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Challah (also hallah plural: challot) (Hebrew: חלה) also known as khale (eastern Yiddish),(German and western Yiddish), berches (Swabian), barkis (Gothenburg), bergis (Stockholm), chałka (Polish) and kitke (South Africa), is a special braided bread eaten by Ashkenazi and by most Sephardic Jews on the Sabbath and holidays.

According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon) and two holiday meals (one at night and one in the morning) each begin with two complete loaves of bread. This "double loaf" (in Hebrew: lechem mishneh) commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion would fall the day before the holiday or sabbath. It is these hunks of bread, recognizable by their traditional braided style (although some more modern recipes are not braided) that are commonly referred to as challah.

Ingredients: (makes 1 large loaf)
700g white bread flour (Stybel 2)
2 teaspoons sea salt
15g active yeast
220ml water, tepid
3 medium eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons honey
100ml sunflower oil
poppy seeds

Preparation:
Mix flour and salt in a large bowl, make well in the center. Crumble yeast into the water, mix until dissolved. Pour yeast water, eggs, honey and oil into the well and combine until the dough is soft, but not sticky.

Transfer dough to working area, knead for about 10 minutes or until very flexible. Clean the bowl until spotless, oil it a bit and transfer the dough to rise, covered with a sticky nylon, for 1.5 hours.

Punch dough a bit to extract air and cover to rise for another 45 minutes.

Cut into 4 pieces. Make ropes out of each part, about 40cm long and 2.5cm wide.

Now the tricky part, to make a braid. Use the image attached to see all the steps and don't worry if you don't get it the first time, you can try again, the dough will take it, trust me.

After you get your braid ready, transfer the unbaked bread to an oiled oven rack, cover with plastic bag and leave to rise for another 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Brush the loaf gently with beaten egg and sprinkle some poppy seeds on top. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 190 degrees Celsius and bake for another 30 minutes.

Allow to cool.