Hala with raisins

Hala is a traditional Jewish meal on the holy day of rest - Shabbat. Unlike the round hala, which is usually prepared for the holiday of the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah, we will make a braided hala with raisins. I will immediately give advice so as not to be distracted by it later – when you form the dough with raisins mixed in it, make sure that it does not protrude on the outside of the chaly, otherwise the raisins will burn in the oven and give bitterness. So, first of all, sift the flour into a large cup, make a small recess and pour warm water into it. Add yeast and sugar, then leave to smet in a warm place for 10 minutes, and prepare the honey mixture: to beat the honey with the remaining water, butter (can be melted), eggs and salt. Mix well and add to the flour mixture. Knead the dough by adding the remaining flour and bring the dough to the desired state, it should be smooth and not sticky. After that, leave to rise. The volume of the test should double, usually it takes about 1 hour.

Then knead the dough again with the dough on a floured surface, then leave it again for half an hour. Now roll out the dough into a square with sides about about 23 cm. Sprinkle it with raisins and wrap it in a roll. Cut the roll into two parts, roll each of them into a rope about 60 cm long and twist it into a spiral, while you need to blind the parts of the spiral together to make a smooth round loaf. Do the same with the other part of the test. Grease a baking sheet with oil and put two rolls on it, cover with a damp towel and leave to rise, after the rolls have doubled in size (about 40 minutes), put them in a 180-degree oven heated to 180 degrees and bake until a brown crust appears. The finished hala can be smeared with egg whipped with sugar and sprinkled with sesame seeds.