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Home » Bread » Yeast Bread » Challah Bread

Challah Bread

December 24, 2020 by Victor @ Taste of Artisan 20 Comments

I remember, a long time ago, as a kid, I would go with my grandpa to a farmer’s market, where he would buy a couple of large, dark golden brown challahs. Back then, it was my favorite bread. It was pleasantly sweet, chewy, soft inside, and slightly crusty on the outside. I wished we would buy it every day, or even every week, but it only happened around holidays, a few times a year.

Challah bread with poppy seeds

I’ve been looking for a challah bread recipe that would give me the same taste that I remember. Most challah recipes I’ve tried produce bread that is a bit, and sometimes much, too rich, too eggy, or too sweet for my taste. The one that I remember was like just slightly enriched plain white bread. It was tasty, almost too tasty; it was addictive. I liked having it with jam, butter or a few slices of sausage, or just eating it on its own.

After a lot of experimenting and reading up on old challah bread recipes, I seem to have finally come up with precisely what I was looking for. This challah tastes just like I remember it. My family loves it. I don’t think it needs any more tweaking, but feel free to experiment with this recipe to customize it to your taste. From this recipe, you can make a single large, about a 3-lb bread, or two smaller loaves.

This challah is a looker; it’s stunning. It will be a centerpiece at your holiday table, and people will be talking about it. I love the dark color of the crust. You get that from using an egg yolk wash. If you like a lighter color, use a whole egg wash.

Large challah bread, 6-strand braided.

To make this challah bread I use a two-stage process. First, I make a poolish. The bread that utilizes poolish tends to have a richer taste and a chewier crumb. To make the poolish, I use 60% of the flour and almost all of the water, together with all of the yeast. Once the poolish is ready, doubled or even tripled in size, I mix the final dough. That’s stage two. The rest of the process is fairly typical to any bread – bench resting the dough, shaping, proofing, and baking.

For a single large loaf, I use a 6-strand braid to shape my challah. Each strand is about 14 inches, with the middles quite thicker than the ends. This allows making a big, plump, gorgeous looking bread.

Six strands of dough to make challah bread.

I keep the strands short, so I can get a stubby, plump loaf.

Six-strand braided challah bread example.

Here is the most helpful instruction video I was able to find on how to braid a six-strand challah. It has the right orientation so you can easily follow the instructions.

To make two smaller challahs, I use four-strand braiding. It’s way easier than a 6-strand braid.

4-strand braided challah bread

Here is a very helpful video on how to make a 4-strand braided challah:

 

Given the sugar and the egg in the dough, baking on a baking stone results in a slightly burnt bottom. This bread comes out better if baked on a baking sheet.

To get the color and the crust I was looking for, I bake my challah bread at 425F. This seems to work quite well in my oven, but you may have to adjust the temperature as, as they say, each oven bakes differently.

Chewy, easy to make, challah bread.

Best challah bread recipe.

Challah Bread

A beautiful challah bread, delicious, with chewy, slightly sweet and not overly rich crumb.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Eastern European, Jewish
Keyword: challah bread, challah recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Resting time/Mixing time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 183kcal
Author: Victor

Ingredients

Poolish

  • 600 g all-purpose flour about 4 cups, using 'scoop and swipe' method
  • 400 ml water about86F/30C; about 1 3/4 cups less 1 Tbsp
  • 10 g instant yeast about 1 Tbsp; also known as Quick Rise or Rapid Rise yeast

Final dough (in addition to the poolish above)

  • 400 g all-purpose flour about 2 3/4 cups, using 'scoop and swipe' method
  • 80 ml water 86F/30C; about 5 1/2 Tbsp
  • 15 g kosher salt about 1 Tbsp
  • 70 g white sugar about 5 1/2 Tbsp
  • 25 g butter melted; about 1 3/4 Tbsp
  • 1 egg

Eggwash

  • 1 egg yolk use the whole egg for a lighter color of the crust
  • 1 tsp heavy cream

Garnish

  • 3 Tbsp poppy seeds

Instructions

  • To prepare the poolish, mix the flour with the water, and the instant yeast. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, until about tripled in size. I use a cold oven with the light on, it provides a perfectly warm environment.
    Mixing challah bread dough in a stand mixer.
  • Combine the poolish with the rest of the dough ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low (Kitchen Aid setting 2) for 2 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
  • If making one large loaf, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. If making two smaller loaves, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll them out into 8"-10" logs. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
    Making challah bread - dividing dough and rolling logs.
  • On a lightly floured work surface (wooden is ideal), roll each log into a 14" long strand, making the ends thinner than the middles. Dust the strands with a little bit of flour to prevent sticking. Braid into a six-stranded challah bread if making a large challah, or two 4-stranded challahs if making two small loaves.
    Making challah bread - 4-strand braid.
  • Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle poppy seeds on top.
    challah-bread-egg-wash-poppy-seeds
  • Bake smaller loaves at 425F for about 20 minutes and large loaves for about 25-30 minutes. Chill for one hour before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 183kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 255mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 2mg
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    Recipe Rating




     

  1. Irena Bulatović

    February 04, 2021 at 9:02 pm

    How much fresh yeast should I use for this recipe?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      February 06, 2021 at 7:27 pm

      3 to 1 fresh to dry ratio works for me.

      Reply
  2. Harris

    February 03, 2021 at 10:00 am

    Thanks for this recipe, that looks like one I really want – a chewy stringy challah.
    I want to check before making the recipe – for the poolah, you state ” …mix the flour with the water, and the instant yeast.” Does that mean no kneading, but simply mixing the ingredients for a minute or two in the blender. Or by spoon?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      March 27, 2021 at 5:48 pm

      Hi Harris, apologies for the delayed response. I mix in my mixer fitted with a dough hook. The idea is to mix the ingredients together until you get a homogeneous mass. You can just as easily do it by hand or a spoon.

      Reply
  3. Sivan

    January 18, 2021 at 7:27 pm

    It is really cold here, what temp would you recommend proofing the yeast? I have a sous vide and thought I could use it around 26.7 c . What do you think?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      January 19, 2021 at 12:16 pm

      Anywhere between 18 and 30 C will work. The higher the temp the faster it will ferment. The slower it will ferment the better the flavor will be developed. Never tried a sous vide bath for proofing but sounds interesting. When I want to expedite fermentation/proofing I put the dough in the cold oven and turn the light on – a perfect 28-30C.

      Reply
  4. Reva

    November 27, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    This is a really tasty bread like all your recipes they are all fab. Can’t wait to see any new future recipes

    Reply
  5. Reva

    November 27, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    Hi please can you tell me why the challah stretches in the oven I have let it prove as it said ?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      November 27, 2020 at 4:49 pm

      You mean oven spring where it rises up? Mine do sometimes too, not a bad thing I suppose but I see what you mean. You can try proofing a little longer so there will less of an oven spring.

      Reply
  6. Emma

    November 13, 2020 at 8:23 am

    Hello, I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend.

    I was just curious if instant dried yeast would yield the same result? As this is all I have to hand.

    Thanks so much, really enjoying the site!

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      November 14, 2020 at 7:56 pm

      Emma, I use instant dried yeast… I think we are talking about the same thing.

      Reply
      • Emma

        November 14, 2020 at 10:02 pm

        Thanks Victor, used it today and loaf turned out great! Thanks for the fantastic recipe.

      • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

        November 15, 2020 at 1:48 pm

        You are very welcome, Emma. Please try my other recipes and subscribe as more are coming.

  7. Richard

    October 28, 2020 at 11:15 pm

    Victor, I’m just writing to thank you for sharing this passion. I just recently learned about your site. As a long-time amateur and amateurish bread baker I am enjoying and learning from your experience.

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      October 31, 2020 at 5:19 pm

      Hi Richard, welcome to my blog. Hope you are enjoying my recipe. Plenty more are coming soon. Happy baking!

      Reply
  8. Reva

    July 30, 2020 at 6:05 am

    Thanks for your reply

    Reply
  9. Reva

    July 29, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    Hi can this be made the day before and put in the fridge overnight and baked the next day ?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      July 30, 2020 at 2:44 am

      Definitely, but you would need to reduce yeast. I would follow a similar approach as in my French Baguette recipe.

      Reply
  10. Andrea

    April 28, 2020 at 8:45 am

    Hi Victor, another great bread recipe. Though I have a favorite challah bread recipe, I like yours more. I learned a few new things from it. For example, your egg yolk and heavy cream egg wash gives the bread a much better color. Thank you and keep up the great work.

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      April 28, 2020 at 12:53 pm

      You are welcome, Andrea. Happy baking and thanks for your feedback.

      Reply

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