Challah Bread – A beautiful and impressive bread made with just 7 simple ingredients. This classic Jewish bread is great for sandwiches, french toast, and more!

Challah Bread

Can I just say how much I love a loaf of homemade bread? Something about the pride of having it actually come out correctly and knowing that you put all that time and love into it makes it so much better. After making a few different bread recipes the past few weeks (like my matcha milk bread), I was really dying to give making challah a try and it turned out great!

I think my favorite part about this bread was the beautiful braid. I was pretty worried that it was going to be crazy difficult but it really wasn’t. Included are images of the braiding process but as long as you can keep straight that you start with the furthest right strands every time and then go over two strands, under the third strand, and over the next two, then you will be fine! You just repeat that over and over again. Alternatively, you can always do a three strand braid instead, that is totally up to you.

This recipe was featured on Buzzfeed’s list of the 20 best 5 ingredient bread recipes!

Common questions about making challah bread

Is challah bread similar to brioche?

Yes, challah bread is similar to brioche. Challah bread is typically a Jewish bread that is kosher with no dairy in it. On the other hand, brioche is a french bread made with similar ingredients and it included butter rather than an oil such as vegetable oil. Overall, they taste pretty similar.

How do you eat challah bread?

There are so many ways to eat challah! Some of my favorites include toasting it and serving it with butter or jam but you can also slice it up and use it in french toast, bread pudding, or in a sandwich.

What can you use as a substitute for challah bread in recipes?

If you are making a recipe that calls for challah in it (such as a french toast recipe), brioche or another similar light and fluffy white bread would be a good substitute.

This bread is good for about a week before it starts to get stale. My favorite thing to do with it was to cut up a slice, toast it, and have it with a bit of gooseberry jam on it. It’s so versatile that you can eat it with both savory or sweet toppings as it is simply a nice white bread.

Can’t get enough of this challah bread recipe? Try these other recipes!

Hokkaido Milk Bread – Light and fluffy pull-apart Japanese bread that is easy to make! This milk bread recipe uses the tangzhong roux method which helps create a tender loaf of bread.
German Rye Bread (Roggenbrot) – Delicious homemade bread made with rye flour and caraway seeds.
Raspberry Star Bread – Homemade bread with layers for raspberry jam, twisted into this incredible treat.
Finnish Cardamom Pulla Bread – A light and delicious loaf of Finnish cardamom bread! This cardamom bread dough braided into a beautiful loaf and topped with a cardamom wash and almonds.
Matcha Milk Bread – Light and fluffy pull-apart Japanese bread that is easy to make! This milk bread recipe uses the tangzhong roux method with a touch of matcha.

Yield: 1 loaf

Challah Bread

Name: Challah Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: 1 package instant yeast; 4 - 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup water; 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 3 large eggs

Challah Bread - A beautiful and impressive bread made with just 7 simple ingredients. This classic Jewish bread is great for sandwiches, french toast, and more!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 package instant yeast
4 - 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
Add in vegetable oil, water, and 2 eggs, mixing until well combined.
Using either a dough hook or a well floured surface, knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth.
Transfer to an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. It should have doubled in size.
After an hour, punch down the dough and let rise an additional 30 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 evenly size pieces.
Roll each piece into about 12 inch logs.
Pinch the tops of all six strands together and then take the furthest right strand and cross it over the next two strands to the left, weaving it under the third, and then back over the remaining two.
Repeat the same process of going over two, under one, and over two for the remaining strands of bread until you run out of space.
Tuck the remaining bread strands under to make the loaf look nice and clean. Transfer to a lined sheet pan.
Beat the remaining egg until smooth and then brush on top of the bread. You may sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top or leave it plain. Let rise for an additional 20-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the bread has cooked through and the top is a rich brown.
Let cool before slicing and serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 758Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 110mgCarbohydrates: 147gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 21g

This nutritional information can vary depending on the specific products you choose so this is a general guess of the correct nutritional information based on the products I used. Please keep that in mind when making the recipe.

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