Heavenly Challah

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.