Braided Challah Bread

I've been wanting to make bread for a while, but have been slightly intimidated, and haven't been able to set aside the time. Then I found this recipe for Challah bread, which I love, so I decided to give it a shot. Yesterday (Saturday) was a dark dreary day, and a perfect day for making bread. This recipe is actually pretty easy, and has detailed directions on how to braid the bread (it took me a minute to understand, as I'm not a great braider, but I pulled it off). I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast - and with help from the madre, I made it work. I put a little less than 2 teaspoons of the active dry yeast in a cup of hot water with a teaspoon of sugar to "proof" it, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then added the flour to make the "starter." Beware - if you want to try this, make sure you have a good 5 hours or so to spare.

Braided Challah Bread
Quick Starter
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup water
2 tsps instant yeast
Dough
All of the starter
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 3/4 tsps salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save 1 egg white for the wash, below)
Wash
1 egg white
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
poppy seeds (optional)

• To make the starter, mix the 1 cup flour, 1 cup water and yeast together in a large bowl. Let the mixture sit for about 45 minutes. 
• Add the dough ingredients to the starter and mix and knead together until smooth.  The eggs and oil make for soft, lovely dough. 
• Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, turning it over once to coat both sides. Cover it and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over once or twice to break down the bubbles.  Do not punch! 
• Divide the dough into four even pieces and roll each into a strand about 18 inches long.
• On a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan, braid the strands.
• Once your braid is done, make the wash by mixing together the reserved egg white, sugar, and water.  Brush the loaf with half the wash.
• Cover the loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow it to rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it’s almost doubled in size.
• Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash, and sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired. 
• Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Remove it from the oven, and cool completely before slicing. (Or don't - it's delicious right out of the oven.)

Yield: 1 loaf, about 16 1-inch slices.

Original recipe here