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

Challah Bread
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle poppy seeds on top.
- Bake smaller loaves at 425F for about 20 minutes and large loaves for about 25-30 minutes. Chill for one hour before serving.
Sivan
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?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
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.
Reva
This is a really tasty bread like all your recipes they are all fab. Can’t wait to see any new future recipes
Reva
Hi please can you tell me why the challah stretches in the oven I have let it prove as it said ?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
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.
Emma
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!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Emma, I use instant dried yeast… I think we are talking about the same thing.
Emma
Thanks Victor, used it today and loaf turned out great! Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome, Emma. Please try my other recipes and subscribe as more are coming.
Richard
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.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Richard, welcome to my blog. Hope you are enjoying my recipe. Plenty more are coming soon. Happy baking!
Reva
Thanks for your reply
Reva
Hi can this be made the day before and put in the fridge overnight and baked the next day ?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Definitely, but you would need to reduce yeast. I would follow a similar approach as in my French Baguette recipe.
Andrea
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.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are welcome, Andrea. Happy baking and thanks for your feedback.