Sourdough Challah / 犹太假日面包

challah = hallah = challa is a Jewish egg bread that is traditionally eaten on the Sabbath and High Holidays. 犹太人在安息日和假日吃的白面包

240 g Wild Grape Sourdough Starter 2 Eggs, lightly beaten 1 Egg yolks, lightly beaten 120 ml Water 55 g Honey 50 g Sunflower oil

2 tsp Salt 440 g All-purpose 1 Egg white 1 tbsp Water 1 tbsp Oatmeal bran

1. Mix the starter, eggs, egg yolk, honey, oil, water, and the salt. Stir. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour sparingly, until the dough is smooth, satiny, has lost most of it's stickiness, and is fairly firm. Cover and allow it to rise until tripled in volume.
   
   
2. Punch down the dough, knead briefly and cut into 4 equal pieces. Divide one piece into 3 equal portions. Form each of them into strands of about 30-cm in length, tapered so the center of each piece is thicker than the ends. You should now have three thick and three thin strands.
   
   
3. Braid the three thick strands into a loaf and set aside. Braid the three smaller strands into a smaller loaf. Lightly indent the top center of the larger loaf down its length. Wet it slightly with water. Put the smaller loaf on top of the indention. Beat egg white with a tablespoon of water. Brush this egg wash all over the loaf and allow them to rise until doubled.
   
4. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Brush the loaf with the egg wash again and sprinkle the top with oatmeal bran. Place it into the oven, bake about 35 minutes.