Challah Bread Recipe

When I started making challah on Friday nights, I searched for over a year for a good recipe. I actually bought cookbooks with one challah recipe in hopes that it would be "the one". Then I found this recipe. It is without a doubt, the best challah I've ever made (and much better than most of the store-bought ones in the Boston area). It is especially wonderful with raisins, topped with cinnamon sugar. One caveat though: be careful about the baking time. Mine never takes more than 25 minutes in the oven.

I have made this before, but just yesterday figured out how to make it perfect. I halved the recipe and and altered it as follows: (1) I used an entire packet of rapid rise yeast instead of 1 1/2 tsp [this means you have to reduce proof time by about a half], (2) I used 1/2 cup of honey instead of 1/4 cup [Mmm!], (3) I used one whole egg plus three yokes [this gives it a much more challah-like taste], (4) I added about a tablespoon of honey to the eggwash, and (5) I reduced baking time by about 6 or 7 minutes, making sure to cover the challah with foil after about the first 20 minutes, to prevent too much browning. This came out magnificently and I suggest these alterations to anyone who likes a slightly sweeter and eggier challah!

I've made this a few times now; extra egg yolks and honey turn it into something scrumptious! I use a silpat and parchment to keep the bottom from over browning, as my oven tends to run hot-I use the bottom oven tray and always tent after the first 20 min. It's usually done in approx. 30 min. Thanks, it's a keeper!

I have made it more than 5 times and it always taste good. Here is my tip, don't add one cup at a time and then mix. It takes a while. Add 7.5 cups of flour and knead. The other 0.5 use it if needed. It will save you time

Amazing! Star dish of my dinner! I followed other suggestions of other and halved the recipe (made one loaf) and used 1 egg plus three yolks and a half a cup of honey. I kept the yeast at 1 and a half teaspoons. Finished with an egg wash and large flakes of salt. When it was done baking a drizzled honey on top of the challah. As traditional challahs are served I left it whole for everyone to pull off their own pieces at the table. THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE! I should also note that I used my regular kitchen aid which really helped. Whisk for wet ingredients and switched to the hook once I started adding the flour - life saver.

I think this is an absolute perfect base recipe for this bread. You can make it as it is and use it in so many ways, or modify for your purposes, which limits the usefulness. For instance, you can add more honey and eggs into the bread, brush honey with the egg on top, and it'll be a great treat, but not exactly usable for sandwiches. As it is, it's a great, subtle tasting sandwich bread that you can put anything on, like a brioche. I made it exactly as written except for two minor changes: I rested the dough for 15 minutes after first mixing it to allow the flour to absorb more water, and I baked it for about 5 minutes longer to get it to a 195 internal temperature. The resting allowed me to only use about 7.5 cups of flour, making it as fluffy as possible, and at 45 minutes and 195 degrees, it was not burned, but was perfectly done. It was sticky, but 1/8 of a cup of flour during kneading was enough to keep it mostly unsticky. Eating it, made as it is written, the slightly eggy taste of the eggwash brushed on top makes it addictive. I honestly just kept eating more and more of it to try it with different things, from cheese to honey, to butter, to summer sausage, and it just enhanced everything.

I made this recipe exactly as instructed, the only thing that I changed was the baking time. I have a convection oven (it bakes things faster) so I baked it for 25 minutes instead of 40 minutes. It turned out golden, perfectly fluffy and moist, and amazing! My family ate the whole loaf in one meal.

I love this bread I make it just like recipe. But since we are at 3800 ft above sea level I fell I add more flour. I have used 50/50 whole wheat and Unbleached flour and recipe turns out great. Foil over loaves at about 20 min will keep them from getting too brown. I have also braided bread and used bread pans. And that works . I think the braided bread us just pretty. And the honey is so much nicer than white sugar.

I halved the recipe and added step 1 ingredients to my Sunbeam Bread Machine and set it on "dough" setting. When cycle was complete I continued with steps 2-5. The texture was fantastic. I would have given this five stars, but the recipe is time consuming (but worth it).

I found this to be a great recipe! Just a couple tweaks. I used 1 and a half packets of active dry yeast, 1 and a half cups of whole milk with 1 cup of water, used a full cup of honey, one egg and 2 yolks. I also ended up using close to 2 extra cups of flour to get the right consistency. I mixed a bit of honey with the egg wash and basted it again 20mins into baking, and finished it off with the last 10mins. It was absolutely perfect this way!

I made this Challah bread for the first time today, for Shabbat tomorrow night. I had to sneak a piece to make sure it was good enough to serve! I made two loaves, one plain egg bread, the other with cinnamon sugar. It is very good. I made a few adaptations due to other reviews. I used 3/4 cup honey, and added an extra egg white. I would not change the recipe I used today. However, It was a little overcooked at 375 for 30 minutes. I think I would bake it at 350 next time. And the bottom was really dark so I would use either a stone or put down parchment. Overall great texture. I am not much of a cook and I am pretty pleased with the outcome. And it looks lovely!!

I made two loaves- one with raisins and one without and they both turned out great. The only thing is that they were done after about 30-35 minutes in the oven. I took one of them out late and the underside was badly burnt. Next time I’ll reduce the oven time and add more honey and raisins!

Tried it for a small gathering — instant win.

This one is going in my permanent rotation.

Great recipe I like to eat one loaf and make the other into bread pudding the next day.

I found this recipe 22 years ago. Still a favorite! ❤️

It’s perfect …every single time. I get 4 Challahs out of this recipe so I tend to cut the recipe in 1/2 to get 2 LARGE Challahs. A guaranteed winner.

Perfect! I followed the recipe, except, I made 3 round loaves for the Jewish new year and 1 roll. Delicious!

This recipe is AMAZING! My friends and family often ask for me to bake it! It's very tasty as well as being light and airy! There are a few problems though. It takes a lot of flour and sometimes the underside of it is a little burnt. But overall VERY good.

I only add 2 teaspoons of salt, that is enough for the recipe. I like that this challah bread didn’t call for sugar. It feels more natural. Since no butter was added and only 3 eggs were called for the recipe, I feel the challah flavor is not quite there yet. But my kids like it.