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