Challah Bread

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with a teaspoon or so of the sugar and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, 3 eggs, 4 1/2 cups flour, the salt, and the butter. Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed, working in the remaining flour as necessary to keep the dough from being too sticky, until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not be tempted to add too much flour. The dough should stay soft, and it will become less sticky with kneading. Remove the dough from the bowl.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.

Line a half-sheet pan or rimless baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down the dough. Using a plastic pastry scraper, scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface.

To form into one large loaf, divide dough into 4 pieces and roll each into a long snake. Make a four-strand braid (watch a youtube tutorial if you need help). You could also bake the break in two standard loaf pans by making a three-strand braid and putting half in each loaf pan. Place the braided loaf on the prepared pan or in the prepared pans and cover with a dry kitchen towel. Let rise again in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in size and is spongy to the touch, 45 to 60 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees.

Beat the remaining egg with 2 teaspoons water and brush the braid gently with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the seeds, if using. Bake the braid until it is nicely browned sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30-35 minutes. I usually cover the bread with a bit of aluminum foil after 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack