Reply To: Braiding Challos – Why?

I always thought it was braided in 3 for the chut hameshulosh. Does it really matter how many braids and why they are braided? Is it not more important to recognize that CHALLAH is not merely bread on a Saturday? It is a specific mitzvah. The fact of having it at ALL is probably for the lechem hapanim, but the braiding in different ways makes it look distinctive for Shabbos. People who do the braiding may have thought of the different reasons for their braiding styles THEMSELVES. Is it an HALACHA?????