Not-My-Grandmother's Challah Bread

I've seen a lot of great recipes online lately for challah bread and I've been dying to try it on my own.  I did some research and found a recipe on Epicurious for Almost Grandmother's Challah.  I'm certain that neither of my Korean grandmothers would have ever made (or even tried) challah bread so I've playfully renamed it "Not-My-Grandmother's Challah Bread".

First, I gathered my ingredients.  You should note that this recipe makes two loaves of challah bread:

• 1/2 cup plus 2/3 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon plus 3/4 sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 7 1/2 cups (about) all-purpose flour (I ended up only using about six cups)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

I combined the 1/2 cup warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl and stirred it until the yeast dissolved.  I let the yeast mixture stand at room temperature while I got the rest of my ingredients together.

In a large bowl, I beat the five eggs until blended.

I added the oil, salt, and 3/4 cup sugar and beat after adding each ingredient until the mixture was pale yellow and slightly thickened.

I beat in 2/3 cup warm water and then added the yeast mixture.  The yeast mixture had foamed and risen quite a bit!

I then started adding flour one cup at a time until the mixture turned into a smooth dough.  I only ended up using six cups of flour in total.  I turned the dough onto a floured surface and kneaded the dough for a few minutes.  I lightly oiled a large bowl.  I added the dough and turned it over to coat it with oil.

I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and then with a clean kitchen towel.  I let the dough rise in a warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about one hour.  I punched the dough down and re-covered it with plastic wrap and the kitchen towel.  I let it rise for another thirty minutes.

I then lined two large baking sheets with parchment paper.  I turned the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  I divided the dough into two equal portions.  I further divided each portion into three equal pieces.  I rolled each piece into a nine-inch long rope.  I braided the ropes together and pinched the ends together to seal.

I repeated this with the other portion of dough.  I placed each braid on the baking sheet and covered with a towel.  I let the loaves rise in a warm area until almost doubled, about thirty minutes.

I then preheated the oven to 400 degrees.  I whisked one egg yolk with one tablespoon water to blend.  I brushed the dough with the egg mixture. 

I baked the bread at 400 degrees for ten minutes before reducing the temperature to 350 degrees and continuing baking for another ten minutes.  I then switched the loaves from the top and bottom racks and baked for another ten minutes.  I baked the bread until they were golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

I transferred the loaves to a rack to cool completely.

The challah bread was really awesome.  I've only had challah bread a handful of times but Bret said that this tasted just like a traditional challah bread.  I ate my first slice smeared with butter and I realized how deadly it was going to be to have two loaves of challah bread in our house!  Thankfully, I brought the other loaf home for my family to enjoy.

Tell me, what was the most recent thing you baked up in your kitchen?