Four-plait Challah Bread

This recipe is from my 'The Great British Book of Baking' cook book it is on page 110 for anyone interested. I had never made bread before, and even though the Challah bread looks a bit difficult, it was quite a simple recipe to follow.
Challah is an elaborately plaited Sabbath loaf made from a soft sweet dough containing eggs, honey and fat. It was first made by the Jews of central Europe in the Middle Ages. My version is non-dairy, but you can use 85 grams of unsalted butter instead of the sunflower oil. I decorated mine with poppy seeds because I wanted a contrast in flavour between the slightly bitter poppy seeds and the sweet bread.I think the bread was a success, as it has almost all gone 2 days after I baked it. I will be baking more bread in the future especially this Challah, I think it may make a nice bread and butter pudding too.

Four-plait Challah Recipe

Makes one large loaf

700 grams strong white bread flour

2 tsp salt

1 x 7 gram sachet of easy blend/easy bake dried yeast

250 ml lukewarm water

3 medium eggs, at room temperature

3 tbsp runny honey

100 ml sunflower oil

A large baking tray, well greased with butter. 

To Finish

1 medium egg, beaten with a pinch of salt

2 tbsp poppy seeds or sesame seeds (optional)

1. Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a free standing mixer. Make a well in the centre and pour in the water, beaten eggs, honey and oil. Gradually work the flour into the liquids using your hand or the dough hook of a mixer on the lowest possible speed. 
2. Work the mixture until it comes together to make a soft but not sticky dough: if there are dry crumbs at the bottom of the bowl or the dough feels tough and dry, work in a little more water; if it feels sticky, work in a little more flour. 
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes by hand, or for 4 minutes in a mixer using the dough hook, until it feels firmer, very smooth and elastic. It is important that the dough is fairly firm so it keeps its shape when plaited, so be prepared to work in more flour if the dough still feels soft after kneading.
4. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. 
5. Punch down the risen dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a floured surface and cut into four equal portions.
6. With your hands roll each one into a sausage about 40cm long.
7. Pinch the rolls firmly together at one end, then arrange vertically in front of you with the join at the top and the rolls side by side, slightly apart. 
8. Run the far left roll under the two middle ones, then run it back over the last one it went under. Run the far right roll under the twisted two in the middle, then back over the last one it went under. Repeat this until all the dough is plaited and pinch the ends together at the base of the plait.
9. Transfer to the prepared baking tray and slip the tray into a large plastic bag slightly inflated, or two smaller plastic bags overlapping in the middle like I did. Leave to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, about 40 to 50 minutes.
10. Turn the oven on at 220'C/425'F/Gas Mark 7 while the bread is rising. 
11. Uncover the plait and brush with two thin coats of the beaten egg glaze. Make sure you don't stick the bread to the tray. Decorate with the seeds if you are using them. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190'C/375'F/Gas Mark 5 and bake for a further 30 minutes, or until the loaf is a deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Rotate the tray halfway during cooking if necessary so the loaf colours evenly.
12. Cool on a wire rack.

My bread after its first 10 minutes in the oven. I had to take a photograph because I was so surprised at how much it had risen.