Generally used for the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.Using you’re the palms of your hands, roll dough ball into a long, fat foot-long rope (Figure 1).
Knead once more using the palms of your hands leaving one end thick and the other end tapered to a point. Cover with a cloth and allow to rest for several minutes.
Keeping the thick end on the work top, take the lengthened strand and with one hand lift the tapered end and wind the entire length around the wide center to form a coil (Figures 2 and 3).
Slip the tip under the coil and press down lightly so that it will not open upon rising (Figure 4). Beat one egg and with a pastry brush, brush top and sides of Challah with egg wash. Place on cornmeal dusted pans and proof until doubled in volume. For higher gloss, brush egg wash over Challah for a second time prior to baking.
Bake 45-60 minutes in 375o oven. When the top begins to brown, cover with a tent of parchment paper or an opened brown paper bag so the top does not burn while the center is allowed to bake.
NOTE: To customize this bread, you may add raisins, nuts to the mix and/or sesame and/or poppy seeds for topping.