Best Sweet Challah Recipes

SWEET CHALLAH

Steps:

• Mix the yeast, 1/3 cup of sugar, and warm water together in a large bowl, stir to dissolve the sugar, and let the mixture stand until a creamy layer forms on top, about 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of flour to make a loose sponge.
• In a separate bowl, beat 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 cup of sugar together, and stir the egg mixture into the yeast-flour mixture until well combined. Continue mixing in flour, 1 cup at a time, up to 9 total cups. Dough should be slightly sticky, but not so wet that it leaves dough stuck to your hands.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes to develop gluten. Form the dough into a compact round shape, and place in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough over several times in the bowl to oil the surface of the dough, cover the bowl with a cloth, and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and knead for another 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
• Grease baking sheets, or line with parchment paper. To make egg glaze, whisk together 1 egg, 1 teaspoon oil, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl, and refrigerate until needed.
• Cut the dough into 4 pieces, and cut each piece into 3 smaller pieces for a 3-strand braided loaf. Working on a floured surface, roll the small dough pieces into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look. Place the loaves onto the prepared baking sheets, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes. Brush a coating of egg glaze onto the tops of the bread, and reserve the remaining glaze.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and brush another coating of glaze onto the bread. Return to the oven, and bake until the tops are shiny and golden brown, 5 to 10 more minutes. Let cool before cutting.

SWEET CHALLAH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the water, honey and yeast.
• Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Stir in 1 cup bread flour, and cover with a towel.
• let stand for 30 minutes.
• Stir in the olive oil, whole egg, and egg yolks until very well mixed.
• Add the salt, sugar, and the rest of the flour.
• You should have a sticky dough Pour dough out onto a well floured surface and knead, adding flour as you need it, for 10 minutes.
• Place dough in a large greased mixing bowl and let rise for 1 hour.
• Place dough in the refrigerater and let rise over night or at least 6 hours.
• Turn dough out on a corn mealed surface and cut it into two proportional pieces.
• Cut and braid the two dough balls, place in two loaf pans or form the Jewish circle with them.
• Let dough rise for 1 hour and preheat your oven to 375F.
• Beat 1 egg with the tablespoon of water and brush the doughs with the egg wash TWICE.
• Sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or cinnamon sugar, optional.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, you may have to cover the breads with foil to stop them from browning to much after 15 or 20 minutes.
• Remove the breads from the oven and either place them in plastic bags to get a soft crust or place them on wire racks until cooled completely before storing for a crisp crust (I personally don't wait for either and just eat it right out of the oven).
• Serving Sugestions: Make grilled sandwiches with breads, baked beans, bread pudding, thick beef stew, olive oil with herbs and black pepper, good old fashion butter.
• **Ifyou would like a cheesey challah bread, just sprinkle on your favorite cheese in the last 2 minutes of baking ENJOY!

SWEET HONEY AND SAFFRON CHALLAH

Steps:

• 1. Place the saffron into the cup of hot water and stir to dissolve. Pour into a large bowl. Pour in the honey and whisk until dissolved. Add the yeast and stir again. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and stir to mix everything together. Cover with a clean dish cloth and let sit for 30 minutes.
• 2. Meanwhile, in another bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, place 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, and margarine. Using a whisk, an electric mixer, or the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, cut the margarine into the dry ingredients until it looks like sand and there are no big clumps of margarine.
• 3. After the half hour, the yeast mixture should have changed: It will either look thick, have bubbles, or have increased in size. If the mixture has not changed, your yeast may be dead and you should dump that mixture and make a new one with new yeast. Beat 2 of the eggs in a small bowl. Add the eggs to the yeast mixture and mix using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Add the flour and margarine mixture in three parts, mixing well after each addition. With your hands or a dough hook on the stand mixer, knead the dough and add 1/4 cup of the flour. If the dough remains sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour. Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky and feels soft when you slide your hand across it.
• 4. Wash the bowl, dry it, and rub the oil round the bowl. Add the dough and rub the top with the oil on your hands. Cover with a dish towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours.
• 5. Sprinkle the top of the cookie with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and bake for 35 to 37 minutes, until the edges start to look golden. Remove from the oven and immediately cut the cookie into 8 or 12 large wedges or about eighteen 1 x 3-inch bars, if you like. If you wait until the cookie cools to cut it, you will not get nice clean edges. 5. Place the dough on a floured surface and punch it down to remove air pockets. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 balls, depending on how many challahs you will bake. Divide each ball into three pieces. Roll the three pieces into strands the same length, shorter for a fatter challah, longer for a long and narrow challah. Braid the strands. *See instructions in "Braiding Challah" below.
• 6. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise another 1 1/2 hours. Beat the remaining egg and brush the challahs with the egg.
• 7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is browned and when you lift the challah and tap on the bottom, it sounds hollow. Remove the challahs to a wire rack to cool.

SWEET BREAD MACHINE SPELT CHALLAH

Steps:

• Put in the ingredients into your breadmachine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Select 'dough cycle'.
• In my bread machine, I am able to add in raisins after the first mixing - it beeps. Check your machine for directions on adding ingredients in after starting the dough cycle.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• When taking out dough, if too sticky, roll in flour to ease shaping.
• Braid loaves and place in oiled baking pan (I recommend 8x4 non-stick).
• Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes. Can skip this step if in a rush.
• Coat top with egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired.
• Approximate bake time: One challah -. 45 minutes. Two challahs -35 minutes. Three challahs - 25 minutes.

DELICIOUS SWEET CHALLAH

Steps:

• Proof the yeast: Place the 1/2 cup warm water, yeast, 1 tbl sugar in a large glass measuring cup or bowl. Set aside until yeast gets bubbly.
• In a separate bowl, combine the 2 cups sugar, boiling water, salt, and oil.
• Crack eggs into large bowl (or your mixer bowl). Add proofed yeast, mix again. Add the sugar/water mixture. Mix thoroughly.
• Add the flour in batches, incorporating well each time.
• Knead dough for 10-15 minutes, adding flour as needed until you get that earlobe texture.
• Place dough in a large bowl (greased), cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, punching down in the interim.
• Turn out dough onto floured surface. Separate the piece of dough with the blessing if you make it.
• Divide dough into 6-7 pieces, and shape into challah according to your favorite style. (You can braid three strands, four strands, six strands -- whatever!).
• (At this point you can freeze some of the shaped challot to bake later on.).
• Let rise another 30 minutes or so.
• Brush each loaf with beaten egg. Sprinkle with seeds.
• Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

SIMPLE SWEET CHALLAH BREAD (THE WAY IT SHOULD BE)

Steps:

• 1. Note: I used a stand mixer for this recipe but it can easily be done by hand or with a hand mixer) Start by letting your mixing bowl get warm by running it under hot water for a minute and then drying it off before adding anything to it.
• 2. Dump the cup of hot water, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 yeast packets into the bowl and mix it up by hand and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes until foamy. (This activates the yeast)
• 3. In another bowl, mix the 2 whole eggs and the 2 egg yolks with the salt and honey until incorporated and let it sit while the yeast gets going. Save the egg whites for the egg wash.
• 4. After 10 minutes, add the melted butter to the yeast mixture and stir by hand. Then add the honey/egg mixture and give it a good stir by hand until you feel no honey stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
• 5. This is where the stand mixer comes in handy. Attach the bowl to the stand and add in 1 cup of bread flour and stir on medium/low with the paddle attachment until smooth-ish. Repeat with 1 cup of all purpose flour, again with read flour, and one more time with all purpose flour.
• 6. After all the flour has been mixed in, scrape the bowl with a spatula and le it go on medium for about a minute. It should be sticky and the dough should be loose and feathery. If it's still too runny (depending on climate)add in 1/4 cup more all purpose flour and mix one more time and you should be good to go.
• 7. Microwave a large glass mixing bowl and coat completely with vegetable oil- then add in the dough and toss it around a couple times until it's also coated with oil. Loosely cover with a piece of plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm, draft free place. I like to use a lightly warmed oven. (I'll turn it on the warm setting for a few minutes and then turn it off before putting the bowl in there.)Now just let the dough sit in there for 1 hour, no less.
• 8. Then take it out, punch it down and dump onto a clean, floured work surface to braid.I like to toss it in the flour a little to make it a little less sticky before attempting to braid, it makes a smaller mess. after getting it nicely coated with flour, cut into 3 equal pieces for one loaf, or 6 equal pieces for 2 loaves. Then roll out to about a 2 inch diameter and braid each. Once braided, pinch and tuck the ends under to make it pretty.
• 9. Now put it onto whatever pan you're using to make it. a half sheet pan works nicely for a full loaf or baking both small loaves at once. Put a piece of parchment paper on the pan (very necessary, trust me)and put the bread in the middle. Put it back in the oven for another 45 minutes to an hour to rise.
• 10. Remove the bread and heat the oven to 350. Once heated, bake the bread on the middle/top rack. Here's a little trick of mine. The bread bakes for 30 minutes total, however I do not apply the egg wash until it has baked for 10-12 minutes. This keeps it from getting it too brown. Another thing I do it right when it hits the color I want (which is at about 20 minutes) I rotate the pan and cover loosely with a foil tent. This stops the browning but allows the bread to remain nice and shiny and beautiful. After 30 minutes, take it out and remove it from the pan, but leave it on the parchment paper for 10 minutes before you tear, slice or anything. It keeps the bread more moist. Enjoy!! It also makes AMAZING french toast, garlic bread, whatever :)

SWEET AND SAFFRON CHALLAH RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• •Dissolve yeast in cup warm water in a large bowl, stir in honey and saffron strands. Let stand 5 minutes. Add melted butter, salt and egg, stir well with a whisk. •Add 2 3/4 cups of flour to your yeast mixture, and stir until a soft dough forms. Cover and let it stand for 15 minutes. •Turn dough on to a lightly floured surface. Knead until soft and elastic (about 8 minutes) add enough of remaining flour about ¼ cup, 1 tablespoon at a time. •Place dough in a large bowl sprayed with cooking oil, turned to coat top. Cover and let it rise in a draft free place for 40 minutes or double in size.( gently press 2 fingers into the dough. If the indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) •Punch down the dough. shape dough into a ball, return to the bowl, cover and let rise for 40 minutes or until double in size. Punch dough down, cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. •Divide dough into 3 equal portions, on a lightly floured surface; roll each portion into a 25-inch rope with slightly tapered ends. Place rope lengthwise on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal; pinch ends together at untapped ends to seal. Braid ropes; pinch loose ends to seal. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes or until double in size. •Preheat oven to 375 degrees •Combine 1tsps of water and egg yolk, stirring with a fork until blended. Uncover dough, and gently brush with egg yolk mixture. Sprinkle evenly with poppy seeds. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy :)

JACK'S SWEET CHALLAH BREAD

Steps:

• In small bowl, combine water and dry dairy cream and mix until completely dissolved.
• In 4qt to 6qt glass mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Whisk until well incorporated.
• Add egg, egg yolks, canola oil, and vanilla to water mixture. Whisk until well incorporated.
• Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix until incorporated.
• Add one cup of flour and mix.
• Add 1/2 cup flour onto top of mixture and 1/2 cup flour onto work surface.
• Dump mixture onto counter and knead the flour into the dough mixture.
• Knead for 10 minutes adding a teaspoon of flour at a time to work surface until dough is soft but not sticking to hands. Resist temptation to add too much flour. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft when finished.
• Place saucepan of water on stove to boil.
• Meanwhile, remove the dough from mixing bowl. Wash bowl and dry with the towel that you will use to cover the rising dough. Pour 1 tsp of oil in bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn dough to coat it with oil.
• Cover bowl with the damp towel. Place the bowl of dough on the middle rack of oven. Place saucepan of boiling water below the rack where your dough sits. Close the oven, but do not turn it on. The pan of hot water will create a warm, moist environment for your dough to rise. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
• Remove the bowl and gently punch down dough to remove air pockets. Place it back inside the oven and let it rise for 1 hour longer.
• After one hour has passed, prepare egg wash by beating the egg whites, salt and water until smooth.
• Remove dough from oven. Flour work surface. Punch dough down and turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead for a few minutes, adding flour as needed to keep the dough from feeling sticky. Now your dough is ready to braid.
• Divide your dough in half. Place one half in rising bowl and cover.
• Divide second half into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a strand approximately 14" long, tapered at each end. Place strands on work surface parallel to each other. Pinch the far end of strands together.
• Separate strands at the end closest to you for room to weave the braid. Take the right-most strand and weave it over, under, and over the adjacent three strands. Repeat process until braiding is finished. Pinch ends closest to you together and fold under the loaf.
• Place the braided loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Brush a thin layer of the egg mixture onto the visible surface of the loaf.
• Repeat process for second half of dough.
• Let the challot rise 45 minutes or so. You know that the dough is ready to bake when you press your finger into the dough and the indentation remains rather than bouncing back.
• Heat oven to 350°F Sprinkle a pinch or so of granulated sugar over each loaf and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove each loaf from oven and coat the center of the braid with a thin layer of egg wash. This area tends to expand during baking, exposing areas that will turn white unless they are coated with egg wash.
• Place the loaves back into the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove loaves from oven and test for doneness by turning it over and tapping on the bottom of the loaf-if it makes a hollow sound, it's done. Let loaves cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then a wire cooling rack before serving.
• Substitutions/Variations/Notes:.
• The 1-1/2 cups liquid may be water, soy milk, dairy milk, or the mixture that I recommended. Warm this liquid to approximately 125°F to activate the instant yeast nestled in the dry mixture.
• The vanilla is optional. Do not use imitation vanilla.
• Feel free to add 1/2 cup to 1 cup regular or golden raisins or similar dried fruit.
• Melted or room temperature butter or margarine may be substituted for the oil, using the same quantity.
• You may add one additional egg yolk. I find that using the white of the egg dries out the bread. However, you could use three whole eggs, one egg plus two or three egg yolks.
• You may substitute 1/2 cup honey for the sugar.
• You can proof the instant yeast for this recipe: In measuring cup: 1/2 cup 110° water, dissolve 1 tsp sugar, dissolve 1 Tbsp yeast. Should double in measuring cup in 10 to 15 minutes. Apply to recipe. Reduce hot water (liquid) by 1/2 cup.

SWEET CHALLAH BREAD-FOR BEGINNERS AND EXPERTS

Steps:

• Boil approximately one cup of water. Add enough cool water to reach 1 1/2 cups. Put your finger in the water and count to ten. If you cannot keep your finger in that long then your water is too hot and let it cool but it should still feel hot to the touch. Now you are ready to add the yeast. Dissolve the yeast well in the water and stir. Now add the sugar. After a couple of minutes the yeast and water should start bubbling up and that tells you that it is working. If it doesn't bubble up you must throw out the yeast and start over.
• Sift your flour into an extra large bowl. You don't have to sift the flour but your results will not be as wonderful.
• In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients except for the salt and mix well. Now add egg mixture to the flour mixture. Add yeast mixture and begin combining. Add salt before dough is fully combined. Now you can start mixing with your hands. Turn dough over and over and punch down again and again until the dough feels smooth and pops back up when you push it down. If it feels too sticky add a couple of tablespoons of flour at a time until you have reached the right consistency (the dough should not stick to your hands). You are now ready to let the dough rise. Spray the large bowl with oil spray as well as the top of the dough. Cover with a towel that is wet with warm water (but not dripping). Keep in mind that the dough will expand to about two to three times it's original size so your bowl needs to accomodate that. After your dough has reached a good size you can form you challah into desired shapes which is typically braided. Place in baking pan with room left to expand. Cover once again and allow to rise to double it's size. Now you can glaze the challah with a thin layer of egg white and sprinkle on desired topping. Place in a heated 350 oven for approximately 40 minutes. You know it is ready when the tops are nicely browned and when you turn over your challah and tap the bottoms you'll hear a hollow thumping sound. Enjoy!

SWEET CHALLAH

Steps:

• Whisk flour, sugar, instant bread or bread machine yeast and salt in bowl of stand mixture with dough hook IF using active dry yeast stir in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water and proof 15 minutes until foamy before adding to mixing bowl) add honey melted butter and 3 eggs add 1 cup of the lukewarm water (if using the already proofed yeast then add it and the liquid and 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water to the mixing bowl. mix low speed to moisten dry ingredients and create tacky slightly sticky dough. add more water by 1 tbl at a time up to 1/2 c. of water. inc. speed to Med. low and mix 3 minutes more until glossy and elastic if by hand knead 20 to 30 minutes. lightly grease bowl and coat sides of bread and cover with plastic wrap and set aside at 80F place to rise double(2 hours) line baking sheet with silicone or parchment. Divide dough in half. use one section and make into 3,12 in. ropes. put 1 inch between and parallel and braid first bread. do second. transfer them to baking sheet. arrange so have as much rrom as possible . cover with towel and let rise 45 min or nearly double in size. put oven on 30 minutes before baking. at 375 Bake 20 min. remove from oven brush with egg wash. lower temp. to 350 and bake 20 min more remove from oven and generously brush with wash and sprinkle seeds. return to oven rotate pan 180 deg. bake 15 to 20 minutes long until instant read thermometer is190 degrees . put o rack to cool at least 1 hr. store in paper bag 2 days or refrig. up to to 4 days . freeze 1 month. note to make challah buns inc. sugar to 1/2 C and decrease salt to 2 tsp.

JACK'S SWEET CHALLAH BREAD

Steps:

• Combine water and dry coffee creamer and mix until completely dissolved. In separate 4qt to 6qt glass mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Whisk until well incorporated. Add egg, egg yolks, canola oil, and vanilla to water mixture. Whisk until well incorporated. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix until incorporated with bowl scraper or wooden spoon. Add one cup of flour and mix. Add 1/2 cup flour on top of mixture and 1/2 cup flour onto work surface. Dump mixture onto counter and knead the flour into dough mixture. Knead for 10 minutes adding a teaspoon of flour at a time to work surface until dough is soft but not sticking to hands. Resist temptation to add too much flour. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft when finished. Place a saucepan of water on the stove to boil. Remove the dough from mixing bowl. Wash bowl; dry with the towel you plan to use to cover the dough. Pour tsp of oil into bowl. Place dough in bowl and roll to coat with oil. Cover bowl with the damp towel. Place dough in oven. Place saucepan of boiling water on rack below dough. Let dough rise 1 hour. Punch down dough and return to oven to rise 1 hr longer. After 1 hr, prepare egg wash by beating egg whites, salt and water. Remove dough from oven. Lightly flour work surface. Punch down dough, turn out onto work surface, and knead for a few minutes. Divide dough in half. Place one half in bowl and cover. Divide second half into four pieces and braid. Repeat with remaining half. Place on parchment lined baking sheet, and allow to rise 45 minutes. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove and brush egg wash on center of bread and bake for 15 minutes longer or until brown. Cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

MIRJ'S ULTRA-RICH SWEET CHALLAH

Steps:

• In the bowl of your mixer, or in large bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla.
• Mix it around a bit.
• Melt the margarine, or heat the oil a bit in the microwave.
• Add it to the stuff in the bowl and start mixing.
• Toss in the yeast, keep mixing.
• If you are using an electric mixer, go slowly.
• If you are kneading by hand, you should get a good workout.
• Heat the soy milk until it's warm.
• It should not be boiling hot!
• Slowly, with the mixer running, add the soy milk a little bit at a time, until the dough has reached the consistency of bread dough.
• It shouldn't be cakey and it shouldn't be too sticky.
• Knead the dough in the mixer for about 7-8 minutes, or by hand for about 15 minutes.
• Place the bowl in a warm spot and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk.
• Hint: if you put the bowl of dough in the microwave and nuke it on high for 10 seconds it will speed up the rising process.
• You can also let it rise overnight in the fridge, just keep it in a knotted plastic bag so it doesn't"escape".
• When the dough has risen and doubled, punch it down.
• It's a very satisfying step!
• Knead the dough by hand for another minute or so to work out the air bubbles.
• Cut into three even pieces.
• Each piece is enough for one small loaf of challah.
• Cut each piece into three or four, roll into ropes and braid.
• The best braids are made by starting in the middle and working your way to the end, then turn it around and braid the other end.
• Pinch off the ends.
• After you have shaped your loaf (you can also swirl it, or braid and swirl it, or just shape it into a natural loaf shape), place it either in a greased loaf pan, cake pan, or just on a greased cookie sheet.
• If you bake your loaf on a sheet it will spread a bit as it rises again.
• If you put your braided loaf into a loaf tin, it will just rise upwards.
• I have also made round challahs by putting them into bundt pans, or fluted round cake pans.
• Let the shaped loaves rise for another half an hour.
• You can brush a little beaten egg on the tops for a glaze, I prefer my challahs"naked".
• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (about 350 F).
• Bake the loaves for about 30-40 minutes.
• Time will vary based on the shape of your loaves and the pans they are in.
• If the tops start to brown too soon, just place a sheet of silver foil over them, resting lightly on the tops.
• The challah is done when you turn out the loaf, give it a knock-knock on the bottom and it sounds hollow.
• Let it cool.
• If this recipe makes too much for you, you can either freeze the dough, or the baked challahs.
• Best eaten with sweet butter, also makes the most amazing French toast.

SIMPLE SWEET CHALLAH

Steps:

• 1. In cup or small bowl dissolve Yeast in the warm water with approx 1 tablespoon of sugar. After just a few minutes the yeast should begin to "bloom". It will become foamy and it will give off a sweet smell. If your yeast is not fresh this will not happen - do not go any further - start over with fresh yeast. 2. In a large bowl mix Egg Yolks, Eggs, Oil, remaining Sugar, Salt and Yeast mixture. 3. Add enough flour to form stiff but sticky dough (you can do this in a stand mixer - using the dough hook attachment). 4. Then turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (adding more flour if needed) - about 6 minutes - work in raisins as kneading. 5. Form a ball and place in a greased bowl and turn dough so all sides are greased. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in warm area to double in bulk - about two hours. 6. Punch down and knead briefly. 7. Roll dough into a 24" long rope. Create a spiral round loaf. (Sometimes I divide the dough into three parts, then I make three smaller ropes and braid them - then I form a circle from with the braid). 8. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment. 9. Brush loaf with beaten egg yolk, sprinkle top with poppy seeds (if desired), and allow too rise until dough doubles in size - about 45 minutes. 10. Bake until golden brown in a pre-heated 375 degree oven - 35 to 40 minutes. 11. Allow to cool before slicing and enjoy!

SIMPLE SWEET CHALLAH FROM ZABARS

Steps:

• 1. In cup or small bowl dissolve Yeast in the warm water with approx 1 tablespoon of sugar. After just a few minutes the yeast should begin to "bloom". It will become foamy and it will give off a sweet smell. If your yeast is not fresh this will not happen - do not go any further - start over with fresh yeast. 2. In a large bowl mix Egg Yolks, Eggs, Oil, remaining Sugar, Salt and Yeast mixture. 3. Add enough flour to form stiff but sticky dough (you can do this in a stand mixer - using the dough hook attachment). 4. Then turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (adding more flour if needed) - about 6 minutes - work in raisins as kneading. 5. Form a ball and place in a greased bowl and turn dough so all sides are greased. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in warm area to double in bulk - about two hours. 6. Punch down and knead briefly. 7. Roll dough into a 24" long rope. Create a spiral round loaf. (Sometimes I divide the dough into three parts, then I make three smaller ropes and braid them - then I form a circle from with the braid). 8. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment. 9. Brush loaf with beaten egg yolk, sprinkle top with poppy seeds (if desired), and allow too rise until dough doubles in size - about 45 minutes. 10. Bake until golden brown in a pre-heated 375 degree oven - 35 to 40 minutes. 11. Allow to cool before slicing and enjoy!