NEW YORK, Dec 21 — Over the last decade, bakers have been experimenting with olive oil in all kinds of nontraditional ways, and I’ve been right there with them. I’ve added it to cakes, swirled it into lemon bars, even baked it into zucchini bread — all to the good.

One of my favorite discoveries has been making olive oil challah.

Olive oil adds a rich, earthy intensity that really brings character to the loaf, making it a lot more complex without obscuring the eggy sweetness that makes challah so delectable. Using olive oil also makes challah particularly appropriate for Hanukkah, which celebrates an oleaginous miracle.

Or course, it helps that I had an excellent challah recipe to begin with.

It’s from Myrna Aronson of Providence, Rhode Island, my friend Robin’s mother, who passed the recipe on to Robin, who made it for my family one Rosh Hashana so many years ago, when I promptly stole it.

I didn’t change Myrna’s egg-to-oil-to-flour ratio, which was, to my mind, perfect. Nor did I mess with her use of orange juice in the dough, which gives the bread a citrus brightness. All I did was substitute olive oil for canola, and add a touch of the grated orange zest as well, to accentuate that citrus flavor.

Now, it’s my go-to loaf for any meal that demands a freshly baked challah as part of the menu. In our house, this comes up more than you would think, and not just around the Jewish holidays.

Challah is also outstanding for brunch — either toasted, buttered and topped with herbed scrambled eggs, or made into the best French toast imaginable. For special occasions or the most indulgent of Sundays, I like to use it in a baked French toast casserole studded with pears and topped with a brown sugar-oat crumble. It’s also our preferred loaf for grilled cheese, where its slight sweetness makes a nice contrast to the extra-sharp aged Cheddar melting voluptuously inside.

As far as homemade breads go, challah is extremely straightforward; the baker doesn’t have to worry about any of the protracted fermentation times, heirloom starters or hydration levels of more artisan-style loaves. You can make it from start to finish in an afternoon, with a package of supermarket yeast.

The key is giving the dough a nice warm spot where it can rise, and then leaving it until it has truly doubled in bulk. Anything less than doubling will give you a damp-centered rather than fluffy challah after baking. This is because of the richness of the dough. All those egg yolks and the oil will weigh it down if it doesn’t have a chance to rise properly.

Myrna’s original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, and you can substitute that here. But I find bread flour gives the challah a nice chew without making it tough, and also helps the braided loaf maintain its shape after baking.

For some novice challah makers, that braid can seem like the hardest part. But even if you aren’t yet ready to tackle a six-stranded round challah, a simple three-stranded braid will still give you a burnished, shiny, classic-looking loaf. And it will taste about a million times better than any fancy challah you can buy.

Recipe:

Olive Oil Challah

Yield: 1 loaf

Total time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients:

½ cup fresh orange juice (from about 2 medium oranges)

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)

1/3 cup olive oil

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ to ½ teaspoon grated orange or lemon zest, to taste (optional)

3 to 3 ½ cups bread flour, plus more for kneading dough

Preparation:

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine orange juice and 1 tablespoon water. Sprinkle yeast over top and let sit until frothy, about 5 minutes.

2.  Add oil, 2 eggs, 1 yolk, sugar, salt and zest, if using, and beat with a dough hook until just combined. Add in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough comes together into a sticky mass. You may or may not use all of the flour, so at the end, add it gradually. The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl but not be at all stiff. You’re looking for a slightly sticky, soft dough.

3.  Transfer dough to floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl and turn the dough over. Cover bowl with a clean dish towel and let rise in a draft-free place until doubled, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Press down dough to expel all the air, cover bowl and let rise for another 45 minutes.

4.  In a small bowl, make egg wash by combining the remaining 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water. To make a classic braided challah, cut dough into three equal pieces and roll them each into ropes 12 inches long. Or, to make a braided round loaf, cut dough into six equal pieces and roll them each into thinner ropes 12 inches long.

5.  Braid the challah: If you are making a classic challah with three ropes, just braid them into a loaf, tucking the edges under. To braid it into a round loaf, first lay three ropes parallel to one another on the work surface, leaving 1 inch between them. Take one of the remaining ropes and hold it perpendicular to the three ropes, across the center. Weave that rope through the three ropes, as if you were creating a lattice for a pie; leave the edges free. Repeat with remaining two ropes. The resulting shape should look somewhat like a pound or number sign, but with a woven center. Then, starting from the ends of the three ropes closest to you, braid the loose edges of the ropes and pinch the ends together. Repeat with the remaining ends of the ropes; you should end up with a lattice in the middle with four braids radiating out from it. Tuck the braids underneath the lattice to create a round loaf, place on a small rimmed baking sheet, then brush with egg wash. Let rise uncovered for 45 minutes.

6.  Meanwhile, heat oven to 375º with a rack in the middle. Gently brush a second coat of egg wash on the dough, then bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until challah is a deep rich brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. (When it starts smelling like freshly baked bread, start checking.) Cool on a wire rack before serving. — The New York Times