CHALLAH MOLD RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
• Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle. Either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle, pinch ends together. Grease two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each. Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, salt, 2 eggs, egg yolks and vegetable oil. In a medium bowl combine ¾ cup warm water, honey and yeast. Pour yeast mixture into the stand mixer and begin to mix on low. Knead dough on low until it pulls cleanly away from the bowl and is only slightly sticky, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands until it’s smooth on the outside and springs back when pressed with your fingers. Spray the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough proof until nearly doubled in size, 90 minutes. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch the dough down once then turn it out onto a work surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. To form each roll take two pieces of dough and roll them out into ropes of equal length, about 14 inches long. Lightly pinch the ends of the two ropes together then twist the ropes together until they are fully combined into one twisted rope. Spiral the braided rope on itself to create a round roll. Tuck the remaining end under the challah to make sure the spiral doesn't come loose. Repeat with the remaining dough. Transfer the completed rolls to the baking sheets, spaced evenly, and cover rolls loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest nearly doubled in size again for an additional 60 minutes. Toward the end of this final proof, preheat oven to 375º F and beat the remaining egg with a fork. Remove the plastic wrap from the rolls and brush them thoroughly with egg wash, making sure to coat all the braided nooks and crannies. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until the exterior of the rolls reaches a deep caramel color and a thermometer inserted into the center of a roll reaches 190ºF, 20 to 25 minutes. If you want to bake in batches, make sure to move the unbaked rolls to the fridge to stop them from proofing further. Remove rolls from the oven and let cool completely.