Homemade Challah, Actually Easy and Totally Delicious!

I considered this the best challah I've ever made, but the kids complained.

"It doesn't taste like your old ones."
"It's not like we remember."

I had my husband help with the kneading;  that's always the hardest part for me.  I used Demerara sugar, rather than the dark brown I used to bake with.

This challah is very easy to "shape," since all it did was roll lots of balls and place them, with room to expand/rise in the baking dish.  A friend reminded me that I had once lent her a heart-shaped baking pan in which she baked one of those "ball challot" for a special occassion.  This "shaped" challah isn't to be sliced/served with a knife.  Everyone is supposed to just grab a ball, making it lots of fun for kids and those young at heart.

Years ago, probably during my Stern (SCW) days I remember hearing at the Shabbat table that challah tastes better when ripped.  My husband never went for that idea, so years ago, when he wasn't home for a Shabbat and I was alone with the kids, we'd enjoy tearing pieces off the challah for ourselves, rather than being served knife-cut slices.