This braided Challah Bread recipe makes two of the best, most gorgeous braided loaves you will ever eat! Enjoy one loaf warm from the oven and save the other loaf for French toast a few days later!
Table of Contents
- What is Challah Bread?
- Challah Pronunciation
- Best Challah Recipe ingredients
- How to Make Challah Bread
- Braiding Challah
- Best Challah Bread Recipe FAQ
- Challah Bread Tips
- Rosh Hashanah Challah Bread
- How to store this Challah Bread Recipe
- What to do With Challah Bread
- Substitutions and Variations
- More Homemade Bread Recipes
- Best Challah Bread Recipe Recipe
There is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked homemade bread, coming out of the oven piping hot. Be sure to also try our Sweet Molasses Brown Bread, Homemade French Bread, and Easy Homemade Rye Bread.
I was surprised when my DNA results came back informing me that I have a small amount of Eastern European Jewish ancestry that I previously did not know about. Even though I make no claims to the authenticity of this challah bread recipe, I love the idea of exploring ancestry through food and this challah bread reminds me of the millions of women who have braided loaves of this rich egg bread to serve in their homes. This is a recipe and tradition I hope to pass down to my girls.
Sure, you can buy loaves of challah bread at a decent bakery. But there is nothing like a fresh loaf baking in your own oven. It fills your home with the most wonderful aroma and when it comes out all glistening and golden brown, it is a thing of beauty. I’ve been making this challah bread recipe for years now and it still makes me giddy to pull these gorgeous loaves out of the oven. This challah bread recipe really is THE BEST.
What is Challah Bread?
Challah is a rich, traditional Jewish bread served on the Sabbath or to celebrate holidays. Challah (also sometimes known as “egg bread”) is a made with eggs, a little sugar, and some oil, along with common bread ingredients of water, flour, yeast and salt. Because of the added eggs and fat, this challah recipe has a rich flavor and wonderful texture that makes it perfect for Monte Cristo Sandwiches, french toast, or bread pudding!
Challah bread is most often braided into long six-strand braids or round braided loaves. Then the loaves are brushed with an egg wash two times which gives wonderful color to these stunning loaves.
We like to eat one of the loaves with dinner when it’s freshly made and save the other one to use for something else later. Like many bread recipes, this challah bread is best when fresh, within the first day or two, but it freezes beautifully as well. You can freeze challah bread for up to 1 month wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Just let it thaw at room temperature for a few hours before slicing.
Challah Pronunciation
Challah is most easily pronounced “haa-luh” (as in “holla back” – I can’t believe I just typed that).
The “ch” can also be pronounced the same as in the German word “buch” or the Scottish word “loch”. But it’s not actually pronounced with a hard “ch” sound like in the English word “cherry”, even though it’s tempting for most of us English speakers to read it that way.
Best Challah Recipe ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Water: You want your water to be lukewarm-warm, not cold, and not hot.
- Yeast: Use active dry yeast for best results.
- Sugar: White granulated sugar will work fine.
- Oil: I use vegetable oil, but you can use olive oil or extra virgin olive oil too.
- Eggs: Lots of eggs to help the bread rise into its signature fluffiness!
- Salt: Enhances the flavors of the bread.
- Flour: All-Purpose Flour works well for challah bread; you don’t need specific bread flour!
- Topping: Sesame seeds or poppy seeds. (Optional)
How to Make Challah Bread
The reason this is the best challah bread is not only that it tastes delicious, but it is easier to make than it looks. I know it might sound intimidating, but you will be surprised at how simple challah is to make.
- Proof yeast. Proof the yeast by dissolving it in lukewarm water with a tablespoon of sugar in a large mixing bowl until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Add oil and eggs. Stir in the oil and 4 of the eggs (reserve 1 egg for an egg wash after braiding), with the remaining sugar and salt.
- Add flour. Gradually add the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring it in to make a soft dough.
- Knead dough. My standard-size KitchenAid mixer can’t quite handle this much dough so I pretty much always finish kneading by hand by turning the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneading until smooth.
- Oil the bowl. Clean out and lightly oil the bowl before returning the dough to it.
- Cover and let rise. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the challah dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about an hour, until almost doubled in size.
- Punch and rise. Punch the dough down (literally, just stick your fist right into the center of the dough and push it down), then cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise again for another half hour.
- Divide the dough. To form the 6-strand challah braid, first, divide the dough on a clean surface. Divide it in half to make two loaves. Then divide each half into 6 equally sized portions and roll the balls of dough into 6 equally sized strands, each about 16 inches long. Place the strands side by side and pinch the tops together. See below for step-by-step pictures to guide you through this particular braid or you could do an easier 3-strand or 4-strand braid.
- Add egg wash. Next, beat the remaining egg and brush half of it on the loaves using a pastry brush. Be sure to get in the crevices of the braid and down the sides of the loaves.
- Rise again and add egg wash. Allow the loaves to rise another hour in a warm place, then brush again with the remainder of the egg wash.
- Add topping. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using them (I almost always skip them, but it would make the loaf even more traditional to use them).
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 375°F and bake the challah for 30-35 minutes until golden brown (or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190°F on an instant-read thermometer). Eat one loaf warm with butter for dinner and save the other loaf for the most delicious french toast ever!
Yes, it does take a little time – a few hours from start to finish – but hardly any longer than a simple loaf of Amish White Bread and definitely not as long as a babka (incidentally, another braided Jewish bread, though I don’t make it on regular basis like I do challah).
Braiding Challah
There are many ways to braid challah bread. 3-strand braid, 4-strand braid, or 6-strand braids are all popular. So is a round braided challah loaf. I’m sharing how to do a 6-strand braid and a round braid since those are the two we use most often.
Six-Strand Challah Braid
- First, roll out six long strands of dough, line them up side-by-side, then pinch the tops together.
- Move the outside RIGHT strand over two strands to the left.
- Next, move the 2nd strand from the left to the far right.
- Now move the outside LEFT strand over two strands to the right.
- Then move the 2nd strand from the right to the far left.
- Repeat until finished. Repeat these steps until the braid is complete.
- Pinch and tuck the ends. Pinch the ends together and tuck them underneath the loaf to secure them. Your braid is likely to be fairly long and skinny at this point, and that’s completely normal.
- Plump the loaf. Finally, to finish shaping the loaf, you need to plump it a bit into more of a loaf shape by sort of lifting and smooshing the braid in on itself a bit and wiggling it a bit to make the loaf a bit shorter, wider, and even, from the top to the bottom. The braid shouldn’t come undone – you just want to even out the shape here and there to make your loaf look nicer. This step can be done as you are transferring the braid from the floured surface where you formed it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place on baking sheet. Transfer the the braided loaves to a parchment-lined baking sheet pan, with at least 2 inches in between the braids so they don’t meld together as they rise.
Round Braided Challah Bread
- Divide half of the dough recipe into 4 even balls and roll them into ropes. Lay two horizontally, about an inch apart, with the other two laid perpendicularly across the top.
- Lift the top horizontal strand and place it over the right vertical strand. Lift the bottom horizontal strand and place it over the left vertical strand, as demonstrated in the pictures below.
- Next, take the right strand of each set of two strands that are close together and cross it over the left strand.
- Then take the bottom left strands and cross them over the neighboring strands, creating a new set of two strands, like in the images below.
- Continue the process of crossing the right pair of the strand over the left, then the left strand over the neighboring pair until a round loaf takes shape.
- Tuck any loose pieces under the loaf, then transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Now go on and give that six-strand or round braided challah a try! Get the full recipe below and I guarantee it will be the best challah bread you have ever tried!
More Braids
This is one of my most popular, well-loved recipes and sometimes I receive images from readers who made this. I wanted to share some of the beautiful challah bread loaves they have sent using this recipe!
Best Challah Bread Recipe FAQ
Challah and brioche bread are similar, but differ from each other in important ways. Both are ever so slightly sweet and enriched with eggs and fat, making them richer than other breads.
But challah uses more eggs and less fat than brioche bread. Also, the fat used in challah is oil, whereas brioche bread calls for butter.
Challah bread has a rich, eggy taste that is similar to brioche. The flavor of this challah bread recipe is slightly sweet thanks to just the right amount of sugar in the dough.
Challah bread is a traditional Jewish braided bread that is made every Friday before Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, in many households. It is also a part of many Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashanah when it is braided into a round challah loaf to symbolize the close of the previous year and the start of the new one.
You don’t need any special bread flour to make the perfect challah loaf. Some recipes call for bread flour, but I juts use all-purpose flour and it works perfectly every time!
Challah is different from regular white sandwich bread, french bread, or a baguette in that it is a type of enriched bread with added fat in the form of oil and eggs. It’s very similar to a brioche dough, except that challah is made with oil instead of butter.
Challah Bread Tips
- Let it rise. Twice. Set the dough in a warm place to rise in order to get the deliciously fluffy centers. It will need to properly double in size and this can take about 1½ – 2 hours. After braiding the bread it will need to rise for a second time, for about 30 to 45 minutes. Letting it rise twice gives it that signature fluffy texture.
- Stand mixer. You can use a stand mixer that has a large bowl, with a dough hook attachment on low speed to knead the dough if you like. My standard-size KitchenAid mixer can’t quite handle this much dough so I pretty much always finish kneading by hand. Simply place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
- Parchment paper. Make sure to line your baking sheet with parchment paper, otherwise, the bread will stick to the pan. Alternatively, use a silicone mat.
Rosh Hashanah Challah Bread
For the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, challah bread is traditionally made into a spiral, symbolizing the cyclical nature of the year. To make a spiral shape, either use my rounded braided challah bread approach or you can roll the dough into a 36″ long rope, and coil it round completely on the baking tray, or use a round cake tin to better keep its shape. Leave it for the second rise time, then add eggwash and bake as directed in the original recipe.
How to store this Challah Bread Recipe
Like many bread recipes, this challah bread is best when fresh, within the first day or two, although it will still be good for up to about a week if you are planning to use it for French toast. Store it on the counter wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight ziplock or bread bag.
Challah bread also freezes beautifully. You can freeze challah bread for up to 1 month if it is wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then placed in a freezer-safe ziplock bag or wrapped again in foil for protection from freezer burn. Just let it thaw at room temperature for a few hours before slicing it.
What to do With Challah Bread
Eat it plain or with butter, honey, or jam. This challah recipe has a rich flavor and wonderful texture, thanks to the added eggs and fat. It’s almost impossible to resist slicing right into eat and eating thick slices while the bread is still warm. We love it plain, but it’s mind-blowingly good with a drizzle or honey or a smear of nutella or jam.
Use it for breakfast. Challah bread makes the best French toast ever. You can use it for regular French toast or go whole-hog with a stuffed French toast recipe instead. It’s also great for a breakfast casserole.
Make dessert. Challah bread makes truly fantastic bread pudding. You can even use it to make a shortcake-style dessert by serving it with macerated berries and cream on top.
It’s great for grilled cheese or other sandwiches, including our favorite Monte Cristo sandwiches. Let me know how you used your challah bread in the comments below!
Substitutions and Variations
- Seeds. You can use different kinds of seeds to top the bread, like sesame seeds, poppy seeds or even sunflower seeds or everything bagel mix for something a bit different.
- Savory flavors. Give your bread a more savory flavor by adding garlic and rosemary to the dough mix.
- Sweet flavors. Add some raisins or other dried fruits to make this into more of a sweet bread.
- Shapes. Make your loaf into different shapes depending on how or when you’d like to serve it.
More Homemade Bread Recipes
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Best Challah Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups warm water
- 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
- ½ cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon extra for proofing the yeast
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten + 1 additional egg for an egg wash
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 8 to 8½ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for kneading/dusting
- Sesame seeds for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Proof the yeast by dissolving it in lukewarm water with a tablespoon of sugar in a large mixing bowl until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oil and 4 of the eggs (reserve 1 egg for an egg wash after braiding), with the remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add the flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a soft dough. My standard-size KitchenAid mixer can’t quite handle this much dough so I pretty much always finish kneading by hand by turning the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneading until smooth.1 ¾ cups warm water, 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup vegetable oil, 4 large eggs, 1 tablespoon salt, 8 to 8½ cups all-purpose flour
- Clean out and lightly oil the bowl before returning the dough to it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the challah dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about an hour, until almost doubled in size. Punch the dough down (literally, just stick your fist right into the center of the dough and push it down), then cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise again for another half hour.
- To form the 6-strand challah braid, first divide the dough on a clean surface. Divide it in half to make two loaves. Then divide each half into 6 equally sized portions and roll the balls of dough into 6 equally sized strands, each about 16 inches long. Place the strands side by side and pinch the tops together.
- Starting with the outside right strand, move it over 2 strands to the left. Then take the second strand from the left and move it all the way across to the far right. Next, take the outside left strand and move it over 2 strands to the right. Then move the second strand from the right over to the far left. Repeat the pattern by starting again with the outside right strand being moved over 2 strands to the left, and so on until you have a long, braided loaf.
- Tuck the end of the braid underneath the loaf to secure it. Your braid is likely to be fairly long and skinny at this point, and that’s completely normal. To finish shaping the loaf, you need to plump it a bit into more of a loaf shape by sort of lifting and smooshing the braid in on itself a bit and wiggling it a bit to make the loaf a bit shorter, wider, and even from top to bottom. The braid shouldn’t come undone – you are just evening out the shape here to make your loaf look nice. This step can be done as you are transferring the braid from the surface where you formed it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat steps 4 & 5 with the remaining half of the dough for the second loaf. Place the braided loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet pan, with at least 2 inches in between the braids so they don’t meld together as they rise. Beat the remaining egg and brush half of it on loaves using a pastry brush. Be sure to get in the crevices of the braid and down the sides of the loaves. Allow the loaves to rise another hour in a warm place, then brush again with the remainder of the egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using them (I almost always skip them, but it would make the loaf even more traditional).Sesame seeds
- Preheat the oven to 375°F then bake the challah for 30-35 minutes until golden brown (or when the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190°F on an instant-read thermometer). Eat one loaf warm with butter for dinner and save the other loaf for the most delicious french toast ever!
Notes
- Store: Store this challah bread at room temperature, well wrapped. It is best when fresh, within the first day or two.
- Freeze: Freeze challah bread for up to 1 month. Once it has fully cooled, wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap. Let it thaw at room temperature for a few hours before slicing it.
Nutrition
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.
This post was originally published in February, 2017. The photos and content were updated in December, 2022.
Easy to follow and delicious
Hi Amy 🙂 I’ve made this recipe a few times and it turns out great every time!! It is so good.
I am wondering, could I replace the sugar with honey? and if so, would the measurement be the same (1/2 cup)? I’m trying to find an alternative to refined sugar, so if you have any other suggestions, I’ll take them.
Yes, you can replace the sugar with honey. I would try starting with half the amount since honey has a much stronger flavor.
yes, It is a good one as a good guide for the making of the plat. BUT unfortunately it doesn’t have the imperial measures and make life harder and the chances to get it right are less and less. Thank you for the guide.
I made this and it came out great. I let it rise for a longer time and kneeded the dough in my Kitchenaid on LOW but for longer than it should have been as I got distracted. When I cut the dough in half I added Poppy seeds on the half I also cut in half.
Actually this is Exactly the same recipe
I’ve used for 11 yrs in my restaurant. Looks up to double check o. My memory cause I closed it a year ago. I thought better check on my brain before I mess it up cause I never wrote it down! Very happy to see I remembered it perfectly!! People LOVED MY STIFFED FRENCH TOAST stuffed)oops
Loved it!! Made challah for the first time and the directions were very easy to follow. It came out almost to beautiful to eat
I LOVE this recipe! I make it ALL the time so Thank you so much for sharing! Its truly an airy and delicious bread that goes with any meal or by itself as French toast, I’ve also make croutons with this one that turned out PERFECT!
Hello! I am trying to cut vegetable and canola oil out of my diet. Do you have any suggestions for a replacement?
You could replace it with an equal amount of melted butter.
In other Challah recipes, I have always used an Extra Virgin Olive Oil and that has worked beautifully.
Made this today for my mom’s book club. The dough ended up too thick when I did 8 cups of flour so I ended up adding some more water.
Couldn’t figure out the 6 strand braid, so I did three 4 strand loaves instead. They came out beautiful after a very stressful making process. Would greatly recommend letting it rise in your over with a pot of boiled water. Made my second rise absolutely perfect.
Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks
Would love to share a photo of the loaves but not sure how.
Sounds like you did a great job. You can always share the image with me on Instagram or Facebook! I love seeing what people make!
This was a very good challah. I found it slightly too salty for my liking, but otherwise this was really good.
Amazing! Glad I made 4 loaves as my family gobbled up 1 loaf in one sitting 🙂 thank you for a great recipe. I would love to use weight not cups but everything turned out so delicious
I love love the bread its so deliciouse and soft
Thank you for making it!
Hi,
Can this be mixed in a bread machine?
Thank you!
Sure.
I was surprised at how easy this was!
Moist, good texture, and soft crust. I cut back the sugar to 1/4 cup and also I baked in 9×6 bread pans. Turned out beautiful and very tasty!
Great! Yes it may seem intimidating but it really is quite easy!
Love it!!! So easy to follow. Thank you!!! 🙂
I love the recipe, it is easy and has a great taste not to mention consistent.
I still struggle with the braid instructions. It never quite looks perfect, but will keep working on that! Thanks you for sharing this amazing recipe.
Where do you buy this bread at? What store?
I have seen it at my local grocery store and whole foods, but it’s honestly so much better homemade.
8 1/2 cups of flour seemed like too much I add bout 6 1/2
I agree, I added 7 and it mightve been too much even.
I just made these and oh wow! I am so pleased with the results. The bread is not only delicious, but also beautiful. I would dare say this recipe is fool proof. Amazing. I will make it again very soon. Thank you for sharing!
What a nice thing to say Monica! Thank you so much!
Just wooow amazing recipe. I just finished and it’s easy, fluffy and super tasty. The loaf of the bread is huge and I can feed half of the small village😅😍. Thanks for this recipe🫶🏻.
Great! The ‘small village” will be so happy to receive fresh homemade bread!
Could I cut this recipe in half? Could I use bread flour instead or only all purpose flour? Which would yield a better result?
Yes you can cut in half. Though when I make it I will just freeze the other loaf for later or give one to a neighbor. Honestly I have had great results just using regular all purpose flour! No need for bread flour.
I made this and I am no baker. It was easy to make. The directions for braiding were excellent. I can’t say I didn’t lose the point I was at a time or two and have to follow the braids to figure out what I did last. I measured according to the directions, but weighed what I used. I still can’t believe I made two perfect loaves! Here were my weights if anybody is interested:
13g active dry yeast
411 g water
8 g sugar
106 g canola oil
105 g sugar
24 g salt
1008 g AP flour
Thank you for this recipe. I have 16oz of it sliced and soaking in deliciousness for an overnight french toast casserole.
Great! Sounds like you did amazing! Your french toast casserole will be so delicious with this bread!
Could I let the braid slow rise overnight if needed?
Yes, absolutely. Just stick it in the fridge immediately after shaping.
Would it work if I braided the dough, refrigerated overnight and then pulled out about an hour before baking the following morning? Working with time constraints and trying to figure out how to have it made very early in the morning…thanks!
Yes you can refrigerate overnight. Just loosely cover in plastic wrap. Let it come to room temperature before baking.