Braided Round Challah -- Baked With the Hands That Keep Showing Up

October 2027. "Feed Them Anyway" published on October 15th. Third book. The bookstore had a small event — a reading and Q&A with about sixty people in folding chairs, the cozy intimacy of a local bookstore event that is actually the best possible format because the people there chose to be there. I read from the first chapter and then from the Grace chapter and then answered questions for forty-five minutes.

Someone asked what the title meant. I explained: not "feed them in spite of difficulty" but "feed them as the continuation of love through the difficulty." The act doesn't stop because the circumstances are hard. You feed them anyway because that's what feeding people is — the ongoing commitment to care expressed through the practical act of making food and giving it to someone. The act itself is the statement.

Afterward, a woman came up to me and said she'd been following the channel for six years and the books had changed how she thought about cooking for her aging parents. She said, "I used to feel like it was a burden. Now I understand it's actually one of the last things I can give them that's completely mine." I said, "Yes. That's exactly it." We stood there for a moment, two strangers in a bookstore, sharing the same understanding. That's why.

Gary was there. He came to all three book launches. He bought three copies this time — one for himself, one for Ethan, one for Mia's mother Maria. He said, "Maria will love this book." He's probably right. She will.

After the reading, after the conversation with the woman who finally understood what she was giving her parents, after Gary tucked three copies under his arm and said Maria would love it — I came home and made challah. Not because the occasion called for celebration exactly, but because braiding dough is the kind of work that asks everything from your hands and nothing from your mind, and I needed that. The round shape has always felt right to me: no beginning, no end, just the continuation. That’s what the whole book is about, really — and here’s the recipe I come back to every time I need to feel it in my hands instead of just my head.

Braided Round Challah

Prep Time: 40 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 3 hr 15 min (includes rising) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110° to 115°F), divided
• 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons water
• Sesame seeds or poppy seeds for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Proof the yeast. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 5–10 minutes.
2. Mix the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, salt, remaining sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup warm water. Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Gradually mix in 4 cups of flour until a soft dough forms.
3. Knead. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 6–8 minutes, adding remaining flour a tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking.
4. First rise. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
5. Shape into strands. Punch down dough. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 24 inches long.
6. Braid and coil. Braid 3 of the ropes together, then coil the braid into a round shape on a parchment-lined baking sheet, tucking the ends underneath. Twist the remaining rope and nestle it around the top of the round to reinforce the circular shape, pinching ends to seal.
7. Second rise. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 45 minutes.
8. Egg wash. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water. Brush gently over the loaf. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired.
9. Bake. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until deep golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 228 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 192mg