Instructions: At every Rosh Hashanah meal Challah is an essential item. I know that many of you have seen this recipe before, but it is a traditional recipe that works, and works well.

One rule of thumb to always follow when you are baking challah or bread of any kind is NOT to scoop the flour out of the flour bin into the measuring cup.

The flour should be lightly spooned into the measuring cup and then leveled off with a knife. I saw these instructions once in a manual for a bread making machine. I tried the very same recipe scooping out the flour and leveling it off and then by spooning the flour into the measuring cup-believe it or not spooning the flour into the measuring cup resulted in an airy flakier Challah then scooping it out of the flour bin! Scooping the flour may result in your using too much flour, which of course results in a denser bread!

I now do this spooning technique with all my dry ingredients and have no trouble getting a light flaky texture.

Of course too much flour also implies not enough liquid so you may wish to increase the amount of liquid. I suggest spooning the flour. It is easier and more accurate.

Another possible problem is the rising temperature. A trick is to place a warm tea towel over the dough while it is rising and put the covered bowl in a warm place. I will often use my oven for this. DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON! Merely place the covered bowl of dough into the oven with the oven light on. This is a protected area where no draft can reach the rising dough. The oven light adds just enough heat to cause the dough to rise. Another method is to mix the dough in your bread maker on the dough setting. Take out the dough, braid the challah let rise again and bake. The bread machines heats the surrounding temperature very precisely.

When mixing the water and yeast together, make sure that the water is lukewarm. Cold water will not allow the yeast to rise to its full potential, and you will get denser flatter challah.

Too little sugar will also cause heavy dense loaves. The sugar reacts with the yeast sop be sure to measure your sugar accurately.

Lastly, make sure that the yeast you are using is fresh. This is very important. Older or expired yeast may result in a denser flatter bread. Unused yeast should be kept in the fridge.

Note: The average package of yeast is 1/4 ounce. This works out to be 2 1/4 tsp.

2 1/4 tsp. dry yeast
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water.

1/4 cup honey

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the honey.

The yeast will foam. Do not panic This is NORMAL!

To this mixture add:
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs
Hint: If the eggs have been in the fridge, run hot water over the eggs. When you crack them the yolks and whites will comes out easier! (An old Auntie Rivka trick!)

Make sure the mixture is thoroughly mixed.

Gradually a little bit at a time add 4 to 4.5 cups of flour, constantly kneading the dough until it is firm but not hard, Again I recommend using the dough cycle in a bread maker for this.

Let the dough rise until it has just about doubled in size.

Hint: Auntie Rivka used to grease the bowl in which the dough was to rise.

This made the dough much easier to remove from the bowl.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into the number of braids that you want. Braid the challah,

Place the challah on a greased baking sheet. Let the challah rise a second time until it has doubled in size. It is possible that you were not letting your challah rise long enough-I understand I too am often in a hurry and try to rush the process. Experience has taught me that this does not work!

In a small bowl combine 1 egg and a tsp of sugar. Blend well. GENTLY brush this on the challah Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.

Place in a PREHEATED oven at 375F until the challah turns a golden brown-usually in about 40-50 minutes.

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