Fennel and Orange-Scented Challah Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What ingredients are in challah bread? ›

The basic blueprint has stayed the same: A rich, slightly sweet bread made with flour, eggs, oil, yeast, and honey. Whether you stick to the classic, top with poppy or sesame seeds, add golden raisins, shape it, stuff it, or swirl it, challah is one of the best (and easiest) breads to make at home.

The best baking temperature for *most* challahs is about 190°C / 365-375°F.

Challah is almost always pareve (containing neither dairy nor meat—important in the laws of Kashrut), unlike brioche and other enriched European breads, which contain butter or milk as it is typically eaten with a meat meal.

You may want to avoid storing challah in a paper bag within a bread box or on the counter as they can trap moisture resulting in mold growth, or ruining the crust. What is this? Challah bread can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days if wrapped tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap.

There are a couple key characteristics that distinguish challah from other enriched breads, beginning with its shape, which varies depending on the holiday: plaits for the Sabbath, or rounds for the High Holidays to commemorate the returning cycle of a new year.

Others will knead it and form it (braids) after the first rise, and then let the braided loaves rise before baking. But typically, the amount of sugar or honey added is somewhere between a teaspoon and a Tablespoon.

Myrna's original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, and you can substitute that here. But I find bread flour gives the challah a nice chew without making it tough, and also helps the braided loaf maintain its shape after baking. For some novice challah makers, that braid can seem like the hardest part.

Allow the dough to rest and rise for 8–10 hours—overnight is perfect! Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Separate challah without a brocha when using flour weighing between 1.23kg and 1.67kg (between approximately 8 to 12 cups of unsifted flour or 9 and 15 cups of sifted flour). Separate challah with a brocha when using flour weighing more than 1.67kg (approximately 12cups of unsifted flour or 15 cups of sifted flour) .

Many of us think of challah as a braided loaf of eggy, shiny, slightly sweet bread. But the term “challah” doesn't have anything to do with a bread's appearance or even a specific kind of bread. Instead, it's any kind of bread (lechem) that has been sanctified in a certain way.

Why do Jews eat challah? ›

Challah functions as a physical metaphor for manna from heaven at the sabbath meal. It is baked for sharing during shabbat; candles lit, wine poured, blessings made and prayers shared.

Amount of flour: The key to a soft loaf that isn't dense is to use as little flour as possible.

Overrising the first rise, which is when the dough is still just a dough, can occur. Usually if it overrose just a bit, say, for an hour extra in a cold kitchen, it doesnt really matter. You simply punch it back down and go on to the shaping.

If using a stand mixer, knead the dough until all of the ingredients are combined and the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. If making this by hand, knead the dough for 7 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding a sprinkling more flour if needed.

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.

The total lipid fats in a serving of challah bread is two grams, or three percent of your recommended daily value. The total saturated fat amount in a serving is 0.26 grams, and you will not find any unhealthy trans fats.

No special flour required to make the perfect loaf. Some challah recipes call for bread flour, but I use all-purpose flour and it works perfectly every time.

The key difference between challah and brioche, per Masterclass, is that brioche is typically made with all three enriched ingredients we mentioned before (eggs, sugar, and butter), but challah often replaces the butter with oil to keep kosher.

Challah is a slightly sweet, eggy bread with a consistency and taste similar to brioche. According to Jewish tradition, challah refers to a section of dough which is separated after kneading to be given as an offering at the Temple.