Hand Braided Challah is a classic Shabbat staple. Whether you are making a challah out of religious obligation or just because it tastes great, this is our favorite recipe to use when you want a the traditional braided challah bread. This recipe is kosher, pareve, dairy free, and soy free. Put aside your bread machine and get ready to learn how to make the the best Braided Challah recipe right in your kitchen.
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Why This Recipe Works
For a while, we were making our Miracle Challah every week religiously...pun intended...groan. Then our bread machine broke. What a great opportunity to show the Yay Kosher community how to make challah bread by hand. We love this Braided Challah Recipe because it is:
- Connects you to your food. Baking bread can be intimidating but once you know what you are doing the stress goes away. Challah by hand really lets you connect with your food and connect with Shabbat in a way that nothing else does.
- Easy to make. Understanding how bread works and how it reacts to each step in the process is key for this recipe. Once you get that down, it is not a difficult process.
- Something that the whole family can participate in. When the dough is ready to braid, I always have at least one little one asking if they can make their own. How can you say no to that. The kids love to take a little piece of dough to knead and bake along with the Shabbat challahs.
- Looks amazing on the table. When Friday night Shabbat comes and the Braided Challahs are uncovered you know Shabbat is here. Nothing compares to the beauty of a hand braided masterpiece on your Shabbat table.
Making Braided Challah step by step:
Step 1 - Proof the yeast
Put 1 ½ cups of warm water, ½ cup sugar, and the yeast into the large mixing bowl you will use for this recipe. Wait for bubbles. This is the most important step in making challah and you want to make sure that your yeast is live before adding it to the other ingredients. This is what the live yeast cultures should look like:
Step 2 - Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl
Mix the flour, salt, eggs, oil, and proofed yeast together in a large bowl.
Knead by hand for at least 5 minutes.
The dough should look like this when you are done kneading.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and then place a towel over the top of the bowl. Let the dough rise for 90 minutes.
Step 3 - Divide the dough and braid
After 90 minutes of rising, the challah dough should be about double its original size.
Divide the dough into two pieces, one for each challah bread loaf. Cut each of the halves into 3 equal smaller pieces and roll them between your hands until they are long strands. These are the challah strands that will be braided. This is not a tutorial on braiding the ends together and you should use your own braiding technique. For Rosh HaShanah you can even use this recipe to make Round Challah.
Braid and place into a loaf pan. At this point, I let the braided challah doughs rise for another 30 minutes before baking. If you're short on time, you can skip this extra 30 minutes of rising time.
Step 4 - Bake
Brush the top of each Braided Challah loaf with egg wash and then bake for 25-30 minutes at 350ºF. If the top is not golden brown then leave in the oven for an extra 3-4 minutes.
Recipe FAQ
Challah is commonly known as an egg bread that is served on Shabbat or Yom Tov. The word Challah actually refers to the portion of the dough that is removed when making a large enough batch. The portion of the dough that is removed represents the "challah" portion of the dough that was given to the Kohen Gadol (high priest) in the times of the Temple. We do this today in an effort to fulfill the biblical obligation as well as out of tradition. Since we do not have the Temple, we burn the challah that is removed.
Besides the fact that it looks beautiful on a table, there is a spiritual significance to braiding challah as well. One of the reasons is that Shabbat is said to be a time where we are able to mend the things that were wrong with our week. In this sense, the braids in the bread represent threads being used to sew the tears in our week.
Serving suggestions
- Shabbat or Yom Tov meal. No Shabbat is complete without challah bread. This recipe is perfect for Friday night or Shabbat lunch.
- Non-dairy butter. We love to spread dairy-free butter on our first slices of piping hot challah.
- Challah French toast. Even though this recipe already contains eggs, there is no denying that Braided Challah makes amazing Challah French Toast.
- Avocado. Slice and top with avocado slices and garlic salt. A Yom Tov and Shabbat favorite.
- Challah bread pudding. Use your leftover challah for Challah Bread Pudding.
More recipes like this one
📖 Recipe
Braided Challah
Equipment
- Large bowl
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cup warm water
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 5 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
Egg Wash
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Add the warm water, sugar, and yeast into the large mixing bowl. Wait 10 minutes to make sure the yeast has been activated.
- Knead in the oil, flour, eggs, and salt by hand. Knead for 5 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball or flat disc and cover with plastic wrap. Cover the bowl with a towel. Let the dough rise for 90 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Cut each piece into 3 smaller pieces and roll them between your hands until you have 6 challah strands.
- Braid 3 strands into one challah. Repeat for the other 3 strands.
- Place the Braided Challah loaves into a loaf pan and brush the top of each with an egg wash.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. If the top of the Challah loaves are not golden brown, bake for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Notes
Serving suggestions
- Shabbat or Yom Tov meal. No Shabbat is complete without challah bread. This recipe is perfect for Friday night or Shabbat lunch.
- Non-dairy butter. We love to spread dairy-free butter on our first slices of piping hot challah.
- Challah French toast. Even though this recipe already contains eggs, there is no denying that Braided Challah makes amazing Challah French Toast.
- Avocado. Slice and top with avocado slices and garlic salt. A Yom Tov and Shabbat favorite.
- Challah bread pudding. Use your leftover challah for Challah Bread Pudding.
