This is my favorite challah recipe, one that I learned from Chasidic Jews in Brooklyn and Jerusalem. For the New Year, I use honey in place of the sugar in the traditional recipe.
Holiday Challah
Servings
2 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons 1 ½ packages active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 8 –8 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1 ¾ cups of warm water in a large bowl.
- Whisk the oil into the yeast mixture, then beat in 2 of the eggs, one at a time, along with the honey and the salt. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading.) Gradually add eight cups of flour and stir. When the dough holds together, it is ready for kneading.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out the bowl and grease it, then return the dough to the bowl.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour. (You may put the dough in an oven that has been warmed to 150°F and turned off.)
- When the dough has almost doubled in volume, punch it down, cover, and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
- To Make a 6-Braided Challah:
- Take half the dough and form into 6 balls.
- With your hands, roll each ball into a strand tapered at the ends about 12 inches long and 1 ½ inches wide.
- Pinch the strands together at one end, and gently spread them apart.
- Next, move the outside right strand over 2 strands.
- Take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right.
- Regroup to 3 on each side.
- Take the outside left strand and move it over 2 to the middle, then move the second strand from the right over to the far left.
- Regroup and start over with the outside right strand.
- Continue until all the strands are braided, tucking the ends underneath the loaf.
- The key is always to have 3 strands on each side, so you can keep your braid balanced.
- Make a second loaf the same way. To make round loaves, simply pinch the two braided ends together and tuck under the loaf.
- Place the braided loaves in greased 10- by 4-inch loaf pans or on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches between them.
- Beat the remaining egg and brush it on the loaves. Let rise another hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and brush the loaves with egg again, then sprinkle on poppy or sesame seeds.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Cool the loaves on a rack.
- Note: To make rolls, take some dough, about the size of a tennis ball, roll it out to about 12 inches, and swirl into a roll. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes in a 350°F oven.
- Recipe published in JOY of KOSHER with Jamie Geller magazine Summer 2014. Subscribe Now.
Can this recipe be cut in half for just one loaf? If I make a 3 strand braided challah, does baking time remain the same? Also, if I make it ahead of time, can the dough stay in the fridge for 2-3 days? If so, what’s the procedure then before baking?
You should be able to halve the recipe and I don’t think it will affect the baking time. The dough might be okay for 1 day but I would not leave it for 2-3 days in the fridge, I would be afraid of over-proofing. If you are looking for a recipe to prep the dough ahead and leave in the fridge for a few days I recommend our No Knead Challah https://jamiegeller.com/recipes/jamie-gellers-no-knead-challah-bread/