Abby's Challah

1. First, proof your yeast. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water in your mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. 2. Within 5 minutes, it should be bubbly and frothy. 3. Whisk the juice, oil or cooled melted butter, honey, eggs and salt into the yeast mixture. Add the raisins here, if desired. 4. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing with each addition. 5. The dough will get thicker but will still be a little sticky when you're done. 6. Turn out onto floured surface 7. Knead 6-8 minutes, until elastic and smooth. Add flour to the surface very sparingly - better too sticky than too dry for this dough! 8. Put your dough in an oiled bowl, cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap. 9. Place in a warm place 1-2 hours to rise until doubled in size. 10. Punch down, repeat. 11. The second rise won't take as long. 12. Turn your dough out onto a flat surface. 13. With a sharp knife, cut into six equal pieces. 14. With your hands, roll each piece into a strand about 14-15 inches long. 15. Place 3 strands parallel to each other. With the other 3 strands, form a simple over-under-over lattice. 16. You will now have a checkerboard lattice in the center and strands of dough coming out the sides a few inches. 17. Braid each 3 strand set coming off the center until you run out of dough. 18. Tuck the braid UNDER the lattice center. 19. Carefully place in an oiled pie dish and let it rest for about 15 to 20 minutes. 20. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. 21. Before placing your challah in the oven, you may brush the surface with an egg beaten with a tablespoon of water using a pastry brush. This will give a dark, shiny, stiff crust. I prefer taking a big plop of mayonnaise in my hands and gently rubbing the surface of the dough - not shiny and pretty but yields a very tender crust. 22. If desired, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or a coarse salt. 23. Bake 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool about 10 minutes, then gently turn out of the pie pan to cool on a rack.