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Challah

5.00 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s)6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

This dough recipe works for traditional braided loaves as well as dinner rolls and sticky rolls. It’s light, moist, sweet, and rich.

Ingredients

  • 1-¾ cup Lukewarm Water
  • 1-½ Tablespoon Granulated Yeast
  • 1-½ Tablespoon Salt, Or Less To Taste
  • 4 whole Large Eggs, Beaten
  • ½ cups Honey
  • ½ cups Unsalted Butter, Melted (or A Neutral-Tasting Oil, Such As Canola), Plus More For Greasing The Cookie Sheet
  • 7 cups Unbleached All-purpose Flour
  • Egg Wash (1 Beaten Egg With 1 Tablespoon Water)
  • Poppy Or Sesame Seeds To Sprinkle On Top (optional)

Preparation

This recipe makes four 1-pound loaves, and the dough will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator, or 4 weeks frozen.

To make the dough, mix the yeast, salt, eggs, honey, melted butter or oil, and water in a bowl or container (at least 5-qt in size) that you can cover later. Using a wooden spoon (or a food processor or mixer with the dough attachment), mix in the flour. No need to knead. Mix until there are no more dry streaks of flour left.

Cover (but not airtight) and let rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. The dough will rise and then fall down a bit. When it does, it’s done and you can either use it immediately or store it in the refrigerator. The dough is quite sticky and easier to handle cold.

When ready to bake, take a cookie sheet and either grease it, line it with parchment paper, or lay a silicone mat in it. Dust some flour on the surface of the dough and take a 1-pound chunk of dough (about the size of a grapefruit). Dust it with a bit more flour and quickly shape it the way you would a boule, gently pulling the sides of the dough toward the bottom while rotating the dough. It should take you less than a minute to do this.

To make a braided loaf, divide the dough into three portions and roll each portion into a long rope. If the dough resists shaping, let it rest for 5 minutes and try again. When you have the ropes shaped, braid them starting from the center and working toward one end, then turn it over and work again toward the other end. This gives you a more evenly-shaped braid.

Let the loaf rest and rise on the cookie sheet for at least 40 minutes if fresh, and at least 1 hour and 20 minutes if it was refrigerated. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If baking it in a cookie sheet and not a stone (which is what I did), the oven only needs to preheat for about 5 minutes. Brush the dough with the egg wash, then sprinkle it with the poppy or sesame seeds.

Bake the loaf near the center of the oven for about 25-35 minutes, adjusting the time if you are baking different-sized loaves. When done, the challah will be golden brown, and the braids near the center of the loaf will give resistance when pressed. Challah doesn’t have the hard crust of a boule because of the fat in the dough. Let it cool first before eating, but I don’t follow that last step.

(Recipe shared with the permission of the authors of Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day.)

11 Comments

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chocolatechip on 12.8.2010

WISH ME LUCK!!
I will attempt to bake this bread tomorrow

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deliciousconcoctions on 3.12.2010

Just made this and it is so good. I couldn’t resist and sliced off a piece after letting it cool for 10 minutes, slightly sweet, light and fluffy. Prefect for breakfast!

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lesliepie on 2.25.2010

Great recipe! It was so light and fluffy, and EASY to make. Thanks!

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mermaidswheel on 2.25.2010

Made this and my husband and I devoured an entire loaf before it was cool. I love the storage option too, it works so well!

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sundayrain on 2.19.2010

Braided Challah with last night’s venison roast disappeared before I could bat and eye. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

6 Reviews

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Kelly on 4.30.2018

Delicious!

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urszula on 8.12.2016

I made this bread few times already- turns out perfect!
Thanks for sharing recipe!

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irissilvermoon on 1.5.2011

My husband and his Jewish family all gave this recipe their thumbs of of approval! I love the use of honey vs sugar, I think it makes all the difference in the taste.

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mommykit on 7.28.2010

This was so easy and lovely tasting! I am going to try it with WW flour, too. I think I will use it for my sandwich bread! Thanks for the great recipe!

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catyo on 6.10.2010

this was fantastic–it has become my standard loaf of Fancy Bread That Impresses People. I appreciate a recipe that improves my dinner party reputation!

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