The Best Challah Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best flour to use for challah? ›

For best flavor, we recommend substituting white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour. For best texture, allow the just-mixed dough to rest for 20 minutes before kneading; this gives the flour a chance to absorb the liquid, making it easier to handle.

Translation: Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to separate challah. Separate a small piece of dough, approximately one ounce, and say: "This is challah."

Oil: Vegetable oil, generally used in making challah, is fine—and produces neutral-tasting bread. I prefer olive oil and love the slightly herbal note it imparts to my bread. If using raisins: Make sure the raisins are plump and not desiccated, if using.

In Judaism, the dough offering (or mitzvat terumat challah, "commandment of separating challah" Hebrew: מצוות תרומת חלה) is an assertive command requiring the owner of bread dough to give a part of the kneaded dough to a kohen (Jewish priest).

1. Do not separate challah when using flour less than 1.23kg (approximately 8 cups of unsifted flour or 9 cups of sifted flour). 2. Separate challah without a brocha when using flour weighing between 1.23kg and 1.67kg (between approximately 8 to 12 cups of unsifted flour or 9 and 15 cups of sifted flour).

Amount of flour: The key to a soft loaf that isn't dense is to use as little flour as possible.

During the rising process the gluten in the dough is working as well as the yeast; insufficient time alloted disrupts their baking qualities. Overrising the first rise, which is when the dough is still just a dough, can occur.

Why? So the challah can be dipped right after the beracha is recited. The Mishnah Berurah (167:27) explains that dipping in salt or condiments makes the first bite tasty and adds honor to the beracha.

Challah needs two rises: the first rise happens after you make your dough and the second rise happens after you shape it, before you put into the oven. So, if you're freezing your challah dough unshaped, then it'll defrost, which will be the first rise. You'll braid it, and then it'll rise again, and then you bake it.

Jewish bakeries use oil so the challah can be eaten with a dairy or meat meal, but we use butter because it tastes so much better. To make a traditional loaf, you can substitute a neutral vegetable oil like canola, corn or sunflower oil.

Can I substitute butter for oil in challah? ›

Substituting butter: If you don't need to keep a kosher table, you can substitute melted butter for the oil in this recipe. Storage: Wrap cooled challah tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Does olive oil make dough softer? Yes - adding olive oil to sourdough bread will result in a softer crust and crumb. The oil as a lipid coats the flour and inhibits the gluten network resulting in a softer, tighter crumb and softer crust.

On the eve of Shabbat, two loaves are placed on the table to reference the Jewish teaching that a double portion of manna fell from heaven on Friday to last through the Saturday Shabbat.

Braided ones, which may have three, four, or six strands, are the most common, and because they look like arms intertwined, symbolize love. Three braids symbolize truth, peace, and justice. Twelve humps from two small or one large braided bread recall the miracle of the 12 loaves for the 12 tribes of Israel.

Another interpretation is that having two loaves of three-stranded braids equals six total strands, which symbolize the six work days of the week aside from Shabbat. Challah made for Rosh Hashanah is round, to represent continuity without beginning or end.

This is because the higher protein content of bread flour will help you create the high rise and rustic crust of an artisan style loaf. If, however, you're looking to bake a super soft brioche, you'll need to use a bread flour in the lower protein range.

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

Bread Flour

It's easy to find in any grocery store (again, King Arthur Flour is a favorite brand), is affordable, and adds some extra oomph and crispiness to thin crust and New York-style pizzas. It will make your crust crispy on the outside and chewy and textured on the inside.

Wheat flour (Bread flour is preferable, but any wheat flour is fine.) Gluten-free flour (This could be rice flour, corn flour, a gluten-free baking flour mix, etcetera.)