Ingredients
Dough
- 1 kgstrong white flour
- 14 ginstant yeast
- 100 gsugar
- 2 tspsalt
- 3eggs
- 120 mlneutral oil
- 350 mlwarm water
To glaze
- 1egg yolk
- 1 tbspwater
- sesame or poppy seeds
Directions
- Whisk the yeast into the warm water with a spoonful of the sugar and leave it for 10 minutes until it froths.
- Mix the flour with the remaining sugar and the salt, then add the eggs, oil and yeast water and bring it together into a rough mass.
- Knead for 10 minutes into a smooth, firm, very slightly tacky dough. Challah dough is stiffer than most enriched doughs, and that is what lets a braid hold its definition instead of spreading in the oven.
- There is no butter and no milk in it. That is not incidental: challah is made pareve so that it can be eaten at a meal served with meat.
- Cover and prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until doubled.
- Knock back, divide in two, and divide each half into six equal pieces. Roll each into a strand about 35 cm long, thicker in the middle and tapering towards the ends.
- Braid the six strands, keeping them under gentle tension throughout. A slack braid loses its pattern completely as the loaf rises.
- Set the loaves well apart on lined trays, cover them, and prove for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Glaze with the yolk beaten with water, wait 10 minutes, then glaze a second time. Two coats are what give the deep lacquered shine.
- Scatter with sesame or poppy seeds.
- Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 25 to 30 minutes, until deep brown and hollow-sounding underneath. Lay foil loosely over the top if the braid colours before the centre is cooked.
- Cool on a rack. Two loaves go to the Shabbat table, recalling the double portion of manna.
Technique
- It takes its name from the dough offering commanded in the Torah, a small portion separated before baking.
- A stiff dough and a tight braid. Slack dough gives a handsome braid before proving and a shapeless loaf afterwards.
- Day-old challah makes the best French toast and the best bread pudding there is.
Substitutions
- Honey in place of some of the sugar, which is common and darkens the crumb.
- A three or four strand braid if six feels like too much.
Variations
- Round and spiralled for Rosh Hashanah, with honey and raisins.
- Water challah, made without egg, which is the older and plainer form.
- With chocolate or cinnamon sugar rolled into the strands.
History
Named after the dough offering commanded in the Torah; two loaves recall the double portion of manna before Shabbat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Challah?
Challah is a bread & pastry from Israel: braided egg-enriched loaf blessed and torn at the Shabbat table. Named after the dough offering commanded in the Torah; two loaves recall the double portion of manna before Shabbat.
How long does Challah take to make?
Challah takes 30 min plus 2 hr 30 min rising of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 loaves. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Challah?
Yes, within limits. Honey in place of some of the sugar, which is common and darkens the crumb. A three or four strand braid if six feels like too much.
What is the most important thing to get right in Challah?
Knead for 10 minutes into a smooth, firm, very slightly tacky dough. Challah dough is stiffer than most enriched doughs, and that is what lets a braid hold its definition instead of spreading in the oven.
