4x Lemon Poppy Challah

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of warm water

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast (one packet) (I usually end up using about 2.5 though)

• 2 large eggs

• 3 large egg yolks

• 3.5-4 T honey (you can add more if you wanted it sweeter. I usually add a honey glaze on top so I don’t like too much honey in it)

• ¼ cup canola oil/neutral oil

• 2 teaspoon vanilla

• 3-4 Tablespoons Poppy seeds (save some for topping)

• 2 teaspoon salt

• 5-7 cups bread flour (use your best judgment though, it might need more or less)

• 2-3 Lemons, for zest and juice

• 1-2 teaspoons of lemon extract (you can also use more lemon juice if you don't have extract handy)

• Glaze: ~ ½ cup Powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Make sure to notice as soon as it is ready and then turn it off and let it cool while you prepare the dough.

2. Mix ¼ cup of very warm water (about 110 degrees) with sugar. Add in yeast and let proof for 10 minutes. Make sure the water is not too hot because it will deactivate the yeast.

3. Mix remaining 1 ¼ cup lukewarm water, eggs, egg yolks, honey, oil, vanilla, poppy seeds and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. You can add more or less seeds depending on your liking.

4. Zest 2 lemons and add most of it to the stand mixer, save some for the topping. Squeeze the lemons until you have about 1-1 ½ Tablespoons of juice.

5. Add in 1-2 teaspoons of lemon extract into the mixer. Add in more or less zest, juice or extract depending on how strong of a lemon flavor you want. Keep in mind you are adding a lemon glaze on top.

6. Add in yeast (once its proofed).

7. Add flour in small amounts at a time until a slightly sticky dough consistency is formed. I don’t actually measure how much flour I use so you may need more or less than 5-7 cups. I like to keep mine a little sticky in the mixer because I knead in the rest of the dough by hand.

8. Spread some flour out on the table and knead for about 8 minutes.

9. Spread some oil in a large bowl and flip the dough so it covers the dough.

10. At this point, the oven should be warm, not hot! Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen cloth, not a towel or paper towel because it will stick. Let rise in the oven for an hour and 15 minutes.

11. After it rises, take it out of the bowl and knead for another 1-2 minutes.

12. Let rise in the oven for another hour and 15 minutes.

13. Once the dough has risen a second time, take it out of the oven.

14. Knead the dough for a few minutes then roll the dough into however many strands you want your braid to be. I usually do 4. The dough is enough for 1 large challah or 2 small-medium size ones.

15. Let rise for about 45-60 minutes.

16. After 40 minutes, preheat the oven to 350.

17. Spread some egg wash on the dough (egg and a dash of water)-- save the remainder to reapply later.

18. Bake for ~35 minutes for 2 challahs, ~45 minutes for 1 challah. Once again, use your best judgment, it might need more or less time. It should be golden brown and pretty firm to the touch.

19. Halfway through, take challah out and reapply egg wash. Make sure to get it into all the crevices for a nice golden color. Then turn the pan around in the oven so that it cooks evenly on both sides!

20. Cool completely! Make glaze while cooling *optional*

21. Enjoy!

Directions (glaze):

1. Mix powdered sugar with about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until the mixture is smooth and a yellow-ish white color. Add in more or less juice to your preference.

2. LIGHTLY drizzle the glaze onto the challah (once it is completely cool). Sprinkle extra zest and poppy seeds.