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.
Joseph says
I’ve tried a lot of different challah recipes and this has to be the worst. I think you need to reconsider the proportions and sizes of the wet ingredients to this ratio of flour….the recipe states that it’s varying amounts of flour as if many other dough recipes but I went overboard with flour and it was still sticky. I added 11.5 cups of flour and the dough is insanely sticky to the point where I gave up and just started the rising process. The dough was even more sticky and hard to work with after the steam treatment, and became impossible to try and braid. I just cooked the dough as loaves since they were too sticky to handle or braid since the braids would just melt Back into eachother. The bread taste itself is quite bland, likely since I added almost double the flour than to what was suggested because the wet mix wasn’t correctly proportioned. I’m very upset I’ve spent the time and effort trying to fix the dough with different amounts of flour and nothing is working, mind you I used the exact measurements and steps prior to this when activating my yeast, making the “wet mix”, etc. Terrible recipe you seriously need to reconsider the portions and sizing of what’s going into the dough
Tori Avey says
So sorry to hear this wasn’t successful for you Joseph! I have to say, this recipe has become a favorite for hundreds of readers around the world, so I’m pretty surprised by your experience. You can read through the comments yourself to see how many people have tried and love this recipe as written. May I ask if you made any adjustments to the total servings in the recipe before making it? I have found those adjusted calculations to be slightly buggy, and am actually thinking of retiring that tool if we can’t get it working better. I also don’t recommend doubling this recipe – if you added that much flour and it was still sticky, you likely doubled the quantity on the liquid. Doubling baked recipes can really provide mixed results, and I don’t recommend doubling this one. If you made it exactly as written (no adjustments to servings or metric measurements) and still had a bad experience, I’m just not sure what to say… it’s been such a success for so many that I can’t help but wonder what went wrong! At any rate, I wish you better luck on your next try.
Michelle says
I love this recipe! Can the dough rise overnight? I
Tori Avey says
Yes, in the refrigerator. Chilling will slow the process so it won’t over-rise.
Jess says
I would like to double this recipe to make a whole lot of rolls (I make them extra large and use them as burger buns, which I highly recommend). I can’t fit all of them in my oven. If half of them rise for 40 minutes longer (while the first half are baking), will they be ok? Anything I can do to prevent over-proofing? Thanks!
Tori Avey says
To prevent over-proofing, chill the second batch while you’re proofing the first batch, then let the second batch proof while the first batch is baking.
Abbey Jacobson says
This turned out perfect! My only problem was the final 30 to 45 minutes of rising in the braid, for some reason this caused my braided dough to meld together so you couldn’t see the distinct 3 strands – more like a unified loaf with a bit of decoration. Any tips? I did put the trays back in the oven (off) as I did with the other two times to rise. Let me know
Tori Avey says
Hi Abbey, this sounds like it might have risen too much — if left to rise too long it can lose its shape. I would just leave it on the countertop next time and only let it rise just until you press your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, rather than bouncing back. Hope that helps, so glad you enjoyed it!
Ronda says
I started out making no knead bread and graduated to good challah bread. This bread is so good. I am not Jewish.
Tom Schramm says
Shabbat Shalom!!!
Made this for the first time today. Easy to understand and walk through, great instructions! The Challah loaves turned out FABULOUS! This will be a regular in our home from now on!
Marcell says
I found your recipe years ago, and I am still making it every week. We have chickens and with all the eggs, it definitely helps me keep ahead of their laying.
Today I doubled your recipe and made 3 loaves and a 9×13 of cinnamon rolls. Everything looks amazing, I can’t wait for them to cool!
Thanks for making such a lovely recipe that my family and friends enjoy weekly.
Tori Avey says
Your house must smell amazing!! 🙂
Jenny says
I just made this for my Mum – it was my very first time making bread so I struggled with getting the dough just right (had to add less flour and more water) but they turned out absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much for this recipe – my Mum was super happy as well!
Helen says
Tori, I am planning to make your Challah (maybe tomorrow) but for Easter I made an old fashioned family sweet bread. I braided using your 4 strand directions and it was easy and looked so gorgeous. I was impressed and will be using this method often. Thank you so much for making braiding so approachable!
Jess says
This recipe is fantastic. I make it almost every week. My tips for speeding it up, ie finishing before sunset:
Start by putting water on stove to heat (I don’t have a microwave, but this helps you control the temp even if you do). While it’s heating, measure out eggs, honey, salt and oil and add to a small bowl. When water is ready, proof with yeast and sugar. During proving, measure five cups of flour into a large bowl. When proving is done, you can just dump in your eggs, honey, salt and oil, plus the additional water and combine. Then re-fill your water pot and put it on the stove, and while it’s boiling add the flour from your bowl to your wet ingredients by rough half cupfuls (no need to measure it again; just stop with a little left or add an additional 1/2-1 cup if needed). Finish the dough, rinse the bowl, and put in the oven with the now-boiling water.
Jess says
I am currently making this bread, it’s on its first hour of proofing, I didn’t have any honey on hand so I added 4 extra table spoons sugar? I think that evens out to be about or a little less then 1/3 cup honey, I think it will be ok? Also, I have a large sheet pan, will the baking time vary if I want to make two smaller loaves instead of one? Thanks!
Liza says
Hi, do you know the measurements if using gluten free flour? Is it 1:1? Thank you!
Tori Avey says
I have not had luck using GF flour with this recipe – but if you read through comments you might find some suggestions from other readers.
Joni says
I had never baked bread before when I found this recipe. I’ve now made it two weekends in a row. It’s delicious and beautiful and my family can’t get enough. Thank you for sharing!!!
Caryl says
Do you leave the tray of water in the oven while baking?
Tori Avey says
No.
Elissa says
I make your recipe every week, I want to experiment adding cinnamon. How much should I add? Do you suggest whisking it into the flour? I don’t want to make cinnamon swirl-though your recipe works great for that too.
Tori Avey says
I usually add 2 teaspoons to my pumpkin challah, so maybe start there?
Robin A Bergamini says
I love making your challah recipie, its become a weekly favorite!! I’ve never made it before but have found your directions easy to follow. How would I make the challah into a loaf pan? More like a bread loaf for french toast, sandwiches? Would I till braid? A little confused….. and could I freeze a loaf?
Jennifer says
Hands down – the best challah recipe. For years I have tried with various recipes and my challahs always came out dense – but this. THIS!!! My husband now calls me challah queen. The only adjustment I made was adding 1/4 oil rather than 2 TBS. Thank you Tori (the real challah queen!)
C says
So I come back to the recipe time and time again! I started baking Again last year and I am so happy to have found this recipe!
Tali says
Hi Tori!
I had a question about egg wash! Do you also put the egg wash on the bottom part of the challah? Or only on the top?
Unfortunately, my challah gets too hard on the bottom so I’m wondering if that might do the trick… Or if you had any recommendations to avoid a hard bottom.
Tori Avey says
Hi Tali, you only egg wash the top and sides, not the bottom. A tough bottom might be a bit overcooked. Are you baking in the center of your oven? Baking close to the bottom can cause the bottom of the challah to over-bake. You can also use a thin layer of semolina or corn meal scattered on the baking sheet to provide some separation between the baking sheet and the challah, so that it doesn’t get quite so hot during baking.
Laura says
This was my first time making challah. My Bubi used to make it when I was a child and I loved it. I followed the recipe and it came out prefect. The only thing I would change is that I might have made each loaf a bit skinny and long. So it cooked too quickly.
Alison says
Thank you for this step-by-step process for making challah. My first try today and I set aside the time to do it. I’m in my 50s but a novice to bread making and was so pleased with the saucepan in the oven technique to help the dough rise – it was incredibly effective! Just wondered whether the plaited pre-baked challah needs covering/in a warm place whilst waiting for it to rise? I chose not to cover it and put it back in the oven with the same saucepan of water and it rose well within 30 mins. Many thanks for sharing your techniques and wonderful recipe! I will keep to to hand.