Now that the season for making round challah is over I wanted to post a video tutorial for making a six strand challah braid. I found that colored dough worked very well in my woven challah tutorial so I decided to do the same for a six strand braid. This six strand braid is the way I always braid my challah. It comes out much taller than a three strand braid which makes it a more impressive looking loaf, more like the kind of challah you would get from a bakery. Like with most other kinds of braids, it is actually quite easy once you get the rhythm of the braiding, but is a bit difficult to describe using just words. Hopefully the video and step by step instructions will help make it less intimidating. It works with any challah dough, but if you are looking for an easy and delicious challah recipe this is my go-to recipe.

Step By Step Instructions:


1. Roll out six equal pieces of dough to make ropes and place them side by side on the table.
2. Pinch the top of the ropes together, pounding down with a fist to make sure they are tightly joined.
3. Take the far left strand (red) and cross it to the right over all the rest of the strands. It should stick straight out to the side, separate from the rest.

4. Take the strand that was the furthest right (purple) and cross it to the left over the remaining four strands.
5. Rearrange the strands slightly to make room between the two middle strands (yellow and green) and fold the strand that is sticking out all the way to the right (red) down into the middle.
6. Now there is a strand sticking out to the left (purple) but there is not one sticking out to the right, so you take the strand that is now the furthest left (orange) and cross it to the right over the remaining strands.

7. Take the strand that is sticking out to the left (purple) and bring it down into the middle between the second and third strands (red and green).
8.Now there is a strand sticking out to the right (orange) but there is not one sticking out to the left, so you take the strand that is now the furthest right (blue) and cross it to the left over the remaining strands.
9.Take the strand that is sticking out the right and bring it down in between the second and third strands (red and purple).

10. Now there is a strand sticking out to the left (blue) but there is not one sticking out to the right, so you take the strand that is now the furthest left (yellow) and cross it to the right over the remaining strands.
11. Repeat this pattern until there the strands are too short to continue crossing. Bring all the strands together and smash them well to join them.
12. Tuck the ends of the dough (the part that was smashed) under the loaf. This helps ensure that they do not come unraveled while baking.