- I
Wake the yeast.
Stir the yeast and a pinch of sugar into the warm water. Walk away for ten minutes. When you come back it should be foamy and a little angry — if it isn't, the water was too hot or the yeast is old.
10 min - II
Bring the dough together.
Whisk the sugar, oil, eggs, and salt into the yeast mixture. Add the flour a cup at a time, switching to your hands when it stops accepting the spoon. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
8 min - III
Knead like you mean it.
Turn it out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for a full ten minutes. This is not optional. Put on a song you like; you should be a little bit out of breath at the end.
10 min - IV
First rise.
Oil a large bowl, drop the dough in, flip it once so the top is greased. Cover with a tea towel. Let it double — about an hour and a half in a warm kitchen, longer if your apartment is honest about being cold.
~90 min - V
Braid (the part you came here for).
Punch it down. Divide into six equal pieces (a kitchen scale helps). Roll each into a 16" rope, slightly thicker in the middle. Pinch the tops together. Then braid: six over one, two over six, one over five, three over one — repeat until you run out of dough.
15 min - VI
Second rise, wash, bake.
Transfer the braid to a parchment-lined sheet. Cover loosely; let rise 45 minutes more. Brush with egg yolk, sprinkle seeds. Bake at 350°F for 28–32 minutes, until the crown sounds hollow when you knock it.
~80 min