Eggless Challah made with Aquafaba

A beautiful egg-free challah made with aquafaba in lieu of eggs. The recipe makes three larger loaves or four smaller loaves. If you're making four smaller loaves, don't go beyond four ropes when braiding the challah. I found five ropes to be too skinny to produce an attractive loaf. Use a clean instant read thermometer to check the baked challah's temperature - when it reaches 190, it's done!

Ingredients

Dough

1 1/2 T Active Dry yeast - not Rapid Rise!!
2 c warmish water - warm to your wrist
1 c sugar + 1 T brown sugar
1 T table salt - not Kosher salt
1/2 c mild oil (I used grapeseed but you could use canola or another you like) + 1 T to oil the bowl
7 c AP flour (or bread flour, or a 50/50 mix of whole wheat and regular flour) + 1 to 2 additional cups, depending on how wet the dough seems after you mix it
1/3 c aquafaba (I defrosted 9 cubes that I thought would be a tablespoon each, and it ended up measuring 1/3 c. Next time I might try more.)

Glaze 

1 T mild cooking oil
1 T honey or agave
A bit of water

Steps

1. Put the yeast in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, add the water, let the yeast bloom for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the sugar and brown sugar, stir.
3. Add the salt, stir.
4. Add the aquafaba, stir.
5. Add the 1/2 c oil, stir.
6. One cup at a time, add about half of the flour and mix with the paddle attachment of the stand mixer until it's well mixed.
7. Change to the dough hook, and one cup at a time, add the remaining flour until the full 7 cups have been added. If necessary, add more flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to your finger when you touch it.
8. Remove the dough to a clean surface (if necessary, clean the bowl).
9. Oil the bowl you're going to proof the dough in. I use the mixing bowl from my stand mixer, but it has to be cleaned first.
10. Put the dough in the oiled bowl and roll it around so all sides have a very light coating of oil.
11. Cover the bowl with a towel.
12. Put the bowl someplace warm, like the oven with the light on. You want the environment to be about 100 degrees. Consider turning the oven on to a very low temp for just a teeny bit of time, but remember to turn the oven off before you put the dough in there to proof. 
13. After about one hour, check the dough. It should have risen. A lot. Punch it down and fold it over itself into a new ball. 
14. Put the towel back over the bowl and stick it back in the oven or return it to its warm spot.
15. After 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and punch it again.
16. Braid it as you normally would.
17. Brush the unbaked dough with the glaze. You want the glaze to be runny enough to brush the uncooked dough without ripping it.
18. Bake at 375 for 25 - 40 minutes. The total time will vary based on how many loaves you make and the shape you choose. A long braided loaf will cook faster than a round loaf.