Therapeutic Bread Baking

There's something about fall that really makes me want to bake bread. I find it oddly therapeutic. I love to knead the warm dough, raise it in my steamy oven, punch it mercilessly, form it in to pretty shapes, raise it again, glaze it and bake it. The best part is that in the end you end up with something beautiful and delicious. I thought I would share my new favorite bread recipe with you. It started out as recipe for raisin challah, but I don't like raisins or white breads so I played with it a little and ended up with some really yummy cranberry orange baby challahs.
Cranberry Orange Baby Challahs
Here's what you need:
2 tablespoons of dry yeast
1 3/4 cups of warm water
1/3 cup of sugar plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup honey
3 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs plus 2 yolks
3 cups wheat flour
3 1/2-4 1/2 cups white flour
6 ounces dried cranberries

Glaze:
2 tablespoons of orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups powered sugar
orange peel (dried or fresh)

Stir together yeast, warm water and the two teaspoons of sugar. Let stand for a few minutes until yeast is dissolved and mixture is slightly bubbly.
Stir in the rest of the sugar, salt and honey. Add moist ingredients all at once.
Start adding flour slowly starting with the three cups of wheat flour then add the cranberries, then start adding white flour one cup at a time until dough is soft and elastic but not sticky.
Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and rise in a warm moist place (covered with damp flour sack towel) for approx. 1 1/2 hours. Divide dough into 37 equally sized pieces. Roll each piece into an approx. 10 inch snake and then tie into a tight knot. Arrange the challahs onto baking sheets and rise once again from approx 1/2 hour.
Bake at 400 degrees for the first 12 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes.
NOTE: Baking times may vary according the size of your challahs, your oven,your baking sheets, and my sometimes rather poor approximations. Keep a close eye on them as it would be a terrible shame it they burnt to a crisp on account of my poor instructions.

While your bread is baking start mixing the glaze:
Pour you orange concentrate, water, and powered sugar into a small bowl and mix it like the dickens. It might require more water to get it to the Constancy of a thick syrup. When the breads are still warm, paint on the glaze making sure to get it into all the nooks and crannies. Before the glaze sets, sprinkle the tops of your breads with orange peel.
Lastly, but most importantly, enjoy these fresh in the company of good friends.