Challah bread is a beautiful and delicious Jewish bread eaten on Shabbat (the Sabbath), holidays, and other special days (except during Passover). It is made from a heavy dough that is separated and braided. A topping is usually added before baking—poppy seeds and sesame seeds are common.
Most Americans pronounce it “hallah” bread, but the “ch” at the beginning of challah is the Hebrew letter “chet” pronounced like the “ch” at the end of Bach. It’s a guttural sound, typical in Hebrew, a harsh sound made in the throat—practice for a minute. Now, practice with your kids. They’ll love it.
After braiding, I double this recipe and put the loaves I am not using for that evening in the freezer to save work on the following Shabbat. They will take a few hours to defrost and rise, so allow that if you freeze yours.
I adapted this recipe from Susan Marcus’s book Enter His Gates. This book is written for Christians who desire to return to their Jewish roots. It contains recipes, traditions, holidays, and more, all explaining how they’re relevant to the Christian faith. I highly recommend it!
I use a 6-strand braid, but a 3-strand braid also looks beautiful. I will include a video for the 6-strand braid soon, so stay tuned!
Challah
(makes three loaves)
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs + 1 egg to brush on top
- ½ cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoons salt
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 2 packages (or 4 ½ teaspoons) Fleischmann’s yeast
- 6-8 cups flour
- Optional: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt, etc. for topping
Directions:
Mix all ingredients except the flour.
Add flour until a soft, pliable dough is formed.
Cover and let rise in a warm place away from drafts until doubled in size (about one or two hours).
Punch down and let rise again (about one hour) until doubled.
Divide the dough into 3 sections.
Divide each section into 6 sections and roll each section into a log.
Braid.
Place in a loaf pan or on a pizza stone.
Repeat with the other 2 sections.
Cover and let rise for about 30-40 minutes.
Just before baking, brush loaves with beaten egg.
Optional: top with poppy seeds, coarse salt, sesame seeds, etc.
Bake in 350° oven for about 23 minutes or until golden brown.
Immediately place on a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
Thank you will make this soon!
Are you using all purpose flour or bread flour?
I usually use all-purpose but I’ve used bread flour many times and I don’t notice much of a difference, to be honest.
I have come back to this recipe page many times since September and never realized you responded to my message. I apologize! Challah bread has been my go to special to bring for holidays since then. My husband even gave me an embroidered challah bread cover for Christmas. Thank you again for posting!
I made this with my 11 and 7 year old. I had never made bread before, but the recipe was easy to follow and turned out well! We made one load with poppy seeds, one with salt, and one plain. The overall winner in the taste test was the plain, followed by the salt topped. Thanks for posting!!
I’m so glad it turned out well, Stacey! And way to go for making challah as your first bread recipe! I hope your children have a precious memory of baking challah with their mom. Shalom!