World’s Best Challah (In my opinion)
Holla! Sorry, I had to.
Who in the world doesn’t love challah? It’s one of those foods I only allow myself to eat on special Jewish holidays, because otherwise I literally eat the entire loaf. In one sitting.
Seriously, it’s impressive. Or sad.
Everybody has their favorite challah. What’s yours? Mom’s homemade, the local market, your favorite deli? Dark and crisp on the outside, or lightly bronzed? Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or just plain naked?
What’s my favorite challah you ask?
Mine.
I know, you think I’m biased, but I promise my challah will make you hollaaaaaa!! Sorry, I had to again.
I was always afraid of making bread from scratch. Let’s be honest, I still am. I certainly don’t consider myself a baker, but damn Gina this bread is a winner. Slightly time consuming, mainly because of the wait time. The actual hands-on portion is definitely manageable.
When I make this challah I feel like Susie Homemaker. It’s warm, comforting, and just plain delish.
Play around with it. Sometimes I make one giant loaf, other times I do two, three, or four smaller loaves. Any leftover bread (which there never is in my house) makes killer french toast in the morning.
Drooling.
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World’s Best Challah
Description
A light and fluffy homemade challah! Made from scratch in just a few easy steps. Served perfectly for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sugar plus 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup warm water, divided
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (or any flavorless oil)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 3/4 to 4 cups all purpose flour (you may need more if dough is super sticky)
- Poppy seeds or sesame seeds
- 1 egg yolk (beaten with 1 teaspoon water)
Instructions
- Rinse a large bowl with hot water then dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in the rinsed bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve.
- Combine with oil, remaining water, sugar, salt, eggs, and half the flour. Beat well. Stir in the remaining flour. Dough should be sticky. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes, adding flour as needed. If dough is still sticky, don’t be afraid to add more flour. The goal is for the dough to be smooth.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest until doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Punch down. Divide dough into 3 equal parts (or more if you are making more than one loaf). Shape into strands. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and braid loosely. Fasten ends securely. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled, about 20-30 minutes.
- Brush with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown. Shorten baking time if making smaller loaves.
Get. In. My. Face.
The best challah!! Very easy to make and is delicious! Highly recommend. I also used this recipe to make babka and it was great! Thanks for the recipe, Laney!
Such a good idea to make babka with it! I gotta try that.
My friend just gave me a loaf of this and it was so delicious I had to ask her for the recipe!
Would it be ok to use melted butter instead of oil? If so, would it be a 1:1 substitution?
If I wanted to use a dough hook and my kitchenaid to knead, would I reduce the time to more like 5 minutes? Please let me know and thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! I’ve never tried swapping for melted butter so I can’t say for sure. And yes if you use a dough hook just knead until its smooth!
I am making this for the first time. It is in my oven at the moment and the house smells amazing! The plan is to use this for our traditional of french toast Christmas morning. I may need to make another loaf I’m not sure this one will make it!
I hope you loved it!
We did! It was phenomenal! Made the best holiday french toast ever! I am making another loaf for us and one for our new neighbors too. Thank you!
Hooray!!! One of my favorites!
This bread turned out soooo tender and flavorful! I do prefer to use cold water and fast-acting yeast — longer proving time needed, but even more flavor. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and it turned out great!
Hello! I have made this recipe a couple times and absolutely love it but have a few questions.
Is it possible to stop at one of the steps and continue the next day? If so, which one?
Would /could you use bread flour instead of AP?
Could you use a kitchen aid with dough hook to knead the dough?
Thank you so much!
Love this! It is the simplest challah recipe I have found. Also bakes well on a bread/pizza stone.
Oh great to know!
Can I let this rest over night?
Yes in the fridge!
Super excited to try this! Is coconut sugar ok?
It might turn the recipe dark
What does punch down mean?
Literally make a fist and punch the bread!
I need help on this or a video. Why kind of oil? What does “punch down” mean? And how do you “shape it into strands”???
I have a highlight on my Instagram showing how I do it. But you literally just punch the dough once it rises. And you make it into strands like 3 long snakes and braid!
Which would be better to freeze the dough or the already cooked bread? We just don’t need that much challah, i know. I’m crazy!
You could do either!
when you say beat well on this challah what does beat well mean mixing by hand or using a hand mixer ..thanks
Hi Cheryl! I mean just to mix it well. You can use your hands, a wooden spoon, or a spatula. I will clarify in the directions. Thanks for commenting!
Laney, I made the Corn Bread recipe for Mark and Sara to go along with chili when they returned from their birthday trip to Disney World. It was fantastic!!! Cousin Miriam
I’m so glad Miriam! 🙂