Challah Bread

I got the recipe for this Challah from Bonnie Stern's 'Essentials of Home Cooking.' Here's the half recipe:

• 1 cup tepid water
• 1 Tbsp yeast (I used 1 tsp)
  
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used 2 Tbsp)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• egg wash
• sesame seeds

Mix the water, yeast, and sugar, and let it sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile mix all the dry ingredients together. Then mix the wets into the dries and knead. Let it rise in a warm spot, punch it down, then let it rise again. Cut into 3 pieces, braid, then coil within a spring pan. Let it rise, egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes (50 to 60 minutes for the full 8-cup recipe) until the internal temperature reaches 190F and the top is golden.

This recipe worked pretty well. I should have either used a smaller spring pan or made the full recipe... that way it would have been taller. Also, when I baked it, the beautiful braids melted together... not sure how I could prevent that next time.