This post appears in the Face Time in the Kitchen challenge.

This post, about the importance of face-to-face time in the kitchen, is sponsored by Bon Appetit and Epicurious.

This girl…

For the past 10 years she’s been my biggest helper in the kitchen. I couldn’t wait to get her in, cooking with me. As soon as she could sit up, I’d drag her high chair in and she’d sit watching me cook, banging measuring cups on her tray. She soon went from watching, to doing, and now… at the age of 10, can take on many recipes with little supervision.

The kitchen is where she learned to count… “How many eggs is mama putting in? 1, 2, 3!”. She started reading and would soon read off recipes to me as I would make them. As she grew, her safe place to talk to me became the kitchen… while measuring ingredients or whisking eggs, she’d talk about what was making her happy or problems she might have been having with friends. She’d share her dreams, funny stories, and I’d sneak in little life lessons along the way. Even though she can cook pretty much on her own now, I selfishly like to insert myself into the kitchen right beside her. I don’t want to miss those face-to-face moments with her. They are precious to me, and I know to her as well.

One of our favorite things to make together is homemade bread…and this Bread Machine Challah recipe tops the list. It’s the same type of recipe I would spend hours making with my mom, by hand, on Sunday mornings after church. I’m sure our conversations were much the same and I’ll treasure both the present kitchen conversations and the past kitchen conversations forever. In addition, I so look forward to what future kitchen conversations are in store for us. I can’t wait.

Want to know how to build a successful restaurant? Check out BonAppetit.com’s “Out of the Kitchen,” a glimpse into the inner workings of two successful restaurants. Meet the back of the house inner circle and see how face-to-face relationships keep customers coming back for more.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bon Appetit. The opinions and text are all mine.

Homemade Bread Machine Challah Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

Our absolute favorite Challah bread recipe made especially easy using the bread machine.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons margarine, cut up
• 3 cups bread flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Add the water, the egg, the margarine, flour, sugar, salt & yeast to bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Set the machine to the dough cycle
3. Once the dough cycle is complete, remove the dough from the machine and place in a lightly sprayed loaf pan.
4. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes or until brown on top and hollow sounding when tapped.

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