Honey multigrain Challah bread

Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a small bowl, and add a tbsp of honey. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let stand until you see a thin frothy layer across the top in 10 min. This means that the yeast is active and ready to use.

Whisk together 4 cups of the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs, egg yolk, yeast mix,rest of honey and oil. Whisk these together to form a slurry, pulling in a little flour from the sides of the bowl.Mix to form a shaggy dough.

Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes.If the dough seems very sticky, add flour a teaspoon at a time until it feels tacky, but no longer sticky. The kneading activates gluten and makes it soft

The dough has finished kneading when it is soft, smooth, and holds a ball-shape.Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place somewhere warm.

Let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 hours. This is proofing stage. Donot let the dough over proof.

Separate the dough and roll into ropes:Separate the dough into equal pieces, depending on the type of braid you'd like to do. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope roughly 1-inch thick and 16 inches long.

If the ropes shrink as you try to roll them, let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten and then try again.

Gather the ropes and squeeze them together at the very top and braid the ropes to form the loaf, taking care that they don't stick together.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and place the loaf on top. Sprinkle the loaf with a little flour and drape it with a damo cloth. Place the pan somewhere warm and let it rise 30 min until puffed and pillowy.this is second proofing.

About 20 minutes before baking, heat the oven to 175 deg c. When ready to bake, whisk the reserved egg white with a tablespoon of water and brush it all over the challah. Sprinkle with seems seeds.

Slide the challah on its baking sheet into the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking. The challah is done when crust is deeply browned and sounds hollow while tapping.

Let the challah cool on a cooling rack until just barely warm. Slice and relish with a stew.