Challah Bread Recipe

Challah Bread Recipe

Whether bread-making became a quarantine hobby, or you've been making homemade bread for years, there's something about a fresh loaf straight out of the oven that can't be beat. While sandwich and sourdough bread are amongst the most popular types of homemade bread, challah bread is another favorite of ours. It's a long-time symbolic centerpiece for Rosh Hashanah, which you'll find at the heart of many Jewish celebrations like Shabbat and Purim. A great-tasting and challenging braided bread, you don't have to wait for the holidays to enjoy this baked treat; it's worth enjoying year-round. If you've been buying challah bread at bakeries for some time now and want to try making it yourself, you're in the right place. Here at Bob's Red Mill, we want to make sure all of your baking endeavors turn out successful, so we've put together this handy guide to making the best challah bread out there.

What Is Challah Bread?

If you haven't tried challah bread before, you might wonder how to differentiate it from the other loaves of bread that you'll find at the bakery. Challah bread is a braided loaf of bread that receives its pale yellow coloring from the many eggs used to make it. Made with simple ingredients like eggs, water, flour, yeast and salt, the flavor of the dough is often enhanced with add-ins like raisins, honey and seeds. The add-ins used and the style of the bread often depend on the celebration and how you enjoy eating it. Wondering where the name challah came from? The word challah refers to the mitzvah, or blessing, of separating a portion of the dough before you begin braiding it into shape. This portion of dough is seen as a contribution to the Kohen (priest) and can be any size, although it is customary to separate a portion the size of an olive. Once separated, the piece of "challah" is burned.

Challah Bread Recipe

Bobs Red Mill Bakery Challah Bread Ready to bake up a delicious loaf of challah bread yourself? The perfect treat to feed your family and friends, the challah bread recipe below is so great that we use it ourselves at the bakery! It is a rich braided bread that tastes excellent when served alone or as French toast.

Ingredients

Instructions

How to Make Challah Bread by Hand
  1. Combine warm water and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Sprinkle active dry yeast over the mixture and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast properly.
  3. After 5 minutes, if active, the yeast mixture will begin to foam.
  4. Once the mixture is activated, add egg, flours and salt to the mixture and stir until it forms a dough.
  5. Place the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead, adding small bits of soft butter into the dough every few minutes.
  6. Once the butter has been mixed into the dough, continue kneading for 8 minutes, or until you can stretch a portion of the dough into a thin strand.
  7. Note: If using an electric mixer, skip the hand kneading and add chunks of soft butter to the dough. Then, with the dough hook attachment, knead for 4 minutes at medium speed.
  8. Place the kneaded dough into a well-oiled bowl and cover it with a moist washcloth. Allow the dough to rest for about an hour until it has doubled in size.
  9. Punch down on the dough, cover again, and let rise for another 30 minutes.
  10. Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with a generous layer of oil.
  11. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it into three equal-sized pieces.
  12. Roll each individual piece of dough out into an 18-inch rope. Placing each rope parallel to each other, braid the three parts into one long braid.
  13. Fold the ends of each rope under the braid so that they meet in the center of the loaf.
  14. Place the braided dough into the prepared pan, cover, and allow it to rise for 15 minutes until the dough crowns above the pain.
  15. Test the dough by gently pressing your fingers into it and checking for a faint indentation.
  16. Brush the top of the loaf with egg wash and bake for 40 minutes until the load has reached a golden brown color and sounds hollow when tapped.
  17. Cool the dough on a wire rack.
Making Challah Bread in a Bread Machine
  1. Add all of the ingredients of challah bread into the bread machine and follow the manufacturer's settings.
  2. Bake the bread on the machine's basic wheat bread setting.
  3. Check the dough before the final rise. If needed, adjust its placement in the pan for level height during baking. Brush with egg wash right before the baking cycle.

Tips for Making Bread at Home

Making homemade bread is a gratifying task. Not only does homemade bread taste great, but it also fills the house with a delicious smell. That being said, home baking isn't always an easy task, especially when it comes to bread. To ensure that every loaf you bake results in success, follow the tips below.

Use a Digital Scale

Weighing Gluten Free on a Digital Scale When following any recipe, paying close attention to the instructions is necessary, especially when measuring ingredients. When working with ingredients like flour, being off by just a tiny amount can completely change the taste and texture of your recipe. For the most accurate measuring system, we recommend using a digital scale. Digital scales make it easy to follow exact measurements and complete the recipe from start to finish with no mistakes.

Knead to Perfection

Many recipes require time spent kneading the dough when making bread from scratch. Over kneading and under kneading dough can cause your bread recipe to result in disaster. Over kneaded dough will produce a dense and stiff loaf and dough that tears easily when stretched. On the other hand, under kneaded dough will be hard to form into a loaf. If your dough is a floppy mess and doesn't hold its shape, there's a good chance that you haven't kneaded it enough. To check if the dough has been kneaded properly, try stretching it out. A properly kneaded dough can stretch two to four inches without breaking apart.

Keep an Eye on the Oven

If your last few loaves of bread haven't turned out right, and you've followed the tips above, then it's possible your oven is the problem, not your baking technique. By enlisting the help of an oven thermometer, you can check the internal temperature of your oven and prevent your loaves from over or undercooking. baking challah

Double Check the Yeast

Different bread recipes call for different types of yeast, and while instant and active dry yeast can be used interchangeably, the rise times may vary. Before beginning your bread recipe, double-check the type of yeast that the recipe requires. You'll also want to confirm that the yeast you're using is still active and has been stored properly.

Use Seasonings

Seasonings aren't just crucial for the flavor of the bread; they also help build texture. Seasonings like salt cause chemical reactions with flour and yeast that help doughs rise correctly. When it comes to salt, you'll want to add enough so that the bead isn't tasteless without going overboard.

Try the Poke Method

Most bread recipes require proofing before the loaf goes into the oven. Like kneading, an over-proofed or under-proofed dough can affect the results of your bread. Dough that has been over-proofed might not rise as well because the bread will begin to sink back down. In comparison, an under-proofed dough will result in a similar, uninspired rise since it was not given enough time to do so properly. To check if your dough is adequately proofed, poke it softly with your fingertip. If the poke leaves a slight indentation that slowly begins to spring back, then it's ready for baking. Whether you make challah bread yearly or this is your first time, we hope that this easy-to-follow recipe helps you create a flavorful loaf that everyone loves. And remember, while this bread is typically baked for and served at Jewish celebrations, you don't have to wait for a holiday to make it. Delicious and loaded with flavor, this challah bread can be enjoyed any time of the year. From everyone at Bob's Red Mill, we wish you all the bread-making success! Do you make challah bread regularly? We'd love to hear more about the add-ins you choose to work into the bread. Share your favorite challah bread ingredients with us in the comments below.  
Bob's Red Mill
May 16 2022

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