Hello,
I bake Challa once a week but suddenly have almost no time on my hands
so I wondering how I can divide up the recipe into stages so I can do
it over a few days perhaps. IT takes me say 20 minutes to mix the
ingredients and then 2 hours letting the dough rise and punching it
down every 20 minutes or so (can this step be left out?), I then shape
the challas and let them rise for around an hour followed by baking.

How important is the punching part? If I didnt' do that I could leave
for the 2 hours and come back afterwards.
Can I freeze the dough after the 2 hour rise. How would I procede to
defrost and continue?
Would it be better to shape the challas first and then freeze?

How much flexibility do I have with this recipe?

Thanks all.