Classic Challa
Submitted by itsbuck
Traditional egg-enriched challah bread with a golden crust and soft, pillowy crumb. This from-scratch yeast dough recipe makes beautiful braided loaves topped with poppy or sesame seeds.
There’s nothing quite like the smell of challah baking. It fills the whole house with warmth.
This traditional Jewish egg bread starts with a simple yeast dough enriched with eggs and oil, giving it that signature tender, slightly sweet crumb. The dough gets punched down several times during a long rise, which builds flavor and creates the soft, pull-apart texture challah is known for.
Braid it, twist it, or shape it into rounds for Rosh Hashanah. Brush the top with beaten egg for that deep golden shine and finish with poppy or sesame seeds.
Pro Tips
- Punch the dough down every 20 minutes during the 2-hour rise. This step develops flavor and an even crumb structure.
- Divide into three strands for a classic braid, or six strands if you want to impress at the Shabbat table.
- The loaves are done when they sound hollow on the bottom when tapped.
- Leftover challah makes the best French toast you’ll ever eat.
Ingredients
Directions
Disolve Yeast in warm water in large bowl.
When dissolved, add sugar, salt and HALF the flour.
Mix well.
Add eggs and oil, then slowly stir in most of remaining flour.
Dough will be quite heavy, add a little water and beat until dough starts to pull away from sides of bowl.
Turn out onto well floured surface and knead for about 10 min.
Add only enough flour to keep dough manageable, knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
Place dough in large oiled bowl, turn so top gets oiled also.
Cover with damp towel and let rise in warm place for abt. 2 hours, punching down every 20 minutes.
Divide dough into three parts, shape into loaves(or twist),place in well greased loaf pans or baking sheets.
Let rise until double in bulk. Preheat oven to 375 degr.
F. Brush tops of loaves with beaten Egg and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes; or until brown.
Remove from oven and cool on rack.
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