Put the warm water in a small bowl, stir in the sugar and yeast and leave until foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a larger bowl, whisk together the flour and salt, and set aside.
Whisk the honey, oil and egg yolks into the yeast mixture, then add this to the flour and stir together to form a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth, about 8 - 10 minutes. (the dough will be very sticky, just keep sifting flour over it and kneading it until it gets smooth)
Put a little oil into the large bowl, form the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl, rolling it around a bit to coat on all sides with the oil.
Cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm, draft free place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough, then let it rise again, about 45 more minutes.
This recipe will either make 12 challah knot rolls, or one loaf of braided bread - follow the instructions for either method - or do as I do and double the recipe and make both!
to make knots:
Heat the oven to 350 F (175C) and grease a large baking pan (9" x 12").
Separate the dough into 12 equal sized balls, then roll each ball into a 10" rope.
Tie each rope into a knot, tuck the ends under, then space all 12 evenly in the pan. Cover with a towel and let sit for another 30 minutes.
Whisk the egg with the tablespoon of water and brush the tops of the rolls well.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until browned on top.
to make a braid:
Separate the dough into 3 equal sized balls.
Roll each ball out into a 20" (50 cm) rope, leaving the rope thicker in the middle than at the ends. Be sure to have all 3 ropes the same.
Pinch the ends of the ropes together, then braid the ropes together tightly, but be careful to not stretch the bread.
Tuck each end under neatly, transfer the loaf to a baking paper lined baking sheet, cover with a towel and let sit for 30 minutes.
Whisk the egg and tablespoon of water, then brush the entire top and sides of loaf.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove, brush again with the egg wash before returning to the oven to bake for about 15 - 20 more minutes, until golden brown. Be careful to not overcook.