This gluten free challah recipe not only looks incredible but tastes it too!
Gluten free folks gather ’round- this Chanukah Challah is for you! And because Bob’s Red Mill offers the largest lines of organic, whole grain foods to satisfy vegan, paleo, and gluten-free friendly cooking and baking needs, all you need is their All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour to make this delicious challah. (The recipe will work with their Artisan Bread and All-Purpose regular flours too!) The challah can be made vegan if you sub maple syrup for honey and use oil instead of egg for the glaze.
Don’t forget to post your beautiful Insta-worthy challahs on social and we’ll give you a shout!
Gluten Free Gelt-Stuffed Chanukah Challah
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 22-ounce/4.5 cups bag Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1½ cup warm water
- 7 pieces of chocolate gelt
- 1 egg beaten for egg wash
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, yeast and salt.
- Add honey, oil, and water and mix again until a dough forms.
- Flip dough onto a clean surface and gently knead until all ingredients are incorporated and dough is smooth.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise, in a cozy warm corner of the kitchen, for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper. Separate 7 pieces of dough, each roughly the size of a clementine orange. Press a piece of chocolate gelt into each piece of dough. Roll the dough into smooth circles and place on the tray arranged like in the picture below.
- With the remaining dough, form the rest of the shapes (branches and base) of the menorah- it’s easiest to look at the picture and with some trial and error, your Chanukah challah will look gorgeous.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃. Brush challah with beaten egg and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.
- Bake at 350℉/175℃ for 20 – 25 minutes until puffed and golden.
- Note: This challah can not be used for hamotzi on Shabbat, if you are looking for a gluten free challah recipe that can be used for hamotzi, find our oat based Gluten Free Challah here.
I use Einkorn Wheat flour, which although not strictly gluten free, it doesn’t appear to trigger gluten allergies like modern bread flour. I also made it correctly with 8 branches…. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7da43dd462051192bfb4d7cc8aaff32b328d0999312deba75e15441795276c4d.jpg
I want to try this recipe for a regular GF challah recipe as I’m familiar with the flour for many years. However, doesn’t the dough need to rise after you get it in the shape desired (Chanukiah, braid, round braid, …)?
You look to have shaped it, then immediately brushed it with the egg wash and into the oven it went. I feel like a second rise was missing.
We found it didn’t need more than the time the oven took to preheat after shaping, but you can let it rise 30 minutes or so if you desire.
Just so you know you’re not alone, I had the same question. lol
Wow, now I’m really getting nervous. I was planning to make this for a family dinner later this week and don’t want a flop. My budget is very tight and I always hope not to waste food. I did make sure to buy the red bag and new yeast. I will make this the day before I need it and hope for the best, but these comments are not encouraging.
So sorry, we did re test and found we needed an extra 1/2 cup water, it is written correctly in the directions now.
I too made this recipe and had to throw the whole thing out. I used all the ingredients and brands recommended, but the dough would not stick together, knead, or rise. It came out hard as a rock and I too had to throw the whole thing out. What a waste!
So sorry, we did double check and found that we actually used 1 1/2 cups water not 1, but everything else still worked great for us.
We tested and developed this recipe with the Bob’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (red bag) so can only speak to that specific GF flour for this recipe (as you know Gluten Free Flour is very tricky). If you do try it with the Blue 1-1 please let us know. As for the Menorah you can absolutley make an 8 branch!!!
Sounds like what happened to me, but I didn’t try again.What is the difference between red versus blue bag of Bob’s GF flour?
So sorry all, we did find one mistake in the amount of water and updated the recipe, should be 1 1/2 cups but other than that we loved how it came out
I made this recipe and measured every ingredient exactly, including measuring temperature of water so that yeast would activate. However, the dough wouldn’t stick together even slightly until I doubled the water/ honey/ oil, and then the dough didn’t rise. The menorah looked nice but the consistency was like sandy cement. I have had good luck with all other challah recipes. Any suggestions?
I was so excited about this recipe since every Jamie Geller recipe I’ve ever tried has been great! Sad to say, this is one of the worst recipes I have ever tried – and I tried the recipe twice. The first failure was on me. Be careful to get the red bag of Bob’s GF Flour, not the 1-1 blue bag. It never came to a dough. I added more oil and water to make a dough. It rose, though was very crumbly and difficult to form. When cooked, it came out hard as a rock, tasted the same, and went right into the trash.
Second time, I had the correct flour and got a dry, though formed, dough. It held together, but was not easily kneadable. It did not rise at all in my cozy warm spot. (I’d even bought new yeast, making sure it was active dry.) I managed to form a Chanukiah and baked it. It was again hard as a rock, tasted awful, and went into the trash.
Determined to get this right, I made up my own recipe, based on my regular challah recipe, using my breadmaker and two different GF flours, and a third, adding some when shaping (they were what I had in the house). I used canola oil and I did use eggs (one could probably use an egg replacer), and sugar instead of honey. It was a wet dough after the bread machine dough cycle, but adding the third GF flour when shaping did it. I put the chocolate inside the “candles”, and made some “gelt’ with the extra dough. It was 2:30 am by the time all was done. However, the third time was a charm. Success! Hubby tried a “gelt” and said it did not taste like GF challah.
This was a challenge, but I liked the idea, so I kept going until I got it to work. Still excited about Jamie’s recipes, but this one missed the mark.
Wish I could post a picture of the final product!
Do you think I could use the Bob’s Red Mill 1 – 1 gluten free flour (in the blue bag) in this recipe? Is there not enough dough to make an 8-branch Hanukkiah, or was your pan just too small?
From calculateme.com
22 Ounces of All Purpose Flour =
4.30 U.S. Cups
3.58 Imperial Cups
4.07 Metric Cups
Important Notes:
All results are approximate
Ingredient weights vary
Flour is measured using the dip and sweep method
How many cups is 22 ounces of flour? I bought the 5 lb. bag of Bob’s gluten free baking flour
This gluten free challah looks wonderful and I will try it. I made pumpkin spice challah using regular bread flour for Thanksgiving, and it had a wonderful taste. Despite using very fresh yeast and measuring temperature of water so it is proper temperature, the dough never rose enough during the first stage, even if I give it more than 45 minutes. Any suggestions??
I was wondering the same thing. It should be 8, since it’s for Hanukkah.
LOL, yes it should be 8 branches, we thought we would save you all on some carbs, but a real Hanukkah Menorah should have 4 branches on each side of the shamash, feel free to make it as you like.
Sorry to hear that, we can’t say for sure what else will work, as you know GF baking is much trickier, you can try one of our other GF challah recipes but this one holds its shape well.
Bob’s GF flour has possible soy contamination and I can’t eat it so I’m wondering if the recipe works with other GF flours? I often use a mix of white and brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and xanthum gum or should I try something else? Any suggestions?
Yes, for sure, you want eat the ooey gooey chocolate in the middle of the challah not foil.
Why is it a six branch candelabra? Otherwise, really cute.
Looks great. Do you remove foil from gelt ?