Pumpkin Challah combines two holiday traditions into one delicious, beautifully braided treat! This lightly sweet, pumpkin-scented bread is the perfect centerpiece for an autumn holiday table.
With autumn upon us and squash decorating lining the aisles of the produce section, my mind keeps drifting to pumpkins… or, more specifically, to Pumpkin Challah Bread. A few years ago, Rob Eshman of the Jewish Journal’s Foodaism blog sent me his Sukkot recipe for pumpkin challah. Subsequently, I decided to try my own creative spin on his inspired idea. I wanted to add more sweetness and spice to the dough to give the bread a pumpkin pie essence while still retaining that wonderful eggy challah texture. I started with my standard challah recipe, added pumpkin puree, and played with the ingredients until I came up with the right balance of sugar, spice, and everything nice.
This recipe is the result of my little baking experiment. It’s sweet, but not cloying, and would make a unique and beautiful addition to the Sukkot or Thanksgiving table. It’s really tasty dipped in hot tea or cocoa, and makes a wonderfully cozy fireside snack. Top it with melty butter and honey for extra deliciousness. And here’s the best part—it makes mind-blowingly delicious Challah French Toast.
Wow. I’m making myself hungry.
For challah braiding instructions, click here. Enjoy!
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Pumpkin Challah
Ingredients
Challah Ingredients
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water, divided
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 large egg (white and yolk)
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (you may substitute canola oil - I prefer avocado oil for its health benefits)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- Pinch cloves
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups pumpkin puree (homemade or canned)
- 7-9 cups all-purpose baking flour
Egg Wash Ingredients
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon water
NOTES
Instructions
- Pour ½ cup of the lukewarm water (about 110 degrees) into a large mixing bowl. Add 2 packets of Active Dry Yeast and 1 tbsp 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!
- Once your yeast has activated, add remaining ½ cup lukewarm water to the bowl along with the rest of the sugar, egg, egg yolks, honey, canola oil, salt and spices. Use a whisk to thoroughly blend the ingredients together. Whisk in the brown sugar and pumpkin puree to form a thick liquid.
- 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.”
- 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 canola 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.
- 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.
- 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. Separate the dough into two equal portions; each portion of dough will be enough for a large loaf of challah. Click here to learn How to Braid Challah.
- After you’ve braided your challah loaves, place them on two separate cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (this will catch any spills from your egg wash and keep your challah from sticking to the cookie sheet).
- Prepare your egg wash by beating the egg yolks and water until smooth. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of the mixture onto the visible surface of your challah.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Let the braids 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.The challah will need 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. 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. 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.
Andrea says
A++++++ recipe!!! Will be making a few loaves for Thanksgiving. Perfect combination for Challah and Pumpkin Pie lovers. Have to confess I cheated using a bread machine for making the dough – and then took out to braid/shape before letting rise again and baking.
I also added 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the egg wash and topped with Pearl Sugar before baking (my kids love the pearl sugar!). Recipe is perfect with or without vanilla/pearl sugar topping – thanks for sharing!
Ilana Sinclair says
Hi, I’d like to make this using the bread machine. Did you just dump all the ingredients in at the beginning? Any tips? Thanks!
Janice Topf Shankman says
I first made this last Thanksgiving and OMG….SOOOO yummy! Especially right out of the oven with butter melting into it…mmmm
Adira Shakhnovich says
I made this a couple years ago and it was a huge hit!!! Totally making it again
Barbara Gottloeb Appell says
I’ve made this before and it’s DELICIOUS!
Sara says
DELICIOUS! I have made this more than once; it tastes like a donut without the frosting. It makes 3 humongous challos; I would maybe even make 4 medium challos. I have made with pumpkin and other hard squashes; the best one is buttercup since it is so dense and sweet to begin with.
JoanZ. says
I’ve always been a little intimidated by homemade bread (anything that involves dough not made in a bread machine). I’ve made four loaves of this so far, and they’ve been perfect and delicious. The step by step recipe and photos really helped me along…I knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing and what everything was supposed to look like. And the braiding was easy and fun! I did four strand, next time I will try six. I gave loaves as gifts and everyone is raving. I just made french toast with ours and it is fabulous. Thank you!
Joseph says
My mom and I made it together. Delicious!
Brook says
Hi, someone asked my question above but I didn’t see an answer. I’m panning to try your recipe but want to make individual rolls instead or along with bigger challahs. How long would you suggest baking them for?
Julia says
Hi Tori,
Thank you for your recipes, I made your Challah for Rash Hashana and now will try Thanksgiving recipe. My question what kind/ brand of pumkin puree do you use or do you have a recepie how to make a pumkin puree?
And the second question if I will bake Challah in the morning what is the best way to keep it fresh for dinner time.
Tori Avey says
Sorry for the delayed response Julia. Any pumpkin puree will work, canned or homemade.
Shari says
Hi – how sweet is this recipe? I want to make it to use in stuffing (with leeks, celery, carrots, mushrooms, apples, dried cranberries, and sausage, but am concerned that with both 1/4 c honey and 1/2 c brown sugar it might be too sweet. Thoughts on cutting back or leaving out the brown sugar? Martha Stewart has a recipe that is similar to yours, but uses twice as many eggs (!!) but only the 1/4 cup of honey.
Tori Avey says
Hi Shari, it is not overly sweet but it does have a slight sweetness to it. If you are using it for stuffing with apples (which add their own sweetness) I would cut the brown sugar to 2 tbsp. Enjoy!
Shari says
Perfect. Thanks!
Halcyeon Nowack-paniagua says
Looks great.
Dina B says
This looks awesome. Can I replace the flour with almond flour and still get a fluffy Challah. This looks amazing. I want to get rid of the cards and add protein.
Thoughts or suggestions. Love your blog
Tori Avey says
Hi Dina– I’m so sorry, but most definitely no, you cannot substitute almond flour in this recipe. I don’t really have any low carb suggestions here; challah relies strongly on gluten from wheat flour for elasticity in order to shape and braid it, and for that fluffy texture.
Kathleen Dixon says
Looks gorgeous and sounds delicious. I am definitely making this. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Natalie Neal Whitefield says
Beautiful <3
Madge Parker says
I would like a piece of that bread please
Meg Gillen says
Fantastic!
Lauren Elizabeth St Germain says
I followed this recipe for my first time making challah and it was amazing! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill says
These are so good, and your recipe instructions are almost fool proof.
Erika Gigstad says
That’s pretty.
Meredith Schneider says
Yum! Love pumpkin!!
Kimberly Benedict Kuist says
Beautifully festive and looks delish!