when both sides are brown and no longer wet from the batter.