My Go-To Challah Recipe

Without further ado (after years of ado), here it is: my mostly traditional, mostly fail-proof, classic challah recipe. This miiight just be my most asked-about tutorial—and seeing as I post a challah video every few weeks over on the ‘gram, I can’t blame you for wondering how the heck it all comes together. So, voilà! This is my best challah recipe for perfectly soft and pillowy loaves—it’s not dry in the slightest, it’s just sweet enough, and it browns beautifully, too. I’ve also included a ton of little tips within the tutorial to help you get the dough to fully cooperate so you can avoid the typical challah pitfalls—messy dough, un-rollable strands, and so on.

More generally speaking, challah is also just a beautiful testament to thousands of years of history and hardship, celebration and ceremony, tradition and continuity. I hope you feel all of the above (well, not so much the hardship) as you prepare the bread at home.

(On that note, if you’re hoping to learn more about the history of challah, I love Julia Moskin’s insights and storytelling in this article.)

(Also, those little herbs and flowers aren’t included in the tutorial—but they’re easy enough to add! Just poke/layer on some fresh herbs after the egg wash step, prior to baking, and/or garnish with edible flowers just before serving.)

Personally, I like to mix up the dough by hand—there’s something about getting your hands into things that brings a little more thoughtfulness and spirituality to the entire baking experience. There are also so many wonderful, spiritual moments associated with the process of making challah, from the blessings that accompany it to its ritual “separation,” which necessitates some dough-in-hand action. That said, I’ve gotten a lot of requests for a stand mixer-friendly version of the recipe, and I’ve modified my recipe over the years to work well in a mixer, too; if you’re looking for that tutorial, jump over here. Either way, note that challah is a very simple bread that requires virtually no clean-up aside from the mixer bowl, a few measuring utensils, and a quick wipe-down of the counter…and I personally find the by-hand route to be the easier and less convoluted method of the two!

Of course, while challah’s easy to make, it is time-intensive—though most of that time is spent waiting around for the dough to rise—so I’d recommend reading through the entire recipe so that you can plan your morning or afternoon accordingly. You’ll also want to prep your ingredients ahead of time so that everything’s at room temperature, and to ensure that you have said ingredients. Since time is a crucial component of bread-baking, you don’t want to be running out at the last minute to grab this or that ingredient. Finally, there are so many wonderful little tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years that make a huge difference in the look and taste of the resulting loaves. For that reason, I’ve done my best to make the below tutorial really comprehensive and thorough (and, okay, a little wordy). Again, you can make sure you’ve got a grasp on all of these little details simply by giving the recipe a thorough read before you begin.

Never baked challah before? Please know that my first loaf looked a little like something out of a Tim Burton film. It’s all about repetition—the more you bake challah (or any bread, for that matter), the more opportunities you’ll have to fine-tune the little techniques that make it look and taste better. I still notice differences in my loaves from week to week. You’ll get it in time!

Classic Challah Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 9 reviews

• Author: Rebekah Lowin
• Prep Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
• Yield: 1 large loaf or 2 medium-sized loaves 1x
• Category: Bread
• Cuisine: Jewish

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Description

A mostly traditional, mostly fail-proof, classic challah recipe. It’s perfectly soft and pillowy, not dry in the slightest, just sweet enough, and it browns beautifully, too. Yields one large loaf or two medium-sized loaves. Find a stand mixer-friendly version of this recipe over here. (Note: Please use caution when toggling the “2x,” “3x” options below; ingredient amounts will not convert properly.)

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the dough:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (if you’re using packets, depending on the brand, this usually translates to a little more than one; still, you’ll want to measure it out carefully to be sure)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup warm water (if you want to be precise, between 95° and 110° Fahrenheit is ideal)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus another 1/2 cup for your work surface
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 large eggs, room temperature (you can warm them up quickly by letting them sit in a glass of warm water)
• 1/2 cup neutral oil (options include avocado oil, canola/vegetable oil, sunflower seed oil, and grapeseed oil; olive oil works fine as a substitute)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

For the egg wash:

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water

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Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast with sugar, water, and flour: In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the yeast, sugar, warm water, and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until all ingredients are incorporated and no lumps remain. Scrape down the sides if needed with a rubber spatula, then cover the bowl with a dish towel or piece of plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. (Note that you should see some bubbling/foaming and observe a subtle beer-like smell within just a minute or two—that’s how you’ll know your yeast is, in fact, active and not expired.)
2. Add the rest of the wet ingredients: When the hour is up, crack the eggs directly on top of the now-foamy mixture, then pour in the honey and oil. Rigorously stir the mixture together until thoroughly incorporated and perfectly uniform in color and texture.
3. Add dry ingredients and begin the kneading process: Add the salt, the remaining 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (continue to retain the 1/2 cup for your eventual work surface), and all of the bread flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients together until you’re looking at a (very!) disheveled-looking dough ball. It’ll be pretty messy at this point; not to worry; you’re on the right track. At this point, throw on a pair of latex gloves (optional, but I prefer to use them for a few minutes while things are extra messy), then get your hands into the bowl and keep up the initial kneading. After another minute, you’ll be looking at an ever-so-slightly more cohesive dough ball.  
4. Finish the kneading process outside of the bowl: Sprinkle your work surface with a few tablespoons of the retained all-purpose flour. Remove the sticky mass of dough from the mixer bowl and place it on the well-floured surface; continue knead by hand for another 3 to 4 minutes until the dough ball is round, smooth, and supple. You might not need all of the retained flour (I typically use a little more than 1/4 cup), but continue adding until you’re satisfied with the dough’s appearance and texture: It should be smooth, supple, and tacky to the touch, but not sticky (in other words, don’t over-flour the dough if you can help it; some tackiness is expected and desired). Depending on the climate, season, and temperature within your home, you might find you need more or less of this “extra” flour each week.
5. First rise: Finish shaping the dough into a true ball, then place it in an oiled bowl (lightly greased by hand with about 1 tablespoon of any oil—this just ensures that the dough doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl as it rises). Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until it’s doubled in size.
6. Divide the dough and shape into rope-like strands: Once time’s up, remove the dough from the bowl. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to divide it into four equal parts (alternatively, divide into 8 parts and set 4 aside to create two smaller loaves). Use a rolling pin (or the palms of your hands) to shape each resulting triangle into a flat rectangle; it’ll be a little oblong, but that’s okay. Then, use your fingers to carefully roll up each dough portion into a short, snake-like strand. Continue rolling the strands to gently lengthen. You’re aiming for a final length of ~10-12 inches (see next step if you aren’t able to get all the way there). 
7. Let the strands “rest” before lengthening them one more time: Optional, but I like to cover the strands with a kitchen towel and let them rest for a few minutes before returning for one last rolling spree; I find I can get an additional inch or two out of them when I work this way.
8. Braid the loaf: There are so many ways to achieve a 4-strand braid, but here’s how I like to go about it: Pinch together the four strands at their tops to create the beginning of your weave. Then, mentally number each strand, with the leftmost strand acting as “1” and the rightmost acting as “4.” Note that these numbers are fluid; i.e. whatever strand of dough finds itself in “Spot 1” is now “Strand 1,” even if it was previously stationed in, say, spot 4. To begin braiding, first, bring Strand 4 over Strand 2. Then, take Strand 1 and bring it over your new Strand 3. Finally, bring Strand 2 over Strand 3. Continue braiding with this three-part pattern: 4 over 2, 1 over 3, 2 over 3. You’ll end up with a few stubby pieces hanging out; simply tuck these beneath the loaf.
9. Second rise: Transfer the braided loaf to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover loosely with a dish towel; let rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes. (If you’re making two loaves, now’s the time to repeat the braiding process.) Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Prep your egg wash by whisking together the egg and water in a small bowl.
10. Egg wash and bake: When the second rise is up and your oven is preheated, use a pastry brush to coat the exterior of the loaf with egg wash, making sure to get in all the nooks and crannies. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until dark brown. You might have to add a few minutes depending on your oven, so keep a close eye on the bread and determine for yourself when you’ve reached the right hue. If the bread is browning much too quickly and turning an extra-dark hue (unlikely but it can happen), remove it from the oven, tent the overly browned areas or the entire thing with aluminum foil, and quickly return it to the oven to finish the internal baking process.
11. Let rest and serve: It’s tempting to dive right in, but it’s best to allow the loaf/loaves to rest for at least 30 minutes before serving as they’re technically still cooking on the inside (they’ll be too hot to eat right away anyway). Then, slice, serve warm, and enjoy! 

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Notes

1. Making the dough ahead of time: It’s possible to make your challah dough ahead of time—find information on doing that over here. I strongly recommend waiting to officially bake the challah until the actual day you plan to serve it, though. Day-old challah is still delicious (particularly if you wrap it tightly to seal from air), but it’s ideal on the day it’s baked; save the leftovers for things like French toast, croutons, and the like.
2. Substituting bread flour for all-purpose flour (and vice versa): If you don’t have one or the other of these ingredients, you can, in fact, swap them out for each other as needed, using only all-purpose or only bread flour to make your dough. That said, don’t expect an “ideal” loaf—and consider just running out to the store if you can (you’ve got plenty of time to do so with all that rising time!). While both substitutions are possible, the preferable swap is the use of all-purpose in place of bread flour.
3. Substituting active dry yeast for instant yeast: For the purposes of this exact method/recipe, I don’t recommend it. If that’s all you have on hand, do a quick search for an instant yeast challah recipe instead!
4. Letting the dough rise too long: Generally speaking, if you let the dough rise for a little too long here or there (i.e. not significant amounts—5, 10, 20 minutes), it shouldn’t be a huge issue—so don’t sweat it. What’s more, the times shared in this and other challah recipes are actually just estimated averages; depending on the altitude and temperature of your home, more or less time will be required anyway for an “ideal” bake. 
5. Toppings: If you’d like to top your loaves with sesame seeds, fresh herbs, and the like, do so just before baking, after the egg wash (the wash will help any toppings adhere).
6. Serving idea: If serving several hours after baking, pop the loaves back into the oven for a quick reheat; just make sure you keep the temperature low, only throw them in for up to ten minutes, and (please) don’t forget about them!