Challah is one of the most delicious things, and Shabbat would be incomplete without it.
Unfortunately, it’s usually very time-consuming and sometimes we just don’t have the time. We found a perfect recipe for those times you need a last-minute challah that tastes great!
We used this challah mold, available on Amazon to make it quick and easy, no shaping required.
Instant yeast will work best in this recipe, but active dry yeast should be fine too, you don’t need to mix it with water and sugar before adding the rest of the ingredients unless you are concerned your yeast may be expired.
1-Hour Challah: Challenge Accepted!
Servings
1 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg plus 1 for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ¾ cup warm water
- 2 ¾ cups Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
- Sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C.
- Add the yeast, sugar, salt, 1 egg, canola oil and warm water to a bowl and mix. Add the flour gradually, mixing continuously. Knead for 5 minutes.
- Oil a medium challah mold and add the dough, cover with a towel soaked with hot water. Add a full cup of water to a microwave and run on high for 2 minutes. Move the cup to the corner of the microwave, add the mold with dough into the microwave and leave to rise for 20 minutes. 3. Place in oven and bake for 18 minutes. Flip the challah onto a baking sheet and brsh with egg wash. Sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. Bake for another 10 minutes.
Is there a way to adjust to make water challah?
You can try and leave out the egg but we haven’t tried it so can’t say if it will work.
I am not sure but I would think 1 batch could fit in 2 small ones, you will have to try and see. If it’s not enough for 2 small molds you can fill one and make a few small rolls in muffin tins on the side.
I bought the two small challah molds . Do I just use half the recipe in each one or do I need to make more dough? If I do, how much?
Thanks
Please see my notes above on how I formed and baked it.
Made this evening as I didn't have time for my regular challah recipe. Made the dough as directed, but formed in in a circle braid, put it on a baking sheet, glazed it with an egg, and stuck it in an oven that had been heated to 170 degrees F and then turned off for 30 minutes to rise. Rose beautifully. Glazed it again and baked at 375 for 25 min. Perfection. Will make again when I'm short on time. Amazingly good flavor and texture.
If you braided instead of using the mold, what thebaking process and Time be
If you braid it instead of using the mold what’s the baking method and time?
Can you use bread flour instead of regular flour? I’d like to add honey also-how much would you recommend?
Thank you
Sure, bread flour is fine and you an add a few spoonfuls of honey, more than that and I am not sure how it will effect the result.
Thanks so much for your helpful response! I look forward to making this recipe.
Is the egg wash just beaten egg or is it mixed with any water??
Just beaten egg
Would there be much difference if I braided the dough inSTEAD of using the mold?
It will just take longer.
Great question, you have to be careful not to over proof still but I think another 30 minutes might be good
I love this recipe! It is a great time saver. I was wondering, however, if I let the dough rise for a longer period in the microwave, will it come out a little fluffier and less dense?
Please list the ingredients in grams. The use of measuring cups aren’t accurate and can result in a terrible product. We’re the only country in the world whom uses cups for measuring.
The use of cups, teaspoons, etc. come from a time when people had few possessions and didn’t have weights and measures, especially when traveling. Everyone had a cup and a spoon. While it wasn’t as accurate, the approximation allowed baking and cooking by all.
I agree that weights/grams are more accurate.
I just received the LARGE silicone Challah mold as agift. Can you give me recipe for that size mold. Thank you.
You can use this recipe in the large size it just might not be quite as full, but it will work.
The only reason to proof the yeast first is to make sure it is working and that is typically only on the package for Active Dry Yeast, Instant Yeast says it can be added directly but there have been many tests using active dry yeast in this way too and they have found no difference when added directly as long as the yeast is good.
I’m not a baker and am a bit confused. Everything I read, including the yeast package, says that you have to proof the yeast first. Your recipe does not do that. Is there a reason everything is mixed together right away without proofing the yeast first?
I made this recipe this past Friday. It came out perfectly! The texture of the bread was great. One quick question…we like our challah to be sweeter, probably with honey. How can I adjust the recipe to accomplish this???
Can it be made gluten free
So strange, are you sure your yeast was good? The towel should be soaked through but then rung out.
Yay, so happy to hear. thanks
Mine hardly rose. How wet should the towel be?
I made the challah using the microwave and silicone mold.I finished it with everything bagel topping and it was delicious! Great time saver!
Made the challah using the microwave and silicone mold. Completed it with everything bagel topping and it was delicious. Easy and a time saver!
I was in a tight spot just before Shabbat this past week and found out that I was short on challah. I had just seen the email with the recipe mentioned and decided I would give it a try.
I noticed first, that the type of yeast was not specified. .As it was meant to be a quick recipe, I assumed that it might be like one of the recipes I have for pizza dough, and opted to use insant yeast instead of dry active.
The dough came together nicely and kneaded well. I tried getting it to rise in the microwave as per the recipe’s instructions, but that failed; the dough did not rise much at all. I let it sit next to my warm oven for an additional 20 minutes and it did rise a bit more.
Even though the dough still required more time ot rise, I popped it in the oven as time was running out.
The taste and texture was good, if a bit dense. We all enjoyed it, so that’s a big win!!
I fully intend to try this again and let it rise in my oven on the dough proving setting and see if it yields better results next time.
Thanks so much for saving my Shabbat!
LOL
Did you try the link above to order the mold on amazon? You can also try it without the mold and shape the challah and place in a loaf pan, we just saved a few extra minutes this way.
So sorry, I am not sure what else could be the issue, but if the yeast was not good obviously that would be a big factor.
My challah challenge is NKT to eat so much of it.
I love the recipe but I would not know where to buy a Challa mold. There are no Jewish stores where I live. (Middle of nowhere in New Mexico) I love Challa and my daughter likes to have me make french toast with it. Thank you for the Recipe..
I bought the mold but this recipe was a disaster for me. Thinking that maybe the yeast was bad (although exp 22) because it was raw inside and never rose properly to fill the pan. Finished product, crust was not smooth, was almost horizontal stretch lines on it. Will try again but proof the yeast first. Tasted good so just turned the raw slices into croutons, albeit expensive croutons – lol Any other thoughts?
How would you change the times if you used 6 roll molds instead? Would there be enough dough for 6 rolls?
Thank you for this recipe! I love freshly baked challah but I’m super lazy. I did need to use a lot more flour than the recipe called for but it worked out well. I don’t have a microwave so I heated up my oven on the lowest heat, then turned it off and let the dough rise there. I also made 3 little braided challahs so I put egg wash and seeds on them and then put them in the oven for 25 mins. Came out perfect!
Use any container that can hold in the heat. You could, for example, put the loaf pan into larger pan that has a lid. Then set that larger pan into an even larger pan with warm water.
The microwave part helps create a warm environment to speed up the rising time, so you can either double the rising time without the microwave. If you have an extra oven you can use one to create a warm environment by placing a bowl of boiling water in the oven with the bread, while the other one preheats for baking.
Can I make this without a microwave
We have a few gluten free challah recipes find them here https://jamiegeller.com/search?query=gluten+free+challah
Jamie, have you tried to bake a gluten free challah? Thanks Julie
We used a medium challah mold for this recipe, it might be too much dough for the small, but I would think with the large it would be okay.
Sorry that your recommended products are all from Amazon. There is a growing awareness of how pernicious that company is and many seek other sources. Saving a few pennies isn’t worth the harm to workers and society.
What size challah mold is used with this recipe and how does it change to be used with a medium or large size mold.
Can you do this with gluten free flour?
What size is the challah mold. Is there anything else we can use?
I just looked up challah molds on Amazon. There are three sizes for silicone molds: small, medium and large. Which size was used in this recipe? I would love to try the recipe!
What if you don’t have a mold, which btw, I have never seen in my 80 years?
Can you make this without a mold or use a tube or bundt pan?
I like the idea! What would be the amounts/ microwave settings etc for the medium and large mold and even the Challah-ettes. I’m hankering to try this
Hi. I love getting the daily recipes or tips or whatever you send. I have a problem though with the videos that are supposedly
posted. It says ‘watch the video below’, but when I click on it, there is NO video, just the recipe. How can this be helped?
Thank you, Lisa Adler