Easy Challah Bread

This is a Jewish egg bread, often braided for a beautiful presentation. Top it with sesame or poppy seeds or try adding raisins to the batter! 

Ingredients

1 (.25) pkg dry active yeast

1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp salt

3 eggs, beaten

3 1/2 cups flour (more if you will be kneading by hand, I used my dough hook)

1 egg yolk for brushing over bread before baking, or 2 tbsp butter melted

In a large bowl, mix together your yeast and the water.  Let the mixture stand until it looks kind of, cloudy and scummy.  Yea, I know, real technical term.  It should take about 10 minutes.  At this time you will need to stir in the honey and salt, until it is all dissolved and add the beaten eggs..  Mix in the flour a little bit at a time, until the dough becomes sticky.  Sprinkle flour on the dough and knead it until it is smooth, about 5 minutes. 

Now, shape the dough into a ball, and place in a bowl that has been sprayed with nonstick spray or brushed with oil. Let it rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size.  It will take 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Punch the dough down and cut it into 3 equal pieces.  On a floured surface roll the small pieces into ropes about the thickness of...hmm...a cigar and about 12 inches long.  The ropes should be a little fatter in the center than the edges.  Now, let's be real, mine were far from perfect, they were fatter than they should have been but as you can see, it turned out perfectly fine. Pinch the ends together and flip them under. Place the beautifully braided loaf onto a baking sheet lines with parchment paper.  Brush the top with beaten egg yolk and also brush where the bread touches in the braid so it holds together when you s slice it.  You can also used melted butter.

Bake the challah in a preheated oven until the top turns a beautiful rich brown color and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap on it.  It should take 30-35 minutes.  Place it on a wire rack to cool when it is done!