Heavenly Challah

Ingredients

• 7 cups flour (1 kg)
• 2 tablespoons dry yeast
• 5-8 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tablespoon salt

Glaze

• 1 egg, beaten
• sesame seed or poppy seed

Directions

1. 1

   Place all ingredients except the salt into a large bowl. Begin kneading. When a ball of dough is formed, add the salt. Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes, until the douh is smooth and soft, but not sticky.

2. 2

   Brush the dough and bowl with a bit of oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for approximately 1 hout, until the dough doubles in volume.

3. 3

   After the dough has risen, knead it for a few minutes. Roll pieces of dough into strands to be braided.

4. 4

   To make more airy challahs, roll out each strand into strips, ca. 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick. Roll each strip jellyroll fashion to from a tube and use these to braid the challahs.

5. 5

   Place the challahs on a baking sheet to rise. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. COver and let rise again in a warm place for ca. 40 minutes. In the meantime, preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).

6. 6

   Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the challahs turn golden brown. Remove the challahs from the oven and from the pan and cool on a wire rack.