Is there any food that reflects the beauty of Judaism more than a freshly baked challah? Jews and non-Jews alike love the flavor and shape of this delicious eggy bread.
But challah is so much more than just bread. The tradition of challah is a very spiritual one; for observant Jews, it is a way to directly connect with the spiritual energy of God. In fact, baking challah is considered an important blessing in the Jewish home.
Today, the word challah is used to describe the beautiful loaf of braided bread that appears on Shabbat tables all over the world. In ancient times, challah referred to a small bit of dough that was set aside for the Temple priests as an offering to God:
Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it.
Numbers 15:20
Burning a small portion of dough as an offering is part of the challah blessing.
Traditionally, challah is served on Shabbat and holidays. I like to think of challah as a “special occasion” bread because of the time and effort that goes into making it. You can certainly make challah any day of the year, but in my home the process is reserved for Shabbat and the major Jewish holidays (except for Passover, of course, when leavened bread is not allowed).
The smell of freshly baked challah ushers in our weekly Shabbat celebration and puts everybody in a mood of gratitude. As blog reader Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill put it—“I love it when I finish making my Shabbat Challah. It smells like Shabbat!”
The ritual associated with separating and blessing the challah is a somewhat complex process, dependent on the size of challah you are baking and your level of observance. Customs vary according to Halachic opinion; Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions approach the blessing differently. If you are interested in learning more about the process of separating challah, there are many guides available online… or ask a trusted rabbi!
For me, baking challah is like a meditation. Kneading and rising, kneading again, shaping, braiding and baking— it all takes a lot more time than baking brownies from an instant mix. Smelling the bread baking, then seeing your gloriously braided challah on the dinner table, really makes it all worthwhile. I hope this blog inspires you to try it yourself!
The following recipe is my favorite way to make challah, developed after many attempts to create a “foolproof” challah recipe. It’s a rich, moist, eggy challah sweetened with honey.
The multiple risings create a beautiful texture, and the egg wash results in a gorgeous golden crust. Feel free to sprinkle your challah with any of the toppings suggested in the recipe. You also can add raisins or chocolate chips to the dough (adding real chocolate will make it a dairy recipe). No matter which way you choose to make it, challah is a delicious way to celebrate Shabbat, or any other holiday.
If you’ve never made challah before, remember to be patient. Baking challah is a simple process, but it does take time and effort. You may need to try it a few times to get a “feel” for the dough. If you follow my instructions exactly, you should be fine— I’ve tried to describe each step very carefully and specifically. Comment me if you have any questions.
For instructions on how to braid your challah, click the following link:
Challah Part 2: How to Braid Challah.
Good luck! 🙂
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Challah
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, divided
- 1 packet active dry yeast (1 packet is equivalent to 2 1/4 tsp or .25 ounce active dry yeast) - you may substitute 1 3/4 teaspoons of instant yeast or .6 ounce compressed fresh yeast (1 small cake)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (I prefer avocado oil for flavor and health reasons - you may substitute sunflower oil or canola oil)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 1/2-6 cups all purpose flour - PLEASE NOTE - if you are using the metric conversion tool on this recipe, the flour is not updating correctly. The correct metric measurements for flour are 562.5 to 750 grams (do not change the recipe serving sizes or it will not work)
Egg Wash Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional Ingredients
- Raisins, chocolate chips (1 ½ cups of either)
Optional Toppings
- Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt
Instructions
- Pour ¼ cup of the lukewarm water (about 110 degrees) into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 packet of active dry yeast and 1 tsp of sugar to the bowl, stir to dissolve. Wait 10 minutes. The yeast should have activated, meaning it will look expanded and foamy. If it doesn’t, your yeast may have expired, which means your bread won’t rise—go buy some fresh yeast! This step Is called "proofing" the yeast - if you're using instant yeast you can skip this step and simply add the yeast to your dry ingredients. If you're using fresh yeast (or compressed or cake yeast), simply stir it into the lukewarm water to dissolve, then add the remaining wet ingredients - no need to wait for proofing.
- Once your yeast has activated, add remaining 1 ¼ cup lukewarm water to the bowl along with the egg, egg yolks, honey, oil, and salt. Use a whisk to thoroughly blend the ingredients together.
- Begin adding the flour to the bowl by half-cupfuls, stirring with a large spoon each time flour is added. When mixture becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to knead.Continue to add flour and knead the dough until it’s smooth, elastic, and not sticky. The amount of flour you will need to achieve this texture varies—only add flour until the dough feels pliable and “right.” If you plan to add raisins or chocolate chips to the challah, incorporate into the dough as you knead.
- Place a saucepan full of water on the stove to boil.Meanwhile, remove the dough from your mixing bowl and wash out the bowl. Grease the bowl with oil. Push the dough back into the bottom of the bowl, then flip it over so that both sides are slightly moistened by the oil.
- Cover the bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place the bowl of dough on the middle rack of your oven. Take the saucepan full of boiling water and place it below the rack where your dough sits. Close the oven, but do not turn it on. The pan of hot water will create a warm, moist environment for your dough to rise. Let the dough rise for 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size. This may take longer depending on a number of things, including weather conditions... be patient! It's important to let the dough rise for best results.
- Take the dough bowl out and punch it down several times to remove air pockets.
- Place it back inside the oven and let it rise for 1 hour longer, or until the dough doubles in size.
- Take the dough out of the oven. Flour a smooth surface like a cutting board. Punch the dough down into the bowl a few times, then turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Knead for a few minutes, adding flour as needed to keep the dough from feeling sticky.
- Now your dough is ready to braid. If you plan to separate and bless the challah, do it prior to braiding. Click here to learn how to braid challah.After you’ve braided your challah, place it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (this will catch any spills from your egg wash and keep your challah from sticking to the cookie sheet).Note: I usually only put a single challah braid on a cookie sheet, since they tend to expand a lot when baking.
- Prepare your egg wash by beating the egg, salt and water till smooth. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of the mixture onto the visible surface of your challah. If you're adding sesame seeds or some other topping, sprinkle it on the damp dough now - the egg wash helps it stick. Reserve the leftover egg wash.
- Let the braid rise 30 to 45 minutes longer. You’ll know the dough is ready to bake when you press your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, rather than bouncing back.Heat oven to 350 degrees F. The challah needs to bake for about 40 minutes total, but to get the best result the baking should be done in stages. First, set your timer to 20 minutes and put your challah in the oven.
- After 20 minutes, take the challah out of the oven and coat the center of the braid with another thin layer of egg wash. This area tends to expand during baking, exposing areas that will turn white unless they are coated with egg wash.Turn the tray around, so the opposite side is facing front, and put the tray back into the oven. Turning the tray helps your challah brown evenly—the back of the oven is usually hotter than the front.
- The challah will need to bake for about 20 minutes longer. For this last part of the baking process, keep an eye on your challah—it may be browning faster than it’s baking. Once the challah is browned to your liking, take the tray out and tent it with foil, then place it back in the oven. Remove the foil for the last 2 minutes of baking time.Take the challah out of the oven. At this point your house should smell delicious. You can test the bread for doneness by turning it over and tapping on the bottom of the loaf—if it makes a hollow sound, it’s done. Let challah cool on the baking sheet or a wire cooling rack before serving.
NOTES
Nutrition
Five star plus!!! My guests & I all LOVED it!!! Thank you you!!!
What kind of flour do you use. Is it all-purpose or bread flour.
Hi Alex, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! This recipe is made with all-purpose flour.
Does
The recipe call for 1 and 1/2 of water ? Sorry the template was hard for me to discern.
Thanks
Hi Devorah, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! The recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups of lukewarm water divided. This is the total amount you will use for the dough, but in different amounts throughout the recipe. Hope this helps!
I would like to make 1 double challah. How much would I need for the bottom challah and for the top challah? Also, what temp. to bake it for and how long. Thank you.
I love my challah bread, I used 3 cups bread flour and 4 cups All purpose none bleached flour and 3 whole eggs 1 1/2 pack instant yeast , placed in cold oven with a pan of boiling water under it, covered with humid kitchen towel for 2 hours , it nearly trippled the size , cut in half , each half cut in 3 pc, made 2 twisted challah breads , placed again in cold oven with boiling water , again they doubled in size in 1 hour,
Removed from oven , preheat oven to 350F , and backed for 40 min.
Should have seen the result, they where huge. And delicious, yamm yamm i love them , too bad I cant post pictures of my bread
I am so sorry, I did not read the one egg in the recepie, only thr Type of flour i am not sure I uses have bread and have all purpose flour, it did rise very well, but was a little sticky to make the twist,
I love this recipe! I never knew the joy of baking till I made this. You’re truly an inspiration. Every recipe that I’ve tried so far has been fantastic. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your passion.
Still new to making challah and am so excited to try your recipe based off these amazing reviews! Excited for your tips, too. One question- when you let the braids rise after using the egg wash, should they be uncovered?
Hi Hilary, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! You do not need to cover the challah again after the egg wash step.
Made this challah for rosh hashana…used King Arthur bread flour, raisins, and dark buckwheat honey. It was heavenly!!!
Totally Awesome Recipe!! I am eating it right now. My whole family is. My son said it was the second best Challah he has ever had. This is the second time I ever made challah. Huge success. I followed the recipe almost exactly. Only I did not wait a whole hour after braiding it to wait to bake it. I pushed in and the dough did not bounce back, so thought it was ok. I used Bob red Mill Flour and I wonder if that made a difference. I pretty much love all your recipes Tori. Thanks for all your hard work and making me look like a superstar baker!! : )
I just finished making this recipe. It came out fantastic – except that I do have an electric oven – and I did bake at 350. So, the bottom did burn a bit. If I do it again, I’ll try to remember to bake at 325 and/or put a layer of cornmeal on the parchment paper. This is the first time in my life (I’m 59) that I’ve made a round challah – and it’s been well over 40 years since I’ve made any challah at all. It took almost 5 hours from start to finish. I made to challahs out of this recipe. One I did the 4 braid round, the other the 6 braid round – and they came out picture perfect. I’m so proud.
Thanks for saying it took you 5hrs. Total. I’ve not made Challah before and going to try for a group coming to my house Wed at 7pm. Do you think there are any things I can do to cut the time in half by doing steps early or should I do this all at once?
My new weekly recipe, thanks a lot!
Hooray it Rose in the end. When I started to bake it it blew up ( in a good way)
Glad it worked out!
I usually use a diff recipe and my challah rises each time. I tried your recipe and the dough was un-kneadable. It felt like a hamantashen cookie dough. What did I do wrong? I’m sure your recipe is great, it’s something I must have done
Did you do what I did and forget a cup of water because there was a line break between the 1 and the 1/4 when it tells you to add the remaining water? Mine was a lot like tough cookie dough before I realized my mistake.
I’ve made this a few times. It’s great! …How do you store it though? I’m making a batch now, and will be giving a loaf to my mom in a couple days. Do I wrap it in Saran Wrap? Paper bag? Should I freeze it?
Jasmine, you can freeze it to keep it fresh, or keep it in a sealed airtight plastic bag or wrapped tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap.
Tori, this was an amazing experience. The first time I baked my own challah was with much help from a rebbetzin two years ago. So, of course, I was ridiculously nervous to take on this adventure at 10pm last night, but I am SO HAPPY I did.
1. I did find that the dough was a bit dryer and not as sweet as I like and I initially thought I did something wrong. After reading Ben’s post, I’m happy to know that, of course, that’s just a matter of personal taste. I will try modification for next time.
2. Leigh mentioned the braids tearing while baking. I did some research on this and one theory was that the braided dough was not left to rise enough before being baked. I will admit that I was growing impatient at 3am this morning, and I only let it rise for 35 minutes… I do hope that this is the reason, and with more patience I can have a beautiful outcome next time.
I just wanted to let you know how much I love your website and this challah recipe. Six-braid is my absolute favourite, but I was intimated to do this alone for the first time; your directions in part II made it soooo painless. I will definitely be trying the others as I go along, but so overwhelmed with happiness that I could accomplish my favourite with such ease.
Shabbat shalom!
So happy it was helpful Kenz!
Hi,
I would really like to try to make this bread myself. I’m not Jewish or live near a bakery. I clicked on the link and it leads to a list of recipes. Which one leads to the actual braiding technique?
The braiding tutorial is here: https://toriavey.com/challah-bread-part-2-how-to-braid-challah/
I’ve tried two other challah recipes before this years ago and they both were just terrible. This was absolutely delicious and the perfect texture. Couple questions: I’ve read your comments about making the dough a day in advance, but I’m still a little confused. Do I do the first rise in the oven, punch down, and then put it in the fridge for the second rise (and how many hours does that take), or do I skip the rising in the oven completely and put it in the fridge instead (again, for how many hours)? Also, can I use a Kitchen Aid to do some of the kneading or should I just do it all by hand? My 96 year old Grandpa hasn’t had a homemade challah probably in 50 or 60 years, and he’s coming to my house for Christmas this year (he’s Jewish, I’m equal opportunity) and I want to make it for him. If I don’t get an answer in time, since I’m making it tomorrow, I’ll just do the fridge for the second rise and hope I’m doing it right. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Usually I skip the rise in the oven and go straight to the fridge for at least 8 hours, but I don’t think it would hurt to do one rise in the oven and another in the fridge. I hope it turned out well for you!
Hi. I loved this recipe! Thank Y. I live in Brasil and I was thinking….do I need to use the boiling water if I live in a hot temperature city?
Thanks.
I clicked on your link on how to braid the challah however it gives me an error..not sure if the link is broken?
Hi Sarah, it should be working now: https://toriavey.com/how-to/challah-bread-part-2-how-to-braid-challah/