My parents have a Jewish bakery near their house, and one of my favorite things to get whenever I visit is the fresh challah bread (along with blueberry buns and chocolate babka). This recipe for homemade challah comes from the inspiring Once Upon A Chef blog, and it’s one of the best loaves of bread I’ve ever baked! The challah disappeared into 5 happy, hungry mouths.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup hottest tap water + 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
6 Tbsp canola oil
6 Tbsp honey
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
4-1/4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
Directions
In a small non-metal bowl, mix the yeast, 1/4 cup hottest tap water, and 1 tsp sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes to form a thick foam. Then add in the 1/2 cup water, oil, honey, and only 2 of the eggs + 1 egg yolk. Mix gently. In a larger bowl, mix the flour and salt.
Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until it’s mostly a dough, then knead with your hands for 5-7 minutes until it turns into a nice smooth, elastic ball. It’s ok if it’s a bit sticky as you’re kneading it. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours until doubled in size (hard to see here because the first picture is zoomed in).
Cut the dough into 4 pieces, roll each piece out to about 20 inches long, and pinch all the ends together at one side. Starting from the right side each time, work the strands over, under, over the other 3 strands. Always start from the right, and you’ll end up with a nice tight braid. Pinch the ends together, cover and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour until it’s about 1.5 the original size. Then beat up the remaining egg and brush it all over the braid.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes until the crust is a rich brown color. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy! This also makes amazing French toast the next day.
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