Hello friends!

Growing up, all the bread I knew about was either wheat bread, or some variation of soft white bread. Oh, and rye bread, the light kind loaded with caraway seeds. To this day, after 22 years of baking professionally, I still don’t relate to people’s love for great crusty loaves. As an example, I’ve made thousands of baguettes over the years, and I judge them by their flavor and crumb structure. The idea of a crunchy crust is just not something I relate to.

So I was in culinary school before I first heard of challah. But challah has the soft, rich crumb that I love, reminiscent of the bread I did grow up eating. And when I saw the loaves being braided, I fell in love.

I wove an eighteen-strand braid for my centerpiece in breads class my first year in culinary school, and I’ve been doing four-strand and six-strand breads for two decades now. Challah is not only delicious, but it is my go-to for decorative pieces.

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Challah is also distinctly Jewish in its ethnicity. While the formula may change from baker to baker, a proper challah is kosher. This means it is made with water, not milk, and oil, not butter. I have encountered formulas that use pumpkin puree, and there appears to be an even split on honey vs granulated sugar. The proportion of eggs also varies from baker to baker, but always some eggs are included.

500 grams bread flour

190 grams cold water

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

45 grams oil (I favor half olive oil and half vegetable oil)

23 grams honey

22 grams granulated sugar

10 grams salt

5 grams instant yeast

Mix all ingredients on low speed in a stand mixer, until a cohesive dough forms. Increase the speed to medium-low speed, and mix until the gluten is properly developed. This whole process should take approximately seven minutes: three and a half minutes on low speed for the ingredients to come together nicely, and three and a half minutes to knead into proper gluten development.

The best way to check for gluten development is the windowpane test: when the dough feels smooth and elastic, pinch off a small (walnut size) piece of dough. Stretch this gently between the thumb and forefinger of both hands; when it is possible to stretch the dough thin enough to see light through it, without tearing, the dough has been properly mixed.

Now comes the bulk fermentation: set the dough in a container at least twice the dough’s volume. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and leave alone until the dough has doubled in volume. Depending on the temperature of the dough, as well as the temperature of the room, this may take from one to three hours. Ideally, the temperature of the dough should be hover around 80 degrees; the exact temperature determines how quickly the dough will rise. Well, bread requires patience.

As a general rule, breadmaking takes (approximately) 5-6 hours from start to finish. This is to be expected. However. In breadmaking, fermentation equals flavor, so the longer the fermentation time is drawn out, the better the flavor. With challah, after the dough doubles in volume it can be kneaded down and stored in the refrigerator overnight. This also allows the dough to be mixed one evening, and baked the next day.

After the dough has doubled in volume, shape as desired. This dough will fit nicely in a two-pound loaf pan, or can be divided into smaller pieces and braided. To braid as a four-strand braid, scale the dough into four, 210 gram pieces. For three strands, scale the dough into three, 280 gram pieces. To braid as a six-strand braid, divide the dough into six, 140 gram pieces.

If the dough is being braided, lightly round each piece of dough, and allow the pieces to relax at least thirty minutes before rolling into strands and braiding.

For an ideal crust, I recommend brushing the dough lightly with an egg wash before baking. A nice basic egg wash is three egg yolks mixed with one quarter cup whole milk.

After shaping the dough, allow it to again double in volume. Brush with egg wash, and bake at 375. The final interior temperature of the dough, once it has been properly baked, should be between 195 and 200 degrees.