Challah (pronounced Haa-lah!) is a braided bread of Jewish origin. The braids are beautiful to look at, texture is rich and spongy, there's slight tanginess from the honey and the bread impresses anyone who looks or tastes it!

Challah tastes a lot like brioche, and is also perfect for making French toast.

Supplies

250g bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
80ml water
60g honey
40g olive oil
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp (5g) salt
Sesame seeds for sprinkling
Egg for egg wash

Step 1: Pre-ferment

A preferment is a mixture of dough that is mixed separately from the bread dough and allowed to ferment on its own prior to mixing the dough. This step helps to improve the texture, flavour and shelf life of the final bread.

In a bowl, mix 1 tsp of yeast and about 50g of the flour. To this, add 80 ml of room temp water and mix thoroughly till till it becomes a paste with no dry flour spots. It should look like a wet shaggy doughy mass.
Cover the bowl and leave it to rest at room temperature for 1-1.5 hrs till the mixture almost triples in size. The surface should contain lots of air bubbles and it should have a sweet fermented smell!

Step 2: Mixing the Dough

In a large bowl, mix the honey, olive oil, whole egg and egg yolk until smooth.
Then add this mixture to the preferment. To this add the remaining flour and salt.
Using a spatula or spoon, mix this mixture till a shaggy dough comes together.

Step 3: Kneading and Proofing

Kneading: This is the labour intensive step.

If you're kneading by hand, transfer the shaggy dough on a well flour-ed work top and knead the dough using your hands for 12-15 minutes.
If using a stand mixer, combine everything in a stand mixer and mix on low for 10 minutes.
Keep dusting with more flour if you feel the dough is sticking too much to your hands/ side of the bowl.
The end result of this step should be a smooth and elastic dough. To confirm if you're done kneading, do the window pane test.
Once confirmed, gather the dough into a tight smooth ball , cover with a thin coat of oil and place in a bowl.

Proofing:

Cover the bowl and let the dough proof/ rise/ ferment at room temperature till the dough has doubled in size. This step may take one to two hours depending on the ambient room temperature.

Step 4: Braiding the Challah! - Part 1

This is honestly the most difficult part of making the bread if you don't know how to braid. But once you get the hang of it, this is the most fun and rewarding step!

After the dough has proofed, punch it to release all the gas and transfer on a clean flour-ed work top. Shape the dough into a log.
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces using a knife or dough scraper.
Roll each of the 6 pieces into a long cylinder/snake which is tapered on each side. Each piece should be about 18 inches long.

Step 5: Braiding the Challah! - Part 2

Line up all the strands vertically with their tops touching each other and pinch them down.
Take the far right strand and cross it over to the far left side, placing it perpendicular to the other strands. Now, take the strand that was originally on the far left (now second from left) and bring it all the way to the far right. This
Take the far left strand and bring it to the centre but towards the right. Then bring the strand that's second from the right and cross it over to the far left. Now, bring the strand on the far right to the centre but towards the left. Cross the strand second from the left to the far right and cross it over to the far left. This is the essential crux of braiding. It may take a few attempts to get this right. Don't hesitate to undo and redo the braiding any time you feel necessary.
keep repeating the above process till you complete the braid. Pinch the bottom ends together and tuck them underneath the braided loaf.

This video illustrates the above step for easier understanding.

Step 6: Proofing the Braided Loaf

Transfer the braided loaf on to a parchment lined pan to let it proof at room temperature till it again doubles in size! This step may take one to two hours depending on the ambient room temperature.
The dough should be extremely puffy yet should spring back on gently poking the dough with your finger.
While the dough is proofing, pre-heat the oven at 350F for 20 minutes.

Step 7: Baking!

After the braided loaf has doubled in size, brush it with a dense layer of egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake the bread for 45 minutes till it has a dense brown and shiny exterior. On removing from the oven, it should sound hollow when tapped at the bottom.
Let the bread cool on the pan for an hour before cutting into it!

Your Challah is now ready, Enjoy!