best challah (egg bread)
Anyway, I love the phrase so much, I use it all of the time, including times when it’s probably totally inappropriate. For example, the other day someone suggested that I might consider adding a Jewish Recipe index to smittenkitchen.com’s new Topic Indexes. I began to look for Jewish or holiday-themed recipes in my archives and came to a terrible realization: The offerings were quite paltry. Not only is there no brisket in there, where are the kreplach (dumplings), the kugels and my mother’s amazing apple cake? How can I not have a single recipe for challah?
A shonda, indeed.
Well, I aim to get us swiftly up to speed. Challah, or egg bread, is a lot like brioche in that it is a slightly sweet bread enriched with both eggs and fat, except challah uses oil instead of butter, and less of it, while using more eggs. It is mildly decadent and seriously delicious and it is a known fact across all lands (or at least diners in the tri-state area) that when slightly staled, makes the most amazing French toast there could be. Seriously. I actually get disappointed when I order French toast and receive a stack without the telltale crust of poppy seeds on it.
To bake it at home is to have your apartment swallowed whole by the an aroma so sweet, it alone could make a religious person out of you. I don’t know if it is the eggs or oils or extra sugar in there, but it puts all bread-baking aromas before it to shame, the kind of glorious scent you will want to walk around in a haze of in the days that follow. As you should. As we all should.
Bread-phobic? Check out my tips for beaming and bewitching breads before you start.
One year ago: Couscous and Feta Stuffed Peppers (Still our favorite!)
Two years ago: Fougasse
Best Challah (Egg Bread)
Adapted from Joan Nathan
The secrets to good challah are simple: Use two coats of egg wash to get that laquer-like crust and don’t overbake it. Joan Nathan, who this recipe is adapted from, adds that three risings always makes for the tastiest loaves, even better if one of them is slowed down in the fridge.
Time: about 1 hour, plus 2 1/2 hours’ rising
Yield: 2 loaves
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 to 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins per challah, if using, plumped in hot water and drained
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling.
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
2. Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading, but be careful if using a standard size KitchenAid–it’s a bit much for it, though it can be done.)
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
4. At this point, you can knead the raisins into the challah, if you’re using them, before forming the loaves. To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
5. Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
6. If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.
7. Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. (If you have an instant read thermometer, you can take it out when it hits an internal temperature of 190 degrees.) Cool loaves on a rack.
Note: Any of the three risings can be done in the fridge for a few hours, for more deeply-developed flavor. When you’re ready to work with it again, bring it back to room temperature before moving onto the next step.
Round or straight braid? Raisins or skip them? Straight loaves of braided challah are eaten throughout the year–typically on the Sabbath–round challahs, often studded with raisins, are served for the New Year and the other High Holidays that follow. I made one of each, so you could see examples.
woot! first post! any recommendations about bread braiding instructionals?
Beautiful! Can’t wait to try this.
The braiding instructions in the recipe are the clearest and easiest I have followed yet. In fact, they are the only ones I have ever been successful with, that is, for such an elaborate braid. Best advice? Have someone read them aloud to you. It is way too hard to keep reading and going back to braiding–you’ll lose your place.
Following up on Courtney’s request, can you make a round-ish loaf with this recipe? Being the new year and all.
This shiksah is thrilled you’re sharing your challah recipe. Your rugelach pinwheels made me farhklempt–now I’m simply over the moon again!
Oh, this looks fantastic! You know, sometimes it’s the most ingrained recipes that never get shared…thanks for bringing this one out!
To make a round loaf, simply bring the ends of the braids together, explained in step 4. The second picture is a round one, finished. Here’s another shot, as well.
doh, sorry! I will try to read the recipe all the way through next time instead of just drooling over your photos. I should put a shmatta over my embarrassed face!
Once again you take something that makes me think “oh my, that’s far too complicated for me” and make it seem so simple. I’m feeling confident about my bread making abilities thanks to that wheat bread recipe so I’ll have to give this a try.
Man! I am totally making that this weekend. Along with the honey cake. Right. At least my fellow vet students can share come Monday.
As an aside, I just made your roasted grape tomatoes for the 4th time (!), and they were perfect as always. Now if I can keep my 13-month-old and my husband away from them, I might actually be able to get some!
For those of use who don’t like raisins, can they be optional?
Wow. I just learned how to make rolls look somewhat normal. Maybe someday I’ll be a big girl and be able to make this. It looks wonderful… and I can only imagine that it’s better than the store bought Challah.
A challah related shonda: Putting easter eggs in a challah. Just so so so wrong.
The raisins are optional. They are often used for the High Holidays, as is the round format. In the instructions, there are options for making it with or without the raisins, and either braided straight or in a ring.
“Like, it would be bad enough to, say, eat ham and cheese on matzo on Passover”
Hahaha, I got in a bunch of trouble for this: http://www.alarmingnews.com/archives/007200.html
Your breads always look so fabulous, and I love that YOU love baking bread as much as I do! I’ve been a sucker for Challah since I was a teen, and my Jewish friends would come over for Christmas and Easter, I would go there for Channukkah and Passover. That’s also where I developed the habit of drinking four glasses of wine with dinner.
(FINALLY an excuse!!)
I’ve been itching to bake something for a while, and with the holiday coming up, what wonderful timing! I’m off to make this recipe now, and freeze a couple loaves to bring back home to Jersey for Rosh Hashana dinner. In terms of freezers and challah, though, do you brush it with the egg wash before freezing, or after defrosting? Both?
I’ve always wondered how the braiding was done! I love this bread..and like you said..it’s especially good as french toast.
Observation..you said to roll the dough balls into 12 inch strands for braiding. Is that long enough for a 6 strand straight braid or especially to curl the braid into a circle?
Do you have a pics of the braiding and making the circle?
I wonder if it’s okay to do the first rise/rest in the fridge overnight. The subsequent two rests the next morning at room temp?
Any thoughts on this Deb?
You are being so patient with people who are asking questions that were already covered in the directions! :) I did see that it barely fits into a standard kitchen aid bowl. Did you do it that way, or did you knead by hand???
Thanks!
Sooo…is it a shonda for the goyem that I use milk and butter in my challah recipe, making it non-pareve? I certainly hope hot… But I’ll give this recipe a try just in case :).
Beautiful beautiful bread. Just the ticket for the rainy Saturday that lies ahead of me. And if, despite such excellent instructions, the six-strand braid seems too daunting, Cooks Illustrated had a simplified technique a couple of years ago: You essentially make two three-strand braids, one slightly smaller than the other, and then lay the smaller one on top of the larger, pinch the ends of the braids togehter, and tuck the ends undneath.
Those are really beautiful loaves! Hope you have some left over for your French toast! ;)
Challah back girl!
I had it once. The one time I was ever invited for Shabbat dinner. I haven’t been asked back. I don’t know what I said? It must of been Jill’s fault. She probably embarrassed herself in front of her own people.
Rose — You brush it with the egg wash both before the final rise and before you put it in the oven. Step 5 notes that if you choose to freeze it before the final rise, that you should brush it first.
Susan — I didn’t measure to see if they were exactly 12-inches, but I am sure mine were close. Because everyone braids a little differently–more tight, more loose–people will end up with different length final braids. You can always stretch the braid lengthwise or in the case of the straight braided loaf, kind of smooth it to make it shorter, if need be.
Jacquie — You can do any of the risings at room temperature or in the fridge. The only rule is that if you get it from the fridge, that you get it back to room temp. before moving onto the next step.
Kirsti — I did at first use the knead setting but got frustrated with the way it kept winding itself around the top of the attachment (ew) and finished it by hand. However, you can knead it in two parts, if you wish, and then throw them back into one bowl to let it rise.
I have no room in my freezer for the extra loaf. Do you think this would work halved? I’ve been tinkering with a Nick Malgieri recipe, but I would love to try this one too. I use a straight 3 braid, though. Anything else gives me a headache.
I actually just got home from picking up our challah for tonight! It truly is the best type of bread…I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t just fall in love with it on their first bite! I’ve never made it myself though…I guess that would be a shonda :) I really should try but I do have a fear of bread making and I don’t think it will be conquered anytime soon.
When I make french toast, I only use challah bread. It’s a bit harder to find out here in Seattle area, but there’s a bakery down the way that makes it every Saturday.
Sharon — You can totally halve the recipe. In fact, I would have myself if I weren’t so intent upon give you all examples of both shapes. I have already given away parts of the sliced loaf to the exterminator, the cleaning lady and a friend who lives in the neighborhood!
Wow. I have been waiting for a fabulous challah recipe and it looks like this is it! Thanks!
I’ve made that recipe and I love it! Your Challah looks perfect and delicious! Have you tried Beth Hensperger’s version? It isn’t bad at all!
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, I just love fresh Challa smell! Reminds me of Friday afternoon before shabat. Thanks for the recipe!
The honey cake will be tried tomorrow, it seem way too good :)
Makes me want traditions like these…
at least there’s nothing about goyim making challah bread!
I LOVE Challah bread, I will try this.
Jess, once again you managed to post a recipe for the VERY SAME THING I was coming to see if you had. Get out of my head. And into my kitchen. As always, looks delicious.
YOU TUBE. There’s a lady who has an absolutely fantastic video of how to braid the 6-braid challah. Find a video demo online.
Problem solved!
I make a similar recipe and just love to make it because it’s so lovely, braided and brown. Beautiful photo!
I was going to read about challah, when my eyes zeroed in on the phrase “mother’s amazing apple cake.”
APPLE CAKE APPLE CAKE APPLE CAKE
please.
Margo..thanks for the Youtube demo tip. The video was very helpful.
I’m so glad you posted this, I’ve been thinking about making challah for a while now and now I don’t even have to go looking for a recipe! I do have a question, though — is it one and a half packages of yeast, or one and a half tablespoons? Aren’t most packages of dry yeast two and a half tablespoons? All of mine are. Am I buying the wrong sort of yeast?
*Oh. My. Goodness*
This Challah looks beautiful.
Oh. My.
jamaiia- Most packages of dry yeast are 2 1/2 teaspoons though for whatever reason people just round it up to a tablespoon. Nevertheless, one and a half would be about 1 1/2 tablespoons.
Your six-braided challah looks lovely. I have been making the three-braided variety for years, continually taking the easy way out. I, like Dana, opt for the milk and butter challah, probably a shonda when I served brisket but last year we had a vegetarian holiday so I felt guilt-free. I is much richer than the oil version.
http://www.izzyeats.com/2008/09/rosh-hashanah-is-almost-here-time-to.html
This looks beautiful! I made my first challah back in April and I think it’s one of the prettiest breads out there. Your braid looks beautiful. I made Peter Reinhart’s recipe last time, but I would love to give this recipe a shot to see how they compare.
OMG, you literally had me squeal at the sight of the first photo. Its gorgeous! I decided I’m making challah this weekend, and I’m not even Jewish.
Perfection! I tried several different challah recipes last year and none lived up to the challah of my dreams. You’ve never steered me wrong so this is so getting made tomorrow.
Wow, this tempts me to make bread. I’m afraid! but this is gorgeous.
I love challah and I haven’t had it in awhile…I’ll have to try to make it sometime. : )
i haven’t had any challah bread since i was in jerusalem 10 years ago!!! i keep saying i need to find a recipe and just make it and i never do… no excuses now! i think i’m more partial to the seame seeds, but who couldn’t use a few poppy seeds every now and then!! :)
This looks fantastic. I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a Challah bread myself, but it looks close to our so-called “Hefezopf” (which would translate to yeast braid – creative name, isn’t it?). I especially like the poppy seeds on the top, but wow – a six-stranded braid! You leave me in awe, and a urgent need to try this recipe.
I’m one of THOSE Jews, who make challah every Shabbat, and I’ve tried every single recipe ever including Joan Nathans. Nothing, but nothing tops the recipe in the original Jewish Catalog, the one with the orange cover. It’s a dairy recipe, but it tastes just as good if you use margarine instead of butter. But I HIGHLY recommend using the butter one time, so you can taste the most excellent, sweetest, delectable Challah on the earth.
Little known fact about me: I used to live across the street from Alan Ginsberg, the poet, and he told me that my challah was the best he’d ever had. Now that’s a recommendation!
I recommend YouTube, too. This is a good one but I recommend fast forwarding to 2:10 (unless you want to watch a 2-minute explanation of how to divide a lump of dough into 6 pieces):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22p3wIHLupc
Thank you for sharing. I look forward to hearing about your mother’s apple cake, too.
looks great but not as much as the honey cake
What a beautiful bread!
Like brioche, challah, when a bit stale (or not! Who can wait that long?) makes a lovely bread and butter pudding. Get an ovenproof dish – I use a Pyrex casserole dish, but I’m abnormal- and butter it. Cut slices of the bread and butter them. Lay the slices in layers in the dish, overlapping slightly. When you reach the top of the dish, stop.
In another bowl or a large measuring cup, beat about four eggs and two cups of milk with a generous grating of nutmeg, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and about half a cup of sugar or less. Add a dollop of your favourite booze, if you like: whiskey or bourbon is good, as is rum, brandy or Bailey’s (yum!).
Pour this slowly over the bread and allow to steep for about half an hour, while you turn the oven on to 180 C or 350 F. Cook for 45 minutes, or until it’s puffy and browned. It’s a good idea to put it on a sheet or pan, in case of overflow (I’m not always a good judge of volume.)
Eat it hot or cold. Hot is best, with a little cream or ice cream.
You can, if you’re really feeling decadent, smear the pieces of bread with orange or ginger marmalade after buttering them, or scatter raisins, currants or nuts between the layers. I’ve made this with regular bread, brioche, challah and croissants, and haven’t found a bad variation yet (not that I was looking!)
L’Shana Tova!
I am off to make a challah!
btw…I make Kreplach every year…I stick a piece of flanken in my chicken soup, and save after draining the soup…
saute a large onion in a little …ssshhhhhh…chicken fat, that I skim from the soup…ok… you can use canola oil…shred in the flanken, season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whiz it in the food processor. Make up a batch of egg noodle dough…your favorite recipe. I roll the dough out into sheets with my hand cranked pasta machine….cut into squares…add about a teaspoon of the meat filling ,wet edges and seal into a triangle….drop into boiling
water….they will float when done….thats it really…warm up in your soup before serving….Rosh Hashana heaven!
Thanks. I’ve been waiting for you to post this. Sweet New Year to you! Thanks for sharing.
“Holla”
Sorry. I just had to say it.
Also…………leftover challah makes excellent bread pudding!
L’CHAIM!!
Deb, this post is so funny to me because I’m converting to Judaism (I know, with my last name who would have guessed that Myles Standish is my great (x5) grandfather. Oh, America.). Anyway, I came back to print out the honey cake recipe saw the challah and thought. “Great, Deb is going to usher me through all these new holidays!” Only to find out that this is a new trend for SK. Keep them coming because I need all the help I can get. :-)
I used to adore making Challah when I was in high school. We had a bread machine and I scoffed at it and would make my beautiful braided loafs … I haven’t made one in at least 10 years though, and this makes me think I should start again!
I’ve been searching for a great challah recipe with Rosh Hashanah coming in the next few days… we have a great bakery to get it from, but I’d love to make it at home and this sounds like a great way to start.
I’ve made challah a few times, but never with raisins! This I must try
Hi,
I love baking challa bread!!! I always make the Wolfgang Puck recipe from this book: http://www.ecookbooks.com/p-6149-wolfgang-puck-makes-it-easy.aspx?affiliateID=10116 .
Jewish cooking: I just posted a recomendation for a cookbook with wonderful recipes on my blog: Jewish Cooking For Dummies cookbook – http://wflavors.blogspot.com/2008/09/jewish-cooking-for-dummies-cookbook.html
oh wow. this is stunning. looks like a great recipe.
I’m making your ricotta pancakes tomorrow for breakfast. I’m never good at these kinds of things. by the time I figure out how to cook the pancakes properly, I’ve eaten 100 of them and can’t bear to look at the griddle any longer. alas. I’m going to try to have patience.
That is by far the best looking challah bread I’ve ever seen. Excellent work and presentation, I just want to rip a piece off of that wonderfully chewy eggy bread…
Beautiful challah! Even though yeast scares me, I will attempt to make this today! I also would love to try the recipe for the apple cake- I just had a slice of one for the first time from a local bakery and it was amazing!
My son Ezra (age 12) has been baking challah all by himself for over a year and a half. When I saw that he took an interest in the whole yeast process whenever I baked, I taught him how to do it step by step. He now sells up to 22 challahs every other week and is donating the money to a charity – all this in honor of his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. Since he began baking, he’s gotten so good at it (not great at the clean-up part, but what can I do?) that he claims his challahs are better than mine (and I bake professionally!) He’s begun adding flavors to his challahs, and now his rosemary/garlic/olive oil challahs are the local rage. Since he only makes 22, he turns many people away and people call early on in the week to make sure to place their orders. The thing about making challah well is knowing that although dough is rather forgiving – too sticky just add flour, too dry add liquid – is that you have to develop a feel for it in your hands. You can judge a good dough by its elasticity, its weight and its soft and slight stickiness. As my grandmother used to say, the dough, when risen should be as soft and puffy as a newborn baby’s bum (she said it in Yiddish, so it was pretty funny) Teach your kids to make challah – it impresses most adults and children alike when a young child is able to pull it off well and it gives the kid a kind of confidence they won’t get anywhere else.
Deb you were reading my mind!
I actually searched for Jewish recipes on here 2 days ago! (after seeing the honey cake recipe and figuring you must too be a nice jewish girl)
Definitely making the honey cake and the round challah for the holiday!
My first job when I was 15 was at this cute little bread store and I loved their Challah bread! I almost forgot about it until seeing this post and I’m so excited that I may even try and make it on my own. Yours looks beautiful, by the way!
My husband’s Jewish and so I’ve been introduced to some very delicious cuisine, challah included. He’s away for now, but he made sure to start a “recipe box” on Williams Sonoma and urged me to look at his recipes. Once I saw challah was one of them, I immediately wanted to learn (never made bread before…eeeek!) My mouth is watering just reading your description of the smells and tastes. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello
First comment ever but I’m halfway through making this. Just doing the last rise. Horribly, your front page has just presented me with a “Get a flat stomach” ad. Woe is me. The opposite will surely happen. Anyway I love this love this love this. xox
Hi Deb! This looks amazing. I just made your cream cheese kugel for monday and i absolutely can’t wait to try it.
Yo Deb, my challah is in the oven as I type. That photo drew me in–I think I’ve eaten challah about once in my life. Tomorrow morning’s french toast is gonna go great with the breakfast sausage I just bought!
Oh, and my braid is less than half the length of yours–I only had three or four repeats. I made one loaf after halving the recipe and was sure your photo of the full unbaked braid was one entire recipe! I wonder how that happened…did you stretch the strands a lot while braiding?
I am so amazed!! I find such inspiration in your blogg. What photoes!
What text! What food! I am so, so pleased that I have found your blogg. First class! And first time I have made food after a blog recipe. Who would have thought that Manhatten recipies would touch a woman i Norway. I love it!
Mmmmmmm…challah. It truly is the king of breads! I used to bake a loaf every Friday when I was still living with my parents. It’s remarkably easy and non-intimidating.
And speaking of kugel, which is to my mind the ultimate comfort food: I make my grandma’s recipe which has brought tears to the eyes of members of the Tribe and goyim alike. I’d be happy to share it with you–I’ve never had better!
I’ve never made bread before, but I’ve loved challah ever since I was little.
My family has never celebrated Shabbat, so I only got to eat challah at temple.
I’m definitely trying this as soon as I can!
Challah has been one of my favorites ever since pastry school…this one looks GREAT!
“Hello gorgeous”.
Thanks for sharing this recipe with such clear instructions. I’d love more Jewish recipes, Russian recipes (Russian Jewish?). You mentioned there was a time when you concentrated on Indian recipes. I’d love to have some of your favorite Indian recipes, too. Thanks Deb and Happy 5770 (?) New Year!
p.s. As wonderful as Challah is for French toast, I live in San Francisco and I love making it with a good French boule like Boudin’s one pound size. The crust will be chewy but that’s OK with me.
I’ve been making bread every Tuesday for the past few weeks (It’s my day off)… I can’t wait to start on this one! …and then I’ll probably leave it out to get stale so I can eat the entire loaf as french bread :)
Wow that was good. My 3 year old son made it with my husband and had a ball doing the kneading and plaiting. Only thing was it sunk after the 3rd rising, so although it tasted yummy, it was a bit flat! Never mind. We ate it as french toast this morning – what a great idea! I caramelised some slightly under-ripe nectarines as well, and put madagascan vanilla in the egg mixture, along with cinnamon sugar. We ate the whole lot with Vermont maple syrup, hoarded from our visit 2 years ago. Really very scrumptious! The slightly tart nectarine was gooey on the edges with dark muscovado sugar, and contrasted really well with the sweetness of the maple syrup and the savoury egg. My kids (3 & 14months) have just sat there in total silence for 30 minutes (gotta be a record!) and wolfed the whole lot down!
Now then, why did it sink? Any ideas?
Hi Jen — Sometimes if breads over-proof, they will sink. After that, the reasons that breads can sink are (almost) endless, and your guess is as good as mine: There could be too much yeast or sugar, too much water, not enough salt, the yeast could be old, the yeast could be freakishly hyperactive or the flour could be past its prime.
You mentioned that you don’t have a brisket recipe in your archives. Please add one! The only brisket I’ve made has been the one from Epicurious/ Bon Appetite “Brisket with Portabello Mushrooms and Dried Cranberries”..which is SO outstanding it keeps me from trying others. I hope you try it, if you haven’t already.
thank you so much! i was just looking the other day for a challah bread recipe for my half jewish boy :D
Marie, 5769.
Debra,
Your challah came out GORGEOUS!
That is one thing I don’t enjoy doing…..baking bread.
We have too many good bakeries in NYC and NJ, so I let them do the job!
L’Shana Tovah.
Stacey Snacks
Can you add the recipe for Easter challah that you were talking about at the BDL? The pancetta-stuffed one. And can I use sour cream instead of creme fraiche in the dipping sauce?
OK, I know this is likely a stupid question, but I am making this bread for a Jewish friend for the holiday. I have already made the dough, and came across this website for the braiding directions, but my recipe uses milk and butter. Does this violate dietary restrictions and do I need to bake a new one?
Dee, if your friend keeps a Kosher home, then yes, this will probably present a problem for her. If she doesn’t, you might want to ask if she minds a dairy Challah for her Rosh Hashona meal. For many people it doesn’t matter, but for others it does. The best way not to make a mistake is to ask! Nobody will be insulted if you ask. In fact, they’ll be thrilled with how respectful you are!
Awesome bread! I’d never made challah before and rarely even bake bread, but this just came out of my oven … and it’s beautiful and wonderful. Everyone who loves good bread should try this. I can’t wait to figure out how to use up the rest of the loaf.
Thanks, Deb!
This looks great. I will have to give it a try. If there is any left, I am sure it will make liller french toast.
ps. I have a to die for brisket recipe!
Oh man, Deb, this stuff is AMAZING. I utterly failed at wheat bread a week or so ago but this was flawless. Easy recipe and it rose perfectly (I did mine in a warm oven). It tastes fantastic, even though I ate it with sausage :P I also made your carmelized shallots, and spinach, for a really delicious, smitten kitchen-ified dinner! http://flickr.com/photos/girlandetc/2897280680/in/photostream/ Thanks for yet another awesome recipe. :)
I wanted to mention that if you taper both ends of your strands, you’ll end up with a loaf that is pointy on the ends and bulges in the middle (more like how you see it in bakeries). :D
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the topic index! I love it. It is so handy and I love the organization!
Simply beautiful…
Hi Deb,
I haven’t made Challah since I was a Bat Mitzvah (required learning at my shul growing up)…maybe I’ll try again this year!
When I learned, I did a two layer, seven strand braid. First, a four layer braid (instructions http://www.virtue.to/articles/braiding.html), and then place a three strand braid over it. My instructor explained it was for all the symbolism associated with the number seven, esp. for normal shabbat…
My hero!!I’ve trimmed down my list of must read blogs,but,you have so many things I want to make that your a keeper. I just made the apple pizza it was soooo good.I kept it for the family and promised everyone at work they could have some the next time.( yeah,right) Challah is on the list.
any chance you’ll do a test run of the 2 NYT challah recipes from this weekend (though I don’t think making one loaf from 9 cups of flour is ever a good idea).
Just a quick question Deb, can I do some of these steps and keep the dough in the fridge over night?
P.S. I youtubed you on Martha, I loved it, I also felt like I knew you (creepy, I know).
Thanks, Shana Tovah.
Our local bakery has great challah, but it’s quite pricey. And I’m a fan of using it for bread pudding and of course French toast which you already said. Now I can try to make my own which I never thought I could. Your recipes make me really happy.
Alphie — Great timing, huh? As much as both recipes looked delicious, they seemed so untraditional–especially the more modern one. I’m always looking for the best version of the classic I can find, which in this case, is the one above. [Also, I suspect if I blogged it, I'd get 150 comments telling me that it is wrong because challah needs to be paerve (though we're not Kosher), but that's neither here nor there.] Perhaps one day, though…
Rebecca — I note at the end of the recipe that any of the risings can be done in the fridge for a bunch of hours. But I am not entirely sure about overnight as I have not tested it. If you’d like to do that, you might consider reducing the yeast by one-third to give yourself insurance in case 8 or more hours is too much.
I always have the feeling with the recipe redux column that they take a good, reasonable recipe and turn it into an avant garde difficult recipe that no one will ever have time for (I also note that while a dairy challah is delicious and would work with dairy meals even for kosher folks – it does seem weird to write an article on challah and never explain why they aren’t traditionally dairy). I have my standard go-to challah, but am definitely going to try yours this weekend and try to master braiding (I always just do 3 strands.)
I made the honey cake last night with apples – looks wonderful and was a snap to make (and made so much that I have lots to give away).
I made your challah this weekend for a dinner party, and it was a hit! I pretty much just ate this bread for every meal this weekend. Thanks for such a great recipe! Your recipes are always so well written, I almost never screw them up. I’m pretty new at cooking, so that is a high compliment for you considering how many other recipes I do mess up. :-) Have a good week!
I’ve been reading your website for several months now – this and the honey cake are the first things I’ve actually made from it. BEST. CHALLAH. RECIPE. EVER. I was so pumped that mine looked just like your in the braiding stage (well – less complicated braid – but the dough looked the same.) Thanks! And my extended family will thank you when they get theirs tonight! The honey cake? So moist and delicious. And smells fab to boot! And yes – I’m giving away tons at the office – so it smells heavenly today too.
Thanks Deb. I’ll be trying a TON more of your recipes now!
This is one recipe I will NOT be attempting…I’ve tried – many times before – and all I have to show for it is a shallacked loaf of bread that used to be a door stop before I realized how ridiculous it looked! I’ll take your word for it – I’m sure it’s wonderful but I’m not able to bake bread…maybe in my next life! I found something in my travels that reminded me of you and your blog…I’d love to send it to you?!? Please send me your address and I’ll get it in the mail asap – I think you’ll love it! At least I hope so! You can think of it as a thank you for all of the great meals you’ve given me and the mister!
I’m not a Jew, but I am a New Yorker and therefore am lucky enough partake in all kinds of tasty treats from other cultures. I remember about five years ago taking my Pennsylvania-Dutch-born boyfriend (now husband) to EJ’s on the UWS where he decided to order the challah toast with his breakfast and pronounced it just like it’s spelled. I don’t know who laughed harder, me or the waitress. Now that’s he’s officially a New Yorker himself, I think I might bake him a loaf of this bread just to remind him how far he’s come.
A note to Hilary – those braided loaves you may have seen with Easter eggs tucked into them are most likely not challah, but a traditional Greek Easter bread, baked with hard boiled eggs (usually dyed red for symbolism) tucked into the braids and topped with sesame seeds.
I can’t tell you how great that looks! I wish I made bread more often! Your dough looks so perfect and the finished product, MMM i can almost smell the freshness!
This IS a fantastic recipe. I made 2 nearly perfect loaved this weekend. Sooo good, and did french toast Sunday brunch.
very very funny and very delicious looking..happy new year then!
Debra,
My goyisha husband, who is Italian, LOVES kreplach.
There is no where in NJ to get them for him, so when we go to Queens, NY, he orders them in the deli.
I thought of making sausage and peppers tonight for Rosh Hashanah for my non Jewish guests. Now that would be a SHONDA for the goyim (& they would’ve loved it!!!).
Stacey Snacks
I fancy myself an accomplished little challah-baker, so it’s hard for me not to take the title “best challah” as a challenge. But, I think there’s enough room in this world for two best challah bakers. I’m probably way too proud of my 6 piece braid, but I find that the secret to success when figuring out braiding is to constantly repeat the mantra “inside/outside, outside/middle” and never drop both braids at the same time. It helps to practice with shoe strings too!
You have convinced me to try my hand at baking bread! Thanks for all fo the great tips and tricks :-)
I think Challah bread makes some of the best French toast! Lovely loaves you’ve made!
Yum! This is the same recipe my mother always makes.
Would love to hang out in your apartment (to be swallowed by the aroma of this deliciousness)…just found your blog – truly excellent!
–Marc
I looks like the hair of Rapunsel.:) Whoa!
I’m making it! I’m very excited. My braid is in the freezer and I’m waiting till tomorrow to bake. I added one scraped vanilla bean and some honey to make it even sweeter. It looks gorgeous flecked with the vanilla beans. Can’t wait to see how it comes out!
Oh man, gimme that loaf of bread, some cheese and a good bottle of chablis. Yummy! It does look like it has pretty good instructions.
I just tried making fried chicken for the first time tonight. hehehe I just HAD to blog bout it. :) hehe And OMG is fried chicken soooo much better when you make it yourself at home. :) My son was so excited when I showed it to him. It was worth making it completely.
I bet he would love this too. I’m going to have to try this especially the braiding part. I love doing that kinda stuff.
Shanah Tovah Deb and Alex!
Lovely blog and beautiful pics!…just found it,
Susannah x
The challah is awesome. Any chance of sharing your mother’s apple cake recipe?
what a great looking bread!!! thanks for sharing… :)
That is the most beautiful loaf of Challah I have ever seen. Wow!
Can I say your Challah looks better than the Challah that was in the NY Times this weekend? Oh lord, if only I lived next door to you.
I made 1/2 recipe of the challah and it was wonderful and looked as if it came from a bakery. Yeast baking is my favourite. After the second rise, I made my 2 braids, covered with plastic wrap and chilled for a couple of hours. They did not rise at that time. I egg washed them after chilling and put into a warm over to rise. They were beautiful.
how long will it keep uncut before it goes stale? what’s the best way to store it if you want to make it ahead of time (Frozen baked, frozen pre-baked)? Thanks!
Thanks for the lovely photo and inspiration. I made challah on Friday, two loaves. We destroyed 1/3 of the first loaf immediately. Ate some more with dinner. The next day we put the bread knife away and just pulled sections off and stuffed them into our happy mouths. I gave a half loaf to our 90-year-old neighbor. This morning I made French toast with it and served it with homemade plum jam. So much enjoyment for such little effort. Bread baking is just the best!
I stumbled upon your blog looking for a babka recipe (which was delicious), and love the rest of it as well. There are so many delicious challah recipes out there, and Joan Nathan is always a solid bet. If you’re interested in whole-wheat challah, I’ve developed this recipe over the years and find it works quite well: http://2hippos.blogspot.com/2008/09/detour-whole-wheat-challah.html
we aren’t Jewish (I’m a pentacostal pastors kid!!) but we love and pray daily for Isreal, so in our home we celebrate our versions of the feasts and holidays … Challah bread is why my kids want to convert! but until now I don’t think we’ve had the GOOD stuff!! thank you! thank you! thank you! now if you can help me with these potato/plum dumplings I’d name my next baby after you!
Oh, Deb! I love challah bread………..and adore using the stale leftovers (if ever there are any) for delightful French toast! Thanks for this recipe!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for inspiring me to make this recipe! It was the most anticipated dish of our Rosh Hashana meal and easier than I thought it would be to make!
Such a gorgeous challah! I love your braiding. Fresh challah on Friday nights or any holiday meal is the best. We had an amazing round challah on Rosh Hashanah!
Have you seen the challah recipe redux in the NY Times? Butter is used! Now THATS a shonda!
I was using the Martha Stewart challah recipe (which I love), but of course I lost it – thanks for coming to the rescue! This one is perfect. I had it with homemade veg soup on a blustery Seattle weekend. YUM.
For years the only challah recipe I’ve used is my grandmother’s. . . so I decided to give yours a shot over the weekend. I halved the recipe because I like to do the first knead in my bread machine. When the bread machine finished doing its thing after 1 1/2 hours, I noticed that the color of the dough was funny. . . turns out that I used King Arthur’s white whole wheat flour instead of regular white flour. It wasn’t challah exactly, but it was delicious.
My kids and I made Challah last week on a day off from school. My 7 year old carefully read the directions and did her own braid! And this recipe is quick too…I don’t think it took any more time to form than a pan of rolls would take, and this looks SOOOO impressive!
“Smitten Kitchen” is becoming synonymous with”yummy treats” at our house, although I have to admit that I haven’t tried any of your vegetable recipes yet. But oh, that dimply plum (or apple or blueberry or plain) cake!
DELICIOUS…the first bread I’ve made in 40 years and the first time I’ve braided. Your instructions for braiding were great (the first loaf was a trial loaf and I got the hang of it on the second loaf. Both looked good but one more professional than the other). The family was amazed to see me being such a bulabusta since I normally don’t do the household cooking. This was easy to make and well worth the time. I’m hooked – I will definitely make this frequently. I have never found a good store-bought challah here in the Seattle area and now I don’t have to look any further. I’ll make it. Your apple cake was also to die for. Now I can’t wait to try your honey and chocolate peanutbutter cake. Hmmm, I wonder how many Weight Watcher points for that piece of apple cake I had tonight:).
I halved the recipe, and it worked perfectly. As I said in a previous post, I let my bread machine do the first knead and rise for me. My hands are slightly arthritic, so this is a compromise that allows me to punch down and knead for the second rising, and still be “hands on.”
How do you keep your braids from splitting when baking? No matter how much the bread rises before going into the oven, and no matter how much egg wash I use,no matter how tightly I braid, the loaf spreads out and there’s spaces between the braids with no hard crust.
BTW, I always thought my grandmother’s recipe was the “best,” but I have to admit that yours is better!
I made the recipe and the bread look amazing! But it had a slightly heavy taste and was not fluffy like the Challah from the bakery. Anyone know why this happened?
I have always been terrified of making bread, but I made this and it was amazing and this morning I made french toast with it and THAT was amazing too. I went for the sesame seeds + raisins option — so so good! The sesame seeds got all toasted in the oven. :)
But I only used 6 cups of flour. Seemed odd that it would be so far off what you said it would be, but that’s when the dough held together and started whispering “please knead me!”, so I did and it all worked out.
Try bread and butter pudding with leftover challah… soooo good.
Deb, I LOVE your blog, and your recipes and read it everyday (RSS). In fact today I’m making the challah. I have to say I’m disappointed in the Yes on PRop 8 advertisement on your website. This is a hugely detrimental proposition that limits basic rights and equalities. http://www.noonprop8.com
no on 8 in california
Hey there — I’m sorry. We had seen that ad slip through–which is not only completely inappropriate for this site’s content, but in no way represents our views–and blocked it. We will leave (another) complaint with GoogleAds, as this should not be showing up.
I have the same problem with my braids spliting as verbal_one. Either my braids flatten with no definition or they have some definition but have the splits with spaces between the braids without the crust. Can you help me?
I’ve been wondering why people leave so many comments for you but now I know! I have been baking in preparation for some friends coming this weekend and made this challah bread as a trial run today (froze one loaf). It was absolutely delicious. I’ve never even had challah before but the recipe and your instructions were good enough that I had no trouble. I have some World Peace cookie dough in the freezer as well as a pie crust that I can’t wait to bake. Great site. Thanks for the recipes.
Mmm! I just pulled my loaf out of the oven. Mine turned out very delicious. I’m wondering though if all homemade breads have the same sort of underlying taste? I’ve only made/had a few homemade breads and they all sort of taste similar to me. This challah is really delicious but doesn’t seem to have the same sweet egg sort of flavor I’m used to from store bought. Though, who knows with store bought…is this recipe and the result very traditional?
The only thing I did differently than your recipe was I braided all of it together and it turned into a round loaf the size of the Pan-Normous Pizza Hut box. Thoroughly done all the way through though! When I was rolling out the strands for braiding, my dough seemed not to fit the proportions you mentioned. In any case it’s still super delicious and I’m taking it to dinner tonight. Thanks for posting. :)
Oh Deb, I’ve made this several times now (a Sabbath tradition at our flat), and it’s perfect every time! However, I bought a copy of “The Bread Bible” By Rose Levy Beranbaum, and her challah looked so tasty I decided to try it! What a hassle! Make a sponge the night before, find room for it in our (tiny, UK-sized) fridge, knead, rest, knead again, rise, punch down, rise again, divide, rest, shape, rise again. It also uses 6 eggs for one loaf! Yeah, we’ll just be sticking with yours, though we do replace the sugar with honey. Yay for awesome, easy challah!
Hi Deb,
I would love to only make one challah but I’m confused how I would halve the recipe. How much yeast and how many eggs would I use?
Thanks!
You’ll need 2.5 eggs, but they are hard to divide. You can either whisk one and divide it in half, or just use 2 eggs + 1 yolk. You want 3/4 tablespoon of yeast.
Very impressive. A perfect bread. I was very doubtful about how roughly you treat the poor little yeastlets at the beginning of the recipe, but I just did it and am converted. A simple and wonderful Challah! Thanks.
this looks absolutely delicious!
i’ve been deciding between making this recipe or
epicurious’ version….http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chernowitzer-Challah-235871
im just a little confused- does this recipe use all purpose, or bread flour?
and instant or regular yeast?
thanks
The recipe clearly notes both active dry yeast and all purpose flour — I don’t understand your question.
I made a half batch and it was HUGE! The finished loaf was almost as long as my arm! I used King Arthur white whole wheat with some added vital wheat gluten, so I felt more pleasure and less guilt while I considered the increased fiber content. The peach jam I slathered on top prolly didn’t help, but it was delicious on a thick slice.
I dream of a loaf made of white AP with each strand rolled in cinnamon and sugar, though, I admit.
I loved that this barely needed kneading and that it wasn’t overly sweet. Thanks so much!
I have never been able to make bread in my life – either gooey or hard as a brick!! LOL!! I followed your recipe exactly and this bread was great. Even the braiding of the bread went smoothly. I’ve just began celebrating the Sabbath traditions and this was perfect. Thank you for the great recipe and taking the time to post for us.
My first loaf just went into the oven… very excited. So far, your directions have been easy to follow and following each resting, the dough just grew more beautiful. I am not Jewish, but grew up in NYC and now live in Upstate NY where one can not only find any challah bread, but there aren’t any decent bagels to be had! Thank you for this recipe — if my challah comes out looking partially as good as yours, I’ll be thrilled!
One question: After braiding the dough and egg-washing it, do you leave it uncovered for the last resting? I loosely covered mine with plastic, but it got messy when it came time to remove it for baking.
I just made this recipe…my first challah after many years of buying in the store. I happened to get a call from my mother while the dough was still rising and she told me her favorite braiding trick (borrowed from Jenny Grossinger’s Art of Jewish Cooking). I didn’t quite believe would work, but the results are too beautiful to argue with! For one loaf, divide the dough so that one half is about 15% larger than the other. With the large half, divide into three strands and braid, then do the same to the smaller half. Lay the small braid on top of the large one, so that the beginning of the braids are at opposite ends. When the dough rises again it will appear that you’ve made an amazingly complex 12-stranded masterpiece!
Hi Deb!! I made this yesterday and it was a HUGE HUGE hit! Took it for a party too… Man! I was showered with compliments.. and while that was happening..I was thanking you inside :) Thank you sooo much!! This will be my next post onmy blog,will link back to you.. So please check my blog on Monday :) Thanks Deb!!! I LOVE your blog!! Toooo good!! :)
xoxo
Ria
Just got done making this and it is PERFECT. Even better slathered with a pad of european butter and some nutella, but it certainly doesn’t need it. Just heavenly. And so easy! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Many years ago I made Challah from a recipe that my mother-in-law had. It was written by her mother on scraps of paper. It is a priceless document because Grandma Yetta wrote it and it is her her version of “Yid-glish”. I was much younger when I made the wonderfully moist and delicious Challah from those scraps of paper. At that time I didn’t fully appreciate the significance of such a family heirloom. I hope that soon we can find the original handwritten recipe in my mother-in-laws cookbooks. I found your recipe because I have been searching for a moist egg bread to make Pan de Huevo which is a Mexican cultural icon. Pan de Huevo, egg bread, are round buns with a unique shell-like sugar topping. Admittedly, Mexican breads and pastry are very far from being a strong point of the culture’s cuisine. So I have set out to make a better mouse trap. I will let you know how my blending of cultures turns out. I expect tastiness and cultural satisfaction all the way around.
Today I’ve made your challah recipe for the second time. I actually found a recipe for bread over on Pioneer Woman’s website for chive bread–but alas, I don’t have a dutch oven as the recipe calls for. After looking around for awhile on the internets to see if I could find a good bread recipe, I decided to just return to one of the successful bread recipes I’ve made before. So I’ve added fresh chive to the challah, and instead of braiding it, I’ve twisted it into large dinner rolls. Mmm. It’s fabulous.
well. . ..i just tried the recipe and it came out SO dry I could not get it to hold together enough to even begin to knead. Frustrating, especially at midnight and making bread for shabbat tomorrow. Has anyone else had this problem? I threw the batch out and am going to try again with less that 8 (!) cups of flour. Help!
It could be that too much flour was added, or it was overbaked, or that it didn’t rise enough to get soft and chewy. Be sure that you’re not packing your cups with flour, that can greatly increase the amount of each cup.
Hey Deb
I always have this problem with challah: when i’m kneading it is SO sticky half of it ends up on my hands. The bread always comes out tasty, but the dough before its baked never looks as good as yours or anything other show where I’ve seen it made. It just stays sticky. It’s even hard to form. It still turns out tasty in the end, but I am clearly doing something wrong. Am I not kneading it long enough? Too much flour? Too little flour? I’ve also noticed in other recipes similar to yours that you put in more eggs and no extra water (apart from the yeast mixture) and some calls for 2 eggs and another cup of water. Could this be my downfall? Please help! I’m so frustrated!
I would try a combination of more kneading (you can rest it for couple minutes mid-knead, and you will probably find the dough a little less sticky when you come back) and a little more flour. Check out my bread tips too; hope they help.
Thank you thank you thank you :) I have a guilty (now not-so) secret habit of opening a bag of challah and tearing into it like it was popcorn. I just can’t stop. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I’ll be giving it a go!
I made this recipe over the weekend. It was delicious and made great french toast for dinner today. It was my first bread-making experience ever and my first challah ever and all turned out very well! Thank goodness for patient mothers who have made far more bread than me and for patient blog writers like yourself. Not everyone has someone to be in their kitchen and help them with the steps, you are doing a very wonderful thing here.
Want that nice yellow color that you find in your challah from the bakeries? Substitute light-brown sugar for the granulated sugar!
I’m not Jewish, but I work for a Jewish family and I make this for them every Friday – with a few variations. They like it better than the bread they get at the Kosher markets!
Wow, excellent bread! You weren’t kidding about the smell that goes through the whole house. (Actually, I’d better quickly pre-apologize if I’ve done anything sinful or offensive with this recipe. I know absolutely nothing about kosher food/cooking.) I used 1/3 white whole wheat flour (plus a bit of gluten) because I love it so, and I added a tablespoon of dried milk powder to help it poof up. Indeed, I ended up with a giant, poofy loaf that impressed the daylights out of my family as they dipped slices of it into chicken noodle soup. I have a bit left that I brought home, and I can’t wait to toast some tomorrow and maybe make some of the mythically good french toast I have read about. I think I’ll be assigned to bring the homemade bread to Thanksgiving this year, and I might just make a full batch of this and bring both loaves to the dinner. Thanks for a stunner, Deb.
Just made this today but used acacia honey instead of sugar – it’s wonderful!!!! The best challah I’ve made so far. Thanks for the recipe.
Here’s a question I didn’t see. Is it ok to not braid it at all and bake it like a chubby baguette? I mean other than being potentially sacriligious… Would it bake ok? I don’t see why not, but I figured I’d ask.
Thanks! Looks delicious!
After trying out various recipes, I do have to say that this is the best challah recipe I’ve been able to find. Question: What do you put the challah on to bake? Do you just use a metal sheet, or put it on a rack?
Thanks!
This was absolutely DELICIOUS! I cannot wait to make some french toast with it tomorrow morning! Did a four strand braid, and it came out beautifully :) Thanks for such a great recipe!
I live in a student co-op and made your challah bread tonight for 60+ hungry college students. They devoured every last bite! Mmmm, thanks for the recipe. This was super easy to make and super easy to multiply!
I blogged about it on my blog and referenced you!
http://figsinmybelly.blogspot.com/2009/09/lets-give-hoot-and-holla-for-this.html
I have a question, though I won’t be able to apply the answer until my next attempt, as the first is in the freezer, with hubby directed to take it out at 1pm so that I can bake these not-as-pretty-as-yours loaves for our Rosh Hashanah dinner.
When you “punch down” the dough, do you then also knead it again? It doesn’t seem to be the case, but I’m seeing some references to it in the comments. I didn’t knead mine… (That’ll just make it more brioche-like, I suppose…)
I’m SO looking forward to this. I use spelt flour, which I’ve found leads to stickier dough. I had some attempts at challah about 4 years ago, and the time we tried to make it un-sticky it tasted like sawdust. When I was slightly more judicious in my flour use, it was like pull-rolls. Finally, 3rd attempt, it was CHALLAH! Sadly, with no time I haven’t made it since (and therefore haven’t had challah since). Now I even get round loaves!
Tonight I think I’ll bake a honey cake…
i’ve been making this for the last 4 weeks for our shabbat dinner. i’ve been told it’s my best challah yet! i’m making it today for rosh hashanah with raisins. not sure if you’ve ever plumped raisins with port instead of water, but it adds a deep flavor to raisins. i use it when i make cookies with raisins, as well.
I just want to thank you for helping me conquer my fear of BREAD! I was so intimidated to try baking bread – I’ve only had epic failures in the past (the unfortunate brioche incident of 2007), and wanted so badly to experience the scent of warm baking bread in my own home. I followed your recipe and ended up with the most delicious, beautiful challah. I won’t lie – my first attempt was another FAILURE because the yeast was dead, but after my husband consoled me and went out and bought me a new packet of yeast, I finally tasted sweet, sweet, raisin-y victory. This was my first Rosh Hashanah meal and a total success, and I must say the challah was the centerpiece of the meal. I also made Marcy Goldman’s Majestically Moist Honey Cake, which was a big hit. And I think I’m a little bit in love with your site because I’ve spent the last few hours hitting “Surprise me!” over and over again and oohing and aahing over the photos/recipes and printing them out. L’Shanah Tova and THANK YOU!
I can relate…I’m a Jewish Mutha and never have made challah. Now that I’m in culinary school (FCI) I had the chutzbah to try…and I followed this recipe and they came out AMAZING. My daughter helped with braiding. A wonderful experience. Love your site.
Great braiding instructions!! I had my daughter read them to me. Hope my Challah will some day be as lovely as yours!!!!
Ok, I am a total bread-baking novice. I usually leave that to my friend whom I call the Challah King. But I decided this year, after reading the comments, that I should just go for it this year. SO glad I did! Despite having to run to the store to get more flour in the middle of the mixing process and kind of forgetting the 2nd rise (the 2nd loaf was better since it rose while I was braiding the first), these came out gorgeous and delicious. My friend was super impressed! Thanks for helping me to conquer my fear of challah.
This is the best recipe ever. It was so easy. Thanks for sharing. It was my first time making Challah and it was easier than I thought. I just have to practice braiding the 6 braids. I did it on the first loaf and it came out ok.. i always get confused half way through..anyway on the second one I did a three braid. I will have to email you pics on the next ones I make. Thanks again!
I have been making the synagogues challah for years, but recently moved to the mountains (way higher altitude), well my challah recipe failed me over and over again. And these poor people eat it without complaints, no one else here makes challah in the South so they eat it, makes me feel so bad. As I have been making changes to my recipe I came across yours, and decided to try it this week. Cross your fingers ~ because I use mostly Whole wheat pastry flour, some 100% whole wheat flour and some flax seed flour I had to increased the liquids a tad to make up for the ww flours extra absorption. Hope I calculated your recipe right. Thank you for posting it! Appreciating you in Tennessee, Ari
best challah is right! I grew up Jewish in CT and now live in central TX. I love it down here but you just don’t get challah around here. I wanted to show my brother in-law what it was since he didn’t know, so I tried your recipe witha pot of chicken soup, and he definately got the picture. I ran out of flour in the middle if mixing and had to run to the store, and the two enormous loaves stil came out fantastic!! Thanks for the recipe, Gaby
two questions: has anyone frozen the baked loaf? does it defrost and still taste this great?
Ariella I make the challah and it’s fine . Where are you at inTennessee? I had a problem too until I used the King Arthur bread flour. Sure they probably have a wheat.
What about adding cinnamon to the challah? Should I sprinkle on top or add to the dough? Anyone.?
Hi,
I’ve been making bread for a while and decided to try this recipe. I halved the recipe and my dough ended up a very gooey, sticky mess. It struggled to hold the braid form and when it rose it puddled rather than rose. My room temp was 75F and I weighed all my ingredients.
Can’t say what happened because of course I don’t know what weights you used, nor have I tested this recipe with weights. However, it sounds like more flour was in order.
I forgot to add one of the eggs and had to guess on the flour because I lost count of my cups. Nonetheless, I still got two loaves of some friggin good (not to mention lovely) challah. Frankly, I’m in a state of shock, which I am remedying by eating tender piece after tender piece of the most delicious bread I have ever made.
THANK YOU.
mm yummy! i added cinnamon and spent a couple of hours making this delicious treat instead of, um, reading for grad school. seriously, every single time i have massive amounts of work to do, like my end of semester papers due next week, i think of all the lovely things i would rather be doing instead (ie baking). i eventually end up on your website and cooking the things that are the most elaborate and take all of my time…i guess i won’t read tonight!! ;) thank you for these super fun distractions and stress relievers!! also, my roommates say thanks too!
Ohhh! I just finished a sesame and a poppy seed challah! It smells WONDERFUL!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!!!!
I have been reading SmittenKitchen for a while and somehow never making any of the food (too busy removing drool from on my keyboard!). I finally decided enough is enough and picked this bread to make because I have never, ever made bread before-and I was in shock and awe when BREAD came out of my oven! I made three medium 3-braid loaves from this recipe, and one and a half were gone about 20 minutes after I pulled them from the oven, gobbled up with butter and some blackberry preserves! I kept saying “it’s BREAD!” and my husband asked-”what did you think was going to come out of there??” It was perfect! I was wondering (I didn’t see this asked, if it has been, my apologies) what you would recommend when freezing-wrap it in tin foil, ziploc it, etc…? Does it matter? I am just curious b/c I don’t want anything to stick to it since you brush it with the egg just before the freezing step. BTW, I tell everybody about your blog, it is food porn of the highest quality! Kudos!!
I don’t think the frozen dough is gonna do as well. Maybe I did something wrong.
Deborah — Did it fully defrost, return to room temperature before you picked up where you left off?
I have been making this my Challah recipe ever since discovering your blog, thank you Deb! One question.. My challas seem to be over-browning. I weigh my dough and then the strands before braiding them..and bake them one at a time, middle rack, on a silpat lined sheet pan at 375 degrees. I put a probe thermometer in and take the challah out when it hits 180 degrees..the texture is perfect but they are just too dark, a hair shy of burned (though not burned taste). I do the two egg washes, using the whole beaten egg. Should I do something different with the rack? Oven temp? Is using the probe thermometer fooling me? They seem to be in there slightly over 30 min, more like 32 minutes. Any ideas what I am doing wrong? Thank you for your amazing blog!
Rebecca, what you might be doing wrong is having the oven too high.
I live in a high altitude environment and put the oven on 335 Fah. and the bread comes out great for just 18 to 20 min. in the oven.
If you are not in an altitute env. put the oven a little lower, let’s say 350 for a little longer than needed and when you see it’s browning on the top and it sounds hollow when you tap on the bread, it’s done.
Give it a try. Good luck.
Lilian
p.s. I made raisin bread with this recipe…and it’s AMAZING!!
Just made this bread for some friends – what a hit! It was delicious, perfect texture, perfect sweetness. Will keep making this one over and over :) Thanks
Thanks Lilian,
I do live at somewhat higher altitude (about 3500 ft) and had wondered about that. Lately I tried switching oils, from olive to canola, and then to vegetable. For some reason, it browned less with Canola and even less with vegetable. No idea why.. do you know? I am going to try your advice tomorrow -thank you! Rebecca
That was hilarious and awesome. What a well written recipe. I had good luck with a Babka so now I think I am ready to tackle the challah
I FINALLY made this. Why did I wait so long? Oh yeah, I just got a stand mixer. Made this last Friday. Then made bread pudding for breakfast the next morning. What! Eggs, milk…. that’s breakfast, right?
Lol, Cosby…
“…Sent him home with a loaf of challah, fabulous recipe from the lovely Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. Anything she posts is gold, I love all of her recipes…”
Thanks Deb, it’s great!
http://lindsayruns.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/visits-from-dad-bread-baking-and-a-juicer/
I love your posts! Thank you.
Hi There -
My friends and I just finished baking/eating two beautiful loaves of challah which took only fifteen minutes to bake and were a little dark on the bottom, but done all the way through! We baked them @ 375 degrees.
Should we try a lower temp next time?
Thanks/Looking forward to trying again,
Gail and The Girls
Were you using a stone? Sometimes thinner trays can cause breads to get darker on the bottom faster.
Deb, I’ve made several of your recipes and am a devoted fan of your site – but curse you for that butterscotch sauce, I’ve made 3 batches in the past week and am not liking the results in the mirror. The challah was transcendant and the envy of everyone I gave some to. THANK YOU.
Realizing that I’m very late to this party, but I googled “best challah” and my favorite food blogger popped up, so there was no competition! This turned out beautifully. Thank you so much.
Oh my goodness!! I had a bunch of eggs in the fridge that were begging to be used. I thought of making challah since I’m currently on the quest for the perfect french toast and figured that making my own challah would be a good side quest. This was delicious!! I’ve been searching for this kind of bread — soft, fluffy and flavorful with a soft crust. My search for bread perfection is over — thank you thank you!!
I just want to say that yesterday was my best SK day yet…I made this challah (my husband says it’s better than our local artisan bakery), onion marmalade, onion soup, and the dry rub. Every last thing, as usual, was amazing. Thanks Deb!
Deb-we’ve used this recipe everyweek for Shabbat for the last 4-5 months, I make about 20 loafs per week (sometimes rolls too), so the recipe can be doubled, tripled etc. easily, although i can’t get all that flour into the recipe? we use about 7 cups per two loaf recipe for a nice soft dough. Our students like it a tad sweet so I usually add about 1/2 to 1/3 cup (for single recipe above) of honey to the wet ingredients and it’s delicious.! Best french toast too! Thanks Deb for a great easy to work with recipe.
Sounds and looks beautiful. But if you are looking for a quicker and easier way to the same ends, check out the book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.” You will be making endless variations of great breads–oatmeal, pizza dough, boule, ciabatta, challah, focaccia, cinnamon rolls, whole wheat sandwich bread, etc…–with NO KNEADING. Mix up the dough, let it sit two hours on the counter and you are ready to go or you can refrigerate it and use it over the next 5-10 days depending on the dough, just tearing off a hunk any time you’re ready, letting it rise a little again on the counter and then baking. It has revolutionized my bread making, enabling me to bake almost all the bread we use in our family of five. I know I sound like an infomercial, but I’m not! Now I’m spoiled and don’t want to do so much work any more.
mine is in rising #1 right now, but you’re right to warn against using the stand mixer. My 5-qt kitchenaid was throwing flour out of the bowl and thumping against the countertop, so i was forced to hand mix the last 2-3 cups of flour in. good recipe though! thanks.
Challah makers might enjoy these aprons!
I decided to finally try this because I love challah bread. I have a 6qt kitchen-aid which handled the dough fine, although once I get to the last cup of flour, I usually like to hand knead it in. The dough was a pleasure to work with. Sounds like I’m recommending it for a job. The only part that tripped me up was the braid. At first, I forgot I was braiding and was literally moving pieces over, so my first braid is a mess, but then it clicked and the second braid was just beautiful. It is currently in the refrigerator for the last proofing. I am so excited to try it. Thanks for the recipe.
Today was the very first time I have EVER made bread and it turned out AMAZING! I am a new cook so I thought this would be quite the undertaking but it was REALLY easy! Thank you SO much for this recipe!
Oh. My. God. I just had a warm slice of the raisin challah with butter and came pretty close to having a religious experience. So easy and so incredible!
Beautiful pictures; hoping mine comes out half as lovely!
but, Question: Is it possible that using bread flour would knock down the amt of flour used? I’m halving the recipe, but I would be forcing it to add more than 3.5 cups(scoop and level). No big deal, but just wondering if you had some thoughts.
Thanks Deb!
Lisa — I’m not sure why you would use less bread flour. That said, if you’re adding flour and the dough has had “enough” there’s no reason to add the remaining volume. But this amount should work with bread or AP flour.
Yee-haw! This is the fourth time I have made challah bread. The previous three attempts were quite palatable, but your recipe with the wonderful personal asides and chit-chat made my day. The finished loaves were beautiful and delicious! I made them for the Sabbath and can’t wait to bring them to the table after worship tomorrow. It feels good to show love for my family by presenting them with truly great tasting and beautiful looking meals.
Thank you and Shabbat Shalom!