Challah!

So tonight I'll be making Challah dough along with many of my Jewish sisters all around the world.  Challah is a special braided bread that we eat on Shabbat.  I once read that just as bread dough rises we to have an opportunity to raise and elevate the ordinary brining us all just a bit closer to G-d. Let's be honest though we are all really busy each women is juggling a million different responsibilities and making bread from scratch come on this isn't Little House on The Prairie it's 2014. I know it's so much easier to buy your Challah and there is nothing wrong with doing that. I am thankful to have a few places here to buy kosher Challah when I just can't get it made myself. But taking the time to make the dough and help elevate a mundane thing to a holy place is such a special opportunity. So I am encouraging each women reading this to give making Challah yourself a try. There are a few go to Challah recipes I have but I am going to post my go to Sweet Challah recipe it's easy and delicious.
So here you go:

You will need: 
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 and 1/3 cup white sugar
2 cups warm water
9 cups all purpose flour
4 eggs (plus one set aside for an egg wash)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
For egg glaze if desired: 
1 egg
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white sugar 
1 teaspoon water

Directions

1. Mix the yeast, 1/3 cup of sugar, and warm water together in a large bowl, stir to dissolve the sugar, and let the mixture stand until a creamy layer forms on top, about 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of flour to make a loose sponge.
2. In a separate bowl, beat 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 cup of sugar together, and stir the egg mixture into the yeast-flour mixture until well combined. Continue mixing in flour, 1 cup at a time, up to 9 total cups. Dough should be slightly sticky, but not so wet that it leaves dough stuck to your hands.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes to develop gluten. Form the dough into a compact round shape, and place in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough over several times in the bowl to oil the surface of the dough, cover the bowl with a cloth, and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and knead for another 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
4. Grease baking sheets, or line with parchment paper. To make egg glaze, whisk together 1 egg, 1 teaspoon oil, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl, and refrigerate until needed.
5. Cut the dough into 4 pieces, and cut each piece into 3 smaller pieces for a 3-strand braided loaf. Working on a floured surface, roll the small dough pieces into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look. Place the loaves onto the prepared baking sheets, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes. Brush a coating of egg glaze onto the tops of the bread, and reserve the remaining glaze.
6. Preheat oven to 350.
7. Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and brush another coating of glaze onto the bread. Return to the oven, and bake until the tops are shiny and golden brown, 5 to 10 more minutes.