Traditional Challah Bread

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• Step 1

  Place the yeast, then sugar in the bowl of your machine (or a regular bowl). Pour the warm water over the mixture. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the yeast sit 5-10 minutes, till it foams.

  Once yeast is activated, place about half of your flour in the machine and begin mixing.

  Once the flour is incorporated, add the eggs, oil, and salt to the machine. Mix.

  Add the rest of the flour and let the machine knead the dough for a while (I do 12 minutes of kneading on medium speed in my machine).

  The dough will be sticky. If it's REALLY sticky, add more flour.

  Grease a large bowl with oil and place the dough into it. Flip the dough over so both sides get coated. Cover with a garbage bag (or towel) and let the dough rise in a warm spot till doubled in size, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

  Once the dough is doubled in size, preheat oven to 350 F. Divide the dough into 4 sections and braid 4 large loaves. For simplest braid, roll out three equal strands of dough and connect/pinch them at the top. Proceed to braid the dough like you would your hair. Connect the strands at the bottom by pinching. You can also make rolls or any sized loaves you desire. Place the loaves on a lined sheet pan or in a greased loaf pan.

  Cover the loaves with a towel and place them on the stove where the oven is pre-heating. Let the loaves rise again for 20-40 minutes, or until the loaves puff up and spread to the edges of the loaf pans. Brush the loaves with a beaten egg and, if desired, sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or both.

  Bake for 45 minutes, until the challah takes on a beautiful golden-brown color. Remove loaves from their pans and line them on a rack to cool.

  You can freeze these loaves in ziplock bags, eat them right away, or use them for french toast a few days later.

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