Sweet and fluffy, this is the ultimate, egg-free challah. A chickpea flour custard adds that familiar enriched dough feel in a traditional sweet challah, while keeping the crumb extra moist and soft.
Ashley’s Ultimate Vegan Challah
Servings
4 Servings
Ingredients
- ¼ c chickpea flour
- 1 c non dairy milk
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- ⅓ c maple syrup or silan
- ⅓ c canola oil
- ½ tsp black salt
- 4-6 c all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp nondairy milk
- sesame seeds zaatar
- poppy seeds
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, mix chickpea flour with some milk to form paste.
- Whisk in the rest of milk, and cook on medium heat until significantly thickened and pudding-like, stirring constantly. Let cool until just warm to touch.
- In a large bowl, stir chickpea custard with yeast and maple syrup or silan. Allow the yeast mixture to rest for a bit. The yeast may start to bubble slightly (which is a good thing).
- Add in salt and oil, and then begin to add flour. I usually start with about 4 cups, then knead it in to see how sticky dough still is. Add more flour if necessary, a little at a time, until dough is no longer sticky.
- Knead about 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic, and bounces back when lightly pressed.
- Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with a bit of plastic and a towel and place in the fridge to rise overnight.
- In the morning, punch down dough, then preheat the oven to 350°F (about 175°C). Shape dough according to your preference. For a round loaf, roll dough into one long rope. Tie rope into a regular knot, tucking one end underneath the loaf, while letting the other stick out just a bit.
- Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size.
- Brush with the nondairy milk mixture, then sprinkle topping over evenly.
- Bake on a large cookie sheet (for round loaf) for about 30 minutes. If after that time the top is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of foil and bake for about another 30 minutes. When done, a knife inserted into the center (do it between coils, not in the exact center of the rope) should come back clean, and will slide in easily. You can alternatively check that it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If braiding the loaf, it will probably only need to bake for about 30 minutes.
You can use olive oil or any other type of oil, but you will need some fat.
can the oil be replaced?
I made this for Yom Kippur and used sea salt. It turned out fine. This is the best Challah we have eaten, even compare to the store bought one 😀 Thank you Ashley!!
My experience with black salt is, when using it in a dish and cook with it, we could not taste the difference between black and normal sea salt. It will work wonder when you use black salt freshly cracked on top of your meal.
Thanks for letting us know, great comment and glad it worked well for you
I love this tangzhong style recipe, but have had to work on it to get it right. It is much nicer than a water challah and stays fresh for a chilly of days.
But… It needs water, otherwise it is too dry,
I make the custard and bung the rest in the Breadmaker on the dough setting or mixer
45g (1/4 cup) chickpea flour.
250ml (1 cup) non dairy milk
1 tsp instant yeast
60ml (1/4 cup) black treacle/molasses, maple syrup or silan
60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
½ tsp black salt
1½ tsp table salt
600g bread flour (or half wholemeal, half white or any other ratio you like)
130ml water
I’m in the uk, flour may be different, I don’t know 😊
many thanks I have made dozens with all sorts of flour, spelt flour is great.
Ashley, can you provide a sub for black salt? Would coarse salt work? Others?