Barbara's Thanksgiving Challah Recipe

Directions:

1. In a large bowl (or your electric mixer bowl), dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of water with 1 teaspoon sugar. Wait until this starts to foam and bubble (about 5 - 10 minutes). Add 3 eggs, butter, salt, remaining water and sugar. Stir to mix thoroughly then using your mixer or by hand add flour 1 cup at a time mixing between each addition. When dough leaves sides of bowl turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. (I live in Florida and perhaps because of the humidity I find that always need to add more flour as we are kneading) This is a very forgiving recipe. Cover dough and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 60 - 75 minutes) Punch down and shape into a side view of a turkey. (At my house someone always was assigned the job of finding a turkey model. One year it was my daughter's stuffed animal. Other years it was from a picture in a magazine or downloaded from online.) Place shaped bread on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise to double (about 1 hour). Before baking take a little of the remaining beaten egg and glue the raisin or almond in place for the eye. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Brush on remaining egg glaze and finish baking for another 10 minutes or until fully browned and loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. When bread is cool enough to touch, insert pretzel logs for legs and insert pointed corner of crackers into top surface of tail portion so they stick up for tail feathers.