Start by combining the water, sugar, honey, and yeast. Mix lightly for 15 seconds to combine. Let the yeast bloom, about 10 minutes, then begin to whisk on low speed and add the vegetable oil, eggs (4), and salt. Mix well. Add the first two cups of flour, mix until smooth, it will be about the consistency of pancake batter.

Slowly spoon in an additional 3 cups of flour and continue kneading until the sides of the bowl are mostly clean. This takes about 10 minutes. The dough will be tacky. Take it out of the mixing bowl and do a light knead to form it into a ball. You should not have to dust your kneading surface with additional flour.

Once in a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl in a warm place. I put it in a large bowl covered with a dish towel on my stove and turn the oven to the lowest heat setting to generate some heat. Let proof for at least an hour, I prefer 2 to 3 hours.

Once the dough doubles in size, punch it down and remove it from the bowl. Give an additional slight knead. Separate 3 pieces of dough, weighing around .48-.50 ounces.

Take each piece and form into a long and slender coil, generally about 18 inches in length, and the diameter of a quarter. Braid the strands and tuck the ends under. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with a towel and let it rise for another 45 minutes to an hour. (I make the strands 9 inches and make two decent size challahs. One might be plain or with sesame or poppy seeds or with za’tar and the second with chocolate chips)

Before baking, brush the entire challah with an egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten), and then top with your favorite topping.

Bake in a 300-degree oven for 45 minutes.

When the challah is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, remove the challah from the oven, carefully lift it from the baking tray, and place it on a cooling rack.