Learn how to make Homemade Challah Bread. This easy-to-make version of the traditional Jewish bread is soft and sweet and perfect for eating plain or serving up as the most amazing french toast.
Challah is one of my favorite breads to make. It’s soft and delicious and makes french toast that is absolutely out of this world! People not familiar with the bread often wonder how to pronounce it. Let’s just say that chants of “holla!” ring through our halls when I’m making it. It is an easy bread to make, but it ends up looking so fancy when it is braided. I love eating this up plain, with soup, and we have spoiled ourselves silly by making the most amazing french toast out of this challah. Seriously, homemade challah makes the best french toast. You should try it!
You can always do a regular 3 strand braid, but if you want it to really look great, watch my video for how to make a 6 stranded braid just below the recipe. Once you figure out the pattern, it’s totally easy and you can create a truly beautiful and impressive loaf.
Watch the video where I walk you through every step of making this bread. Not only will you learn the correct pronunciation, you’ll also get the visual on how to do that tricky 6 stranded braid.
Best Challah recipe! The braiding was so easy with the video! My oven runs a bit hot so it baked for 22 minutes.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I added 50g of sugar cause we like more sweet.
What a wonderful dough to work with! I just took my challah out of the oven and it is beautiful!
I cannot share a picture on here, but this is one beautiful loaf of bread. I’m taking it to a friend’s house for dinner tonight, so cannot comment on the taste yet, however I am sure it will be delicious.
Such a wonderful feeling dough. Waiting for the second rising now. I can tell it is going to be wonderful.
I want to thank you so much for this recipe!! I made it with an 8braid on botton and 4 braid on top of it with sesame seeds all over it in honor of our Christmas eve bread that i used to buy and wanted to make on my own.
Outstanding and so easy!! your amazing
Have a great holiday and thank you for keeping this tradition in our family
How would you recommend freezing this bread? Baking and then wrapping after it finishes cooling, or freezing after shaping and letting it rise for a second time?
We LOVE this bread around our house and I’d love to have a loaf or two in the freezer when I have no time to bake!
Either would work. I often make mine into French toast and freeze it. My daughter loves having it for breakfast.
This is a beautiful loaf. The video is great too! ?
How would I be able to make buns for hamburger from this …since it is a bun and not a loaf ??
I have a recipe for hamburger buns. If you want a challah dough for the bun, simply make the challah bread dough here and shape and bake it using the instructions for the hamburger buns.
https://thestayathomechef.com/homemade-hamburger-buns/
You may have already answered this question but can you half this recipe? I am baking for two people and I would like to just try it with one loaf. Certain breads I have made before don’t do well when halved.
Thanks! Love your recipes!
Emily
Yes you can.
You mentioned dumping the salt in with the yeast. I thought that would stop the yeast from working correctly. Was that a mistake? Or is it just in this recipe that you can combine both? I look forward to making this!
No mistake! Salt doesn’t kill yeast. It slows the growth of yeast so it’s just important that you have the correct balance of the two.
Can I use my food processor?
Your food processor won’t be able to handle this much dough unless it is HUGE.