Not I. There was absolutely no sarcasm intended at all. I added the classy "chick" post in acknowledgment of your love of all things poultry. I thought I was being clever. Believe me or not but I actually have a certain degree of admiration towards you. I fear we are somewhat similar in our shyness including the use of humor as our defense mechanism. (although it may only be humorous in our own minds). I'll trump your chicken with $1000 vet bill to get 8, count 'em, eight stray kittens and their mother 'fixed' and vaccinated. (although the vet did give us a volume discount!) And because it's your thread, I feel no guilt in hijacking it. (not that I feel much guilt at the best of times) Lloyd

I do not think I am growing tomatoes this year, but I will look for Sun Gold at the nursery. I used to buy Donna tomatoes years ago, and they were by far the sweetest and best I've had, but I have not seen them since I left Venice. I think you may be right that Challah is better for FT than Brioche - I really do not need all that extra butter, and the Challah is very good for soaking up the batter. The FT had the exact texture that I was going for. I've made FT with Challah that I bought at the store, and it was not nearly as good as this. I used honey in the Challah because I have honey from Texas from clover flowers that I really like. I think it is clover honey - it might be wildflower. I cut the bread exactly one hour after it was out of the oven. Since it had been photographed, there was no need to wait! I had always thought that the braid would be difficult to make, as I could not figure it out from looking at a loaf, but it turns out to be reasonably easy, after watching a couple of videos. Most of my cooking I have learned from TV or videos - I find that more inspiring that a written recipe, although photos can help me get over that.

It's quite different -- Here is Ina's: 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced 1-1/2 cups sugar 3 half-pints fresh raspberries, divided 2 half-pints fresh blueberries 2 tablespoons framboise (raspberry brandy) 1 loaf brioche or egg bread (1 to 1-1/2 pounds) Combine the strawberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup of water in a large saucepan and cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of the raspberries and all the blueberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a simmer, and simmer for a minute. Off the heat, stir in the remaining raspberries and the framboise. Slice the bread in 1/2-inch-thick slices and remove the crusts. In the bottom of a 7-1/2 inch round by 3-inch high soufflé or baking dish, ladle about 1/2 cup of the cooked berry mixture. Arrange slices of bread in a pattern (this will become the top when it’s unmolded) and then add more berry mixture to saturate. Continue adding bread, cutting it to fit the mold, and berries. Finish with bread and cooked berries, using all of the fruit and syrup. Place a sheet of plastic wrap loosely over the pudding. Find a plate approximately the same diameter as the inside of the mold and place it on top. Weight the mold with a heavy can and refrigerate. Remove the weight after 6 to 8 hours. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, run a knife around the outside of the pudding and unmold it upside down onto a serving plate. Serve in wedges with rum whipped cream. Rum Whipped Cream (Serves 8) 1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream 3 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 tablespoon dark rum Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar, vanilla, and rum. Continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Serve cold. And here is mine -- it's an English recipe. A lot simpler and no strawberries. And no ladling the juice onto the bread and mine is not layered -- it's just bread all around with berries in the middle. But the framboise sounds good as does the rum whipped cream! SUMMER PUDDING 2 pounds of mixed berries (use any combination of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) 1 c. sugar 8 to 10 slices good white bread, with crusts removed (I used brioche) Wash and rinse the fruit and remove an stems and leaves. Put in a saucepan, add the sugar and cook over low heat, stirring frequently untl the sugar has dissolved. Grease a 7 cup pudding bowl (if you don’t have a pudding bowl, a mixing bowl would work) and stand it on a plate. Line the bottom and sides with all but 3 slices of the bread. Make sure there are no gabs between the seams -- trim the slices so that they fit together exactly. Pour the fruit mixture into the bowl over the bread and cover the top with the remaining slices of bread, which should also be fitted together so that there are no cracks. Cover the top of the bowl with a flat plate that fits neatly inside the rim and put a heavy weight on top of the plate. (A unopened can of vegetables works well) Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, remove the plate and run a knife gently around the inside of teh bowl. Turn the pudding onto a serving dish. The fruit will have completely saturated the bread and it will be a wonderful dark purple color. Cut into slices and serve with lots of whipped cream.

@Bunny its not Kosher but it’s delicious! It was in a magazine and I tore it out but the original is gone. Luckily I’ve made it so many 100’s of times I don’t need the recipe😊 Mix 2 c warm water and 2 tsp yeast and stir. Let set to get foamy. Add 3 lrg eggs 1/4c sugar 1/4 c very soft butter and 2 tsp salt. Whisk well. Put in large bowl or KA mixer. Add King Arthur Bread Flour one cup at a time with mixer running on low or stir in vigorously by hand if not using mixer. Will need about 6-7 c unsifted. Mixer should just barely clean bowl . Dump on floured counter and knead a few times til smooth. If not using mixer will knead by hand til smooth just don’t add too much flour. Place in greased container cover well set in warm place rise til double. Shape as desired . I doubled the recipe and made 21 cinnamon rolls ! Plus the 3# loaf. brush with beaten egg yolk / splash of water. Bake 350-375 25-35 min depending on size. have fun and let the dough tell you what to do. Don’t over flour! That’s what makes it dry and tough.