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
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
NOTES
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.
Cassie White says
Tori: Thank you for all of your incredible challah tips!! My mother and grandmother are so pleased I’m finally learning how to make this beautiful bread. I am so thankful for all your advice as it’s quite helpful.
Caroline/Rose says
I made this yesterday and
tweaked little bit so I don’t have to waste the egg whites.
I used only 4 1/2 cup of flour including dusting (4cups & 1/4 to be exact)
3 whole large eggs
1 cup of water
It was very interesting because I forgot the oil after completing the kneading so I put the oil after so I was not expecting good results.
To my surprised it turned out really good, in fact I am making another one for my friends ThanksGiving dinner tonight.
I agree to Tori do not put all the flour at once, add it slowly.
Thanks for such a great recipe, this is way better than Brioche as it does not require so much Butter and still taste good.
David says
I didn’t use your ingredients but your procedures and cooking tips were awesome. Thanks for making my first challah baking experience a success.
Barbara says
This is absolutely delicious! my first time in many years baking Challah and it was a total success!! What a great recipe, thank you so much Avey!
Linda Hollins says
Dear Tori,
I have commented before on this challah – it is my only recipe because it is so perfect. Question, can I substitute sugar for the honey? I would make it more often but I don’t always have honey on hand? Do think sugar can work and how much?
Tori Avey says
Hi Linda! Glad you’re enjoying the recipe. Honey is liquid, while sugar is dry, so your end texture may be different using just sugar. I haven’t tried it, but if you decide to experiment I would maybe add another egg or two to compensate for the lack of extra liquid. Sugar may also make the bottom of the challah brown faster than it normally would, so keep an eye on it and perhaps use a layer of semolina flour or corn meal to keep separation between the baking sheet and the bottom of the challah. Good luck!
Joanna says
Fabulous. Using this recipe often. Now what to do with all the egg whites?!
Ed Juarez says
Amazing Challah recipe! I’ve been making Challah dough in my bread machine, but decided to try the old fashioned method. Your instructions were so easy to follow and I like that you suggest to add flour 1/2 cup at a time as it depends on where you live whether you need less or more. As I make bread often I know by feel if I have enough flour. My oven has a proof selection and I used it for all three proofs and it turned out amazing. I made 2 loaves (6 braided) and I can’t stop eating it. Gave the second loaf to my daughter and son-in-law. I’ll be using this recipe from now on. I have photos if you’d like copies. Thanks!
Luda says
Can I use agave instead of honey or leave it out? Thank you.
Tori Avey says
Don’t leave it out – but yes you can replace it with agave. I have done this in the past. The only big difference I noted is that the bottom browned more than it normally does (this may have been a fluke, but I did notice it). To avoid burning the bottom, place a thin scattering of semolina flour or corn meal on the tray before placing the braid there, which creates some separation between the baking sheet and the dough.
Luda says
Tori, If I don’t have semolina or corn meal, what else can I do to avoid burning the bottom?
Tori Avey says
Make sure you keep the baking sheet in the center of the oven (center rack), and you may also want to lower the oven temp 25 degrees F and bake longer. I don’t have an exact time for you, but if you have a thermometer the center of the bread needs to reach 200 degrees F.
Richard Stegman says
Hi Tori. Love your challah recipe. Thanks. Would like to try the recipe with a bread machine. After the dough cycle completes should I braid right away or let the dough rise additionally before braiding? Shana Tova.
Tori Avey says
Hi Richard, sorry I don’t own a bread machine so I can’t advise you hear. Please read through comments as others have tried it with good results, they may have more direction for you.
Anneliese Barcia says
HI – once the bread has risen for the 2nd time and is braided, it needs to rise again for about another 35-40 minutes – should it be put back into the oven with another pot of boiling water? I’m guessing that the water has cooled since the first rise.
Tori Avey says
I do the last rise at room temp on the countertop while the oven preheats to bake it.
Jessica says
This was amazing. It was my first time making challah and bread in general. Both this recipe and the vegetarian matzo ball soup were delicious!
Tori Avey says
Glad to hear it!
Katia says
Wowwww this recipe is incredible, sure it took me a while to get the consistency of the dough right but wowww it was so worth it! The taste is incredible and the smell is just mmmm *chef’s kiss* thank you!
Beth Goldberg says
I love your challah recipe. I’m wondering if I can use bread flour. I’ve been using all purpose. Thx!
Tori Avey says
I use all purpose, but I think bread flour should work just as well. Enjoy!
Dan Goldberg says
I used bread flour just now and it turned out great! As you’re likely aware, you probably won’t need as much flour to get the right consistency, as you would with all purpose.
I also had only three eggs so I substituted egg whites + honey for the wash, and that also seemed to go very well.
Great recipe Avey thank you!
Elissa Sternberg says
I love your challah recipe and so does my family!!! On step 16, letting it rise after braiding do you suggest letting it rise at room temperature or back in the oven to rise?
Tori Avey says
Hi Elissa! So glad you’re enjoying it. I usually let it rise at room temp, since part of that rise happens while my oven is preheating.
Ziv says
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I saw that you mentioned checking with a rabbi about actually separating challah, or reading the rules online. I’m more concerned with the logistics of doing so. I’ve heard you need to use 5lbs of flour or so, which is more than I’ve ever handled at a time (my normal doughs are 500g flour or less). Do you have any experience doing that, particularly by hand? I don’t have a mixer and am wondering if this is realistic. Would you have any advice? Thank you!
Tori Avey says
Hi Ziv – I do not have advice for you here, very sorry! It would really be best to consult a rabbi. When I make challah I make it as written here, I do not use that much flour.
Quinn says
I tried this recipe and ended up with a super wet dough. I followed the metric measurement precisely and the dough looks like cake batter batter that looks impossible. I ended up adding around 100gr of flour and still ended up with a sticky dough. Any idea what went wrong? Thanks 🙂
Tori Avey says
Hi Quinn, the metric measurements are auto-calculated by my recipe system, and unfortunately the system is incorrectly calculating the amount of flour needed in the conversion. The correct amount of flour needed is between 562.5 to 750 grams. I have updated the recipe with a note to address this, thank you for letting me know about it.
Rusty says
When I put braided dough in refrigerator overnight it does not rise enough before baking. I leave it out to warmup & rise for about 3 hours.
Debra says
I love this recipe. My sister swears by hers but my family unanimously thinks that yours is better 🙂 I’ve never made challah before until quarantine and just love the tradition every Friday. I have a question…. how do I adjust cooking time if I make two smaller loaves or if I make a bunch of little ones? Thanks for letting me know!
Ray says
I love all your recipes that I’ve tried so far, so thank you! I also love this challah recipe, but wondering if there’s a way to incorporate my sourdough starter into it for a slightly healthier version. My spouse has a mild gluten intolerance which seems to do okay with sourdough— but he loves Challah! What do you think?
Tori Avey says
Hi Ray – yes! I’ll be posting a sourdough challah very soon, just waiting for the weather to cool off a bit.
Robin says
I made challah for the first time following your step by step directions and it was amazing !! Is it possible to make the dough and make half with raisins and the other plain ? Have to say my family and myself were impressed !! Thank you
Tori Avey says
I don’t see why not. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!
Sandra says
I’ve been looking for a recipe to use for my first attempt at challah. I wanted to confirm that you are using all purpose flour.
Thanks!
Tori Avey says
Yes, all purpose.