The Brilliant New Technique for Pillowy Soft Challah
Serious Eats / Debbie WeeChallah, the ubiquitous Jewish Sabbath and holiday bread enriched with eggs, oil, and sugar, has a surprising history. The sweet, eggy bread is now commonplace in American culture, but for the majority of Jewish history, the Hebrew word “challah” simply meant a small portion of the Sabbath bread’s dough that was burned as a symbolic gift to the kohanim (priests) in ancient Israel. It wasn’t until the 15th century that challah began to refer to the loaf we know now with its iconic braided shape.Today challah is eaten on Shabbat and Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, and its pillowy soft texture and rich flavor have also made it popular for French toast and bread pudding in many US households—something that my Jewish grandmother never would have done, but an excellent use for the bread nonetheless! Making the show-stopping, mahogany braided loaf may seem like an intimidating project, but creating the supple egg enriched dough and getting a perfect braid are something you can easily do at home, and I encourage you to do so. Here is my guide to the key ingredients and the mixing and shaping techniques for making bakery-worthy challah at home.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeThe Key Ingredients in ChallahThe FlourWhen I started devising my ideal challah, I initially tested using whole-wheat flour in the recipe. I love the nutty deep flavor of baked goods with whole wheat flour, but found early versions were unappealing, flat, and gummy in texture due to the lack of gluten in the flour. In my subsequent research, I learned that white flour has been the ideal for Shabbat loaves since the early medieval period, according to multiple sources, including Gil Marks' Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. More recent recipes are divided between those that use all-purpose flour and higher protein bread flour. I found in testing that bread flour, with its higher gluten percentage produces a stronger, more manageable dough that is easier to shape with a better defined braid. Challah made with bread flour also had a more satisfying chewy texture.The SweetenerI originally wanted to sweeten the loaf with all honey—challah is customarily dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah, and I wanted to echo the floral sweet flavor in the dough. But I found that loaves made with all liquid honey were too wet to shape and braid. The solution was using a combination of both granulated sugar and honey; this created the sweetness I wanted in the loaf with a hint of honey flavor and gave the dough the ideal texture for braiding.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeThe EggsEggs, and especially their yolks, contribute flavor, color, richness, and tenderness to challah. Additionally, as Harold McGee writes in On Food and Cooking, eggs “supplement [the] gluten structure with tender protein coagulum” and they also “slow staling.” Egg benefits the bread when used both in the dough and as a final egg wash. When brushed on before baking, the egg wash enhances the loaf’s deep amber hue and produces its signature glossy varnish.The FatUnlike many other enriched breads, a truly kosher challah is made without dairy or meat derivatives, relying on vegetable oils and egg yolks for fat—which are considered pareve, or neither dairy nor meat. This is a result of the kosher requirement that dairy not be served with meat (the latter of which is likely to appear on the traditional Shabbat table). Some recipes call for a neutral-flavored oil like canola in the bread, but I’m fond of the fruity, bitter notes that extra-virgin olive oil adds. It also enhances the dough with a subtle green-gold hue that I love.Key Steps in the Mixing Process for the Best ChallahSure, you could mix all of your challah ingredients together at once, knead vigorously, shape, and bake, and you’d have a perfectly OK loaf. But experience has convinced me that working the following steps into the pre-shaping process ensures a next-level foolproof challah loaf everytime.Rely on an AutolyseAfter moistening the flour and yeast with water and eggs to form a shaggy mass, it’s important to let the roughly mixed dough sit for 15 minutes. This is known as autolyse. According to Ken Forkish’s Flour Water Salt Yeast, during this brief rest, the flour has time to hydrate and amylase enzymes begin to break down the complex carbohydrates into simple sugars the yeast can feed on, without salt interrupting this process. It also gives gluten structure a sort of head start, meaning that the dough will require much less mixing and kneading further down the line; this also means less work for us, the bakers. You can also read more about autolyse in our breadmaking 101 guide.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeAdd a Golden PasteSince the challah is enriched with liquid fats—oil and egg yolks—it can be challenging to knead the wet ingredients into the dough without the dough turning too soft and slack. Sticky, wet dough won’t hold its braided shape once baked. To avoid this, instead of just adding the liquid ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients when mixing, I instead incorporate what I refer to as a “golden paste,” a method I came up with, inspired by the French technique for slowly incorporating butter into brioche.I combine a small portion of flour with the oil, yolks, and honey until a manageable soft paste is formed. This paste can easily be mixed into the dough in small pieces without the dough turning too wet or greasy. It’s a similar technique to slowly incorporating softened butter into a traditional brioche dough, but instead of butter, it’s the soft golden flour and oil paste. This is an easy and mess-free way to enrich the dough with oil and eggs, and it produces a dough that is less sticky and easier to work with than if all the ingredients were mixed at once.Shaping and Braiding ChallahJewish people have enjoyed fresh bread at their Friday Sabbath, or Shabbat, meal since antiquity, but, according to Gil Marks’ Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, it wasn’t until the 1400s that “Jews in Austria and Southern Germany adopted…an oval, braided loaf, modeled on a popular Teutonic bread.” The stranded bread, with its resemblance to braided hair, was said to ward off a demon-witch named Berchta, or Holle (the similarity between “challah” and “Holle” is coincidental, from what I can tell). Marks is quick to point out that “Although European Jews certainly did not worship or even to a large extent know anything about Berchta or Holle, they [nevertheless] assimilated the attractive bread.” While some ambitious bakers go for a four- or even six-strand braid, here I stick with the basic three-strand braid. It’s still impressive and gorgeous, but I can rely on muscle memory to make it without needing to watch any YouTube videos to remember where each strand of dough goes. Should you want to try a more ambitious braid, know that many such videos exist!To make a great challah braid that holds its shape once baked, there are a few key steps. Start by gathering each piece of dough into a tight ball and then letting the balls of dough rest for at least 15 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax enough so that you can further flatten it to a puffy pancake. After the dough has rested, roll it into a log before continuing to roll it out further. These steps further develop gluten and form tighter air bubbles in the dough, which ensures that each braided strand will have the strength to expand with ease while holding its shape when baking. When sliced open, the baked loaf will reveal an appealingly arranged constellation of small air bubbles in its cross section, and when ripped apart, the bread will separate into a series of fine, velvety, elastic strips.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeProofing and Baking ChallahOne of the beauties of this recipe is that you can decide: challah today or challah tomorrow? I’ve written this recipe so the dough is proofed at room temperature for just a few hours before shaping and baking, but after its first proof, the dough can be punched down, covered, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before shaping and baking. Breadmakers will often insist that a longer cold fermentation produces a more flavorful and richly colored, longer-lasting loaf than one proofed in less time at warm room temperature. But I found that after making multiple loaves with both the shorter room temperature proofing and the longer cold proofing time, I simply couldn't taste or see a large difference. The reason I offer an overnight cold proof is that it allows you to divide up the tasks to fit into your schedule: Day one entails dough prep and bulk fermentation (first proof); day two is for final shaping and baking. But it’s good to know that when you want to start and serve a delicious loaf within the span of a few hours, it’s perfectly doable and will still produce a gorgeous loaf.I’ve also included instructions for making either one very large and impressive loaf that’s perfect for larger gatherings, or two medium-sized loaves that can be served together. You can also give the second loaf as a gift or wrap and freeze it for later. For the Base Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the hot water, eggs, and sugar until combined and the mixture registers 100°F (38℉)—just slightly warmer than your finger. Whisk in flour and yeast. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix on low speed until a shaggy dough is formed and no dry flour remains, 1 to 3 minutes. Cover bowl loosely with a kitchen towel and let sit for 15 minutes.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeFor the Golden Paste: While dough rests, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, olive oil, honey, and salt. Add the flour and, using a flexible spatula, mix well until a smooth, homogeneous dough forms; it should resemble a soft, glossy cookie dough.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeFor the Challah Bread: Mix the now-rested base dough on medium-low speed and add the prepared golden paste, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing each portion of paste to incorporate before adding the next, and scraping down bowl and dough hook as needed, about 7 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium and continue to knead until dough is elastic, smooth, and sticky, 5 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl as needed to incorporate everything. Remove the dough hook and, using a bowl scraper or spatula, gather and tuck the dough under itself to form a round mass at the bottom of the mixer bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with a large plate or plastic wrap and let proof at warm room temperature (70 to 74℉; 21 to 23℃) until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeFor Shaping Two 3-Strand Braided Loaves: Line a 13 x 18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Press down on dough to deflate and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife and divide dough into 2 equal pieces (about 555g each). Divide each dough piece into 3 equal portions for a total of 6 portions that are about 185g each.Set aside and cover with a kitchen towel. (See below for instructions on how to make one large loaf.)Serious Eats / Debbie WeeWorking with 1 dough portion at a time, cup dough with your palm and roll against the counter into a smooth, tight ball. With the dough ball seam-side down, use the heel of your hand to press and flatten the dough ball to resemble a thick pancake, measuring about 5 inches in diameter. Use your fingers as needed to stretch the dough out to 5 inches, if needed.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeFlip over, then, starting away from you, roll it down towards you into a spiral, forming a fat 5- to 6-inch log. Pinch the 2 ends of the log to seal and set the log aside on the prepared parchment, seam-side down, and repeat with the remaining dough portions. Once all logs are formed, let rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeWorking with 1 rested log at a time, transfer to a clean work surface (avoid flouring your work surface, as a slightly tacky surface is needed to create enough tension for rolling the strands). Starting at the center of the log, use the fingers and palms of both hands to roll the log into a thin long strand, leaving ends slightly tapered, that measures about 12 inches long by 1½ inches in diameter if making 2 medium-loaves. Return shaped strand to baking sheet and repeat with the remaining logs.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeLightly flour the work surface and roll each strand in the flour for a thin flour coating. (This will help maintain the definition in the braid later during shaping.)Set 3 floured strands aside and place the remaining 3 strands on the work surface with length perpendicular to the counter’s edge and spaced about 2 inches apart. Pinch the far ends of the 3 strands together.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeBegin to braid the challah by lifting the dough strand on the right side, passing it over the center strand. The strand that had been on the right is now the center strand. The original center strand is now the right strand. The rope on the left has not moved.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeLift the dough strand on the left and pass it over the center strand. The rope that was on the left is now the center strand. Continue braiding the challah by alternately placing the right rope over the center rope, then the left rope over the center rope. Try to keep the braid tight while working down the loaf, while also avoiding pulling and stretching of the strands.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeOnce the braid is complete, press and pinch the open ends together. Tuck both pinched ends of the braid under to form rounded ends of the loaf. Gently transfer the braided loaf to the lined baking sheet, placing it at a 45-degree angle to fit, leaving enough space for the second loaf.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeRepeat braiding and shaping the second challah loaf with the remaining 3 strands and transfer to the baking sheet with the first loaf, arranging both at a 45-degree angle to fit.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeLoosely drape loaves with kitchen towels or greased plastic wrap and let proof at warm room temperature until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours. (When you press a finger into the dough, it should bounce back only halfway, leaving an impression on the surface.)Serious Eats / Debbie WeeWhile challah is proofing, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃). In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water until fully combined. Using a pastry brush, gently brush loaves all over with egg wash, being careful to avoid excess dripping at the bottom of the loaves; you do not want a moat of egg surrounding your challah. Refrigerate the remaining egg wash and let loaves rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes. (This rest allows the egg wash to dry before applying the second coat.) Brush with a second coat of egg wash. Sprinkle all over with sesame or poppy seeds, if using.Serious Eats / Debbie WeeBake, rotating sheet halfway through baking, until challah is fully baked, registers 200°F to 210°F (93℃ to 99℃) with an instant-read thermometer, and braids are glossy and deep amber in color, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 1 hour. Slice and serve.·Serious Eats / Debbie WeeFor Making 1 large 3-Strand LoafIn step 5, Use a bench scraper or sharp knife and divide dough into 2 equal pieces (about 555g each). Divide each dough piece into 3 equal portions (about 370g/13 ounces each). Continue shaping as directed above, and in step 8 roll the dough strands out to 18 inches long by 1 inch in diameter. Continue with the recipe as written.Special EquipmentDigital kitchen scale, stand mixer with dough hook attachment, pastry brushMake-Ahead and StorageTo bake the loaf the next day, make and proof the dough through step 4, then deflate dough as instructed in step 5 and leave the deflated dough in the bowl, cover the bowl tightly with a silicone bowl cover or aluminum foil and refrigerate for the next 8 to 24 hours. When you’re ready, proceed with step 6.Store baked challah at room temperature, wrapped in a kitchen towel or in an airtight container, for up to 4 days. Or the challah can be sliced and frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Toast individual slices straight from the freezer. Toast with caution, as challah browns quickly.
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