How to make Challah Bread at home? (Lightly Sweet and Moist)

A well-known recipe for braided bread baked with eggs and honey is called challah. It has a delicate sweetness and produces the best French toast!

This recipe does require some time, however, most of it is spent in hands-off proofing. The dough itself is so simple to make since it is made with common cupboard ingredients.

Challah Bread: What Is It?

The braided bread known as challah is incredibly tasty and simple to make.

This somewhat sweet bread is braided, egg-washed, and baked to the ideal golden brown hue thanks to cupboard essentials like honey and eggs!

This dish requires little skill to prepare, but proofing does take some time.

Creating Challah Bread

The dough hook on a stand mixer is the ideal attachment for this recipe! As the temperature is crucial when working with yeast, you’ll also want a digital thermometer.

1. Prepare the dough according to the recipe below using a stand mixer, then transfer it to a greased basin. To proof, cover with a wet dishcloth.
2. Make strands of dough that are the same size and braid them together. bread on a baking sheet that has been buttered.
3. Brush with an egg wash that has been prepared and allow to proof. repeat a second time.
4. Bake – Apply a final egg wash coat and bake!

Use a kitchen thermometer to verify the bread’s doneness and make sure the internal temperature has reached 190°F.

Delectable Supplements

Mix-ins: The dough can be flavored with up to 1 cup of raisins, dried cherries, or other dried fruits. Simply incorporate it when making the dough together with the eggs!

Toppings: After the final egg wash is applied and before baking, sprinkle the bread with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, or leave it plain (which is perfect for French Toast).

Egg wash is applied to Challah bread with a pastry brush.

How to Challah Braid

The hardest aspect of challah is braiding it! Start with a traditional three-strand braid. Try braiding in 4, 6, or even 8 strands once you’ve gotten the hang of it for beautifully baked bread!

1. Equal amounts of the dough should be made (3, 4, 6, or 8 depending on what you have chosen).
2. Working from the middle, roll the dough with your hands into strips of uniform width, tapering the dough at the ends.
3. Each strip of dough should be braided with one end secured.
   I suggest conducting a YouTube search for the number of strips you selected for braiding Challah bread. For this part, having a visual instruction manual is helpful.

Advice for the Ideal Loaf

While making this dough is simple, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure a consistently excellent loaf.

• Unlike a regular sandwich bread recipe, the bread does not rise as much. It will not grow large enough to cover the top of a large bowl, but it should double in size. After being braided, the dough goes through a second proofing phase during which the majority of its rise occurs.
• NEVER omit the egg wash step. The egg wash helps impart moisture to the dough, which helps it rise and gives it the glossy coating Challah breads are known for, but I know how alluring it could seem to just let it do the second proof all at once and just apply it right before baking!
• If you prefer bread with a strong egg taste, simply add 1 more egg yolk to the recipe without making any other adjustments.

Serving Methods for Challah Bread

Even though bread is fantastic on its own, it tastes even better with cinnamon or honey butter.

Serve it with a plain poached egg or with eggs in purgatory.

Additionally, it makes excellent handmade croutons, bread pudding, and French toast!

To Freeze

Prepare the dough by braiding it, then freeze it!

It should be placed on a baking sheet to freeze, then covered with aluminum foil and plastic wrap until needed. When ready to use, take it out of the freezer, unwrap it right away, and put it on a baking sheet. Be prepared for it to rise completely to take 6 to 8 hours.

Challah can also be frozen if it is thoroughly cooled before being wrapped and stored.

Homemade Challah

A well-known recipe for braided bread baked with eggs and honey is called challah. It has a delicate sweetness and produces the best French toast!

forty minutes to prepare 40 minutes for cooking proof period: 40 minutes in 3 hours overall 5 hours servings: sixteen

Ingredients

bread

• ½ tablespoon Instant yeast (also called Rapid Rise Yeast) *dry active yeast alternative below
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup whole milk heated between 120-130°F
• ¾ cup water heated between 120-130°F
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks save whites for eggwash
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

egg wash

• 2 large egg whites leftover from the bread
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the yeast, flour, and salt.
2. Pour the milk and water into the mixer while it is on the “stir” setting. Honey, one egg, egg yolks, and vegetable oil should then be added. Once the dough completely pulls away from the bowl and is no longer sticky to the touch, increase the speed to medium and knead for 5 to 6 minutes.
3. The dough should be formed into a ball, transferred to a sizable greased basin, covered with a moist dishtowel, and let to prove (rise) for one hour.
4. The dough should be taken out of the bowl and placed right side up on a lightly dusted surface. Pull the dough’s edges from its four points, flip it over, seal them by moving in a circular motion on the counter, and then put it back in the bowl. Once more cover the dough with the damp cloth, and let it prove for another hour.
5. Take the dough out of the bowl and evenly divide it into however many braids you desire; I prefer to use four. Make logs out of the dough. The dough logs should rest for 20 minutes with a damp dishcloth covering them.
6. Working from the center and rolling with your hands, cut each log of dough into 1 1/2-inch strip, tapering the dough at the ends. Braid the ends of the dough strips after securing one end. bread on a baking sheet that has been buttered.

“egg wash”

1. The leftover egg whites, water, and honey are combined to make egg wash, which is then applied to the bread. For 40 minutes, the proof was exposed.
2. After 40 more minutes of proofing, apply another coat of egg wash.
3. Before baking, apply a final layer of egg wash.
4. When the bread is ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F and immediately lower the temperature to 325°F. After 20 minutes of baking, remove the pan from the oven, cover it with an aluminum foil tent, and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes.
5. When the bread is finished, the top should be golden brown and the loaf should sound hollow when you tap on it. When baking, challah should be cooled completely before cutting, with an internal temperature of 190°F.

Notes

To use dried active yeast, first bloom it by combining it with milk and water in a measuring cup and allowing it to activate for 10 to 15 minutes. For effective blooming, the liquid ingredients must be between 105°F and 115°F; else, the yeast will be killed.

Additions: If preferred, add 1 cup of raisins or other dried fruit to the dough in step 2. After the final egg wash, you could also sprinkle on sesame or poppy seeds (before baking).

After braiding, the Challah dough can be frozen. Before baking, it will need to defrost and rise for around 6 to 8 hours.

Nutrition information

Calories: 167 | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg