Challah bread is a great bread for ending the week. Slightly sweet and easy to digest, I also love it for a Friday night carbo load before a big weekend (and then spread with almond butter for ride or run fuel). I like adding a ½ cup rye flour sometimes–I feel it gives it some depth–but it’s super good with straight white flour!

Challah Bread

Prep Time4 hours
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time4 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 1 large crown loaf

Ingredients

  • 8 grams active dry yeast
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 4 tbsp oil (any)
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 720 grams bread and/or all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • (optional) sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Combine yeast with warm water to activate for 5-10 minutes. Whisk eggs in a small bowl.
  • Add warm milk, all but a drip of eggs (the leftover is for glazing the loaf at the end), oil, and sugar to yeast.
  • Add flour and salt and knead for a few minutes until dough comes together (it's ok if it's a bit sticky).
  • Oil the bottom of the bowl, toss the ball of dough around until it is covered in oil, then let the dough sit, covered, in a warm place for 2-3 hours to rise. (I have not tried this but one could try, alternatively, allowing the dough to rise for 8 hours or overnight in the fridge, then bringing it to room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)
  • Braid the dough onto a flat baking sheet. (There is an excellent tutorial here from blogger Tori Avey on all the different types of braiding.) Let rise 30 minutes while the oven pre-heats to 350˚F. Paint with leftover egg and decorate with sesame seeds, if desired.
  • Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is browned. Optional to paint again with egg halfway through the baking.

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