My Shabbat Challah is something out of this world. I made it up on my own, because the ones I tasted, I just didn't like. Try it you will love it!! This can make 6 regular sized loaves, or two large braided loaves.
THis is a great recipe, and the idea of vanilla with the glaze on top is cool. As someone experienced with Jewish law, may I please offer a correction, though: Regarding the Challah offering - THis is a praiseworthy custom in place to keep in practice for the actual "Challah" portion given to our Cohanim in the Temple of Jerusalem (going back 2,000 years and we still do it). They worked, we fed them. Here are a couple of parameters for nowadays, when the Cohanim are kind of "unemployed" in the old sense: THere is a minmum amount of flour needed for this, as follows - about 3 lbs for taking off without a blessing, and about 5 lbs to say a blessing. For the words of this blessing contact Chabad.com This can actually be done for almost any type of dough! To dispose of it, because it is considered unusable and technically not kosher, one cannot burn it where the challh is baking, but where there is nothing being cooked, such as straight over a flame on your burner or under the broiler, later. (Temporarily shut off your smoke alarm!) Alternatively, some Rabbis allow you to double-wrap the dough (which doesn't have to be a lot; can be as small as a large olive) and then throw it out. Here's my favorite part: THis is one of the 3 Mitzvas specially handed to women, and our power of prayer is very great, so, just as we can pray for our families, ill people, etc at candle lighting time for the Sabbath, we can pray when we are taking the Challah portion. It becomes very spiritual.
Read MoreCons: When I scaled the recipe by half, something must have happened because the dough was a huge sticky mess. I'm not even sure how much extra flour I ended up adding just so I could try and do something with the dough, but it was a lot. That kind of annoyed me because I'm not a great baker and I like to follow the directions exactly. However, this dough was such a mess there was no way I could shape it at all if I didn't just keep throwing in more flour. The taste was good, very adequate, but not what I was hoping it would be so I will probably try other recipes to see if I have better luck. Pros: Like I said, the taste was perfectly fine and it made nice French toast. This loaf also looked amazing when I took it out of the oven which is a miracle, since the dough was still sticky enough that I had a hard time braiding it and just assumed it was going to look like a big lump.
Read MoreTHis is a great recipe, and the idea of vanilla with the glaze on top is cool. As someone experienced with Jewish law, may I please offer a correction, though: Regarding the Challah offering - THis is a praiseworthy custom in place to keep in practice for the actual "Challah" portion given to our Cohanim in the Temple of Jerusalem (going back 2,000 years and we still do it). They worked, we fed them. Here are a couple of parameters for nowadays, when the Cohanim are kind of "unemployed" in the old sense: THere is a minmum amount of flour needed for this, as follows - about 3 lbs for taking off without a blessing, and about 5 lbs to say a blessing. For the words of this blessing contact Chabad.com This can actually be done for almost any type of dough! To dispose of it, because it is considered unusable and technically not kosher, one cannot burn it where the challh is baking, but where there is nothing being cooked, such as straight over a flame on your burner or under the broiler, later. (Temporarily shut off your smoke alarm!) Alternatively, some Rabbis allow you to double-wrap the dough (which doesn't have to be a lot; can be as small as a large olive) and then throw it out. Here's my favorite part: THis is one of the 3 Mitzvas specially handed to women, and our power of prayer is very great, so, just as we can pray for our families, ill people, etc at candle lighting time for the Sabbath, we can pray when we are taking the Challah portion. It becomes very spiritual.
This is a fabulous recipe. I tried the other Challah I recipe first because it had more reviews, but then I decided to try this one because of the shorter prep time. This one is definitely moister and more flavorful, which is especially good considering it takes less time. I did add a few swirls of honey and used poppy seeds instead of sesame seeds, but other than that I followed the recipe. This recipe does make A LOT of dough. I ended up with two huge braided loaves (did the 6-braid). Next time I think I'll cut it in thirds to have three more managable loaves. Great recipe; even my in-laws (who grew up with homemade challah) loved it.
This is an EXCELLENT recipe. I did make a few changes though so I'll list those before I tell you what I liked about this recipe. I cut down the sugar to only two tablespoons for a less sugary challah. I also used only a third cup of vegetable oil and used only 3 eggs but omitted the yolks. My challah was very soft and moist, almost velvety on the inside, with just a slight crunch on the outside. I made this into one large 6 braid challah and brushed with only egg. Then I dipped my finger in water, then into the sesame seeds and gave each segment a roll of sesame for a more even look. Overall this was SUPERB and I have already been asked to make it for a baker friend of mine who wants to feature it in her bakery!
To be honest, I have no idea what it should taste like . However, My wife and I spent the morning making this bread and when we tasted it, it was wonderful. Dense, hearty, soft, crispy crust. We enjoyed it very much and plan on making it for future gatherings with family and friends. We made the six braid version, we found a easy how to video on youtube that made it very easy to braid. We halved the recipe and it made a very large loaf. so consider that before making. Thanks for sharing...
This is a delicious bread! I can't say how it compares to other Challah breads, as I have never had any, but it is spectacular in it's own right. I saw a show on Food Network that suggested using specialty breads for french toast, namely Challah, and I decided to try it for a ladies brunch I was hosting. They went raving mad for it!! It has been requested continuely since then, some ask for the recipe, others just want me to make it for them. I am making a batch today for another brunch tomorrow! This makes the most delicious french toast if you cut it 30 minutes early to let it dry out a little. Soak it for ten minutes a side, and after cooking in the skillet, it is thick and hearty and tasty! One last thing, this bread is especially easy to make, which is why I originally chose it. I had never baked bread before, and this turned out golden and delicious. It was simple, and fun, and makes me want to move on to more challenging bread. Thanks NUNU!
This is a FANTASTIC challah recipe. Very authentic, very moist. A couple of caveats: it is a very LARGE recipe - one batch turned out three challahs, each bigger than 2 pounds. I baked up two and tossed the third in the freezer for another time. Also, it is not very sweet. It is very comparable to a typical bakery egg challah, nice and rich with great texture, but next time I'm planning on adding a half cup more sugar or some quantity of honey instead. For those who prefer weight measurements instead of cups, I wasn't comfortable with Allrecipes' conversion of cups into grams, so I did my own calculation to use 1700g of all-purpose flour in this recipe... with fantastic results. Very sticky dough, but with a bit of flour on my hands and the table, it braided up nicely and the braids held their shape beautifully.
I used 6 cups whole wheat flour and six cups white flour and the result was still great. I was worried the texture might suffer but it was still dense (but not too dense) moist and delicious. I ended up making 5 challah loaves and 7 challah buns, which means I've got enough to last me for a good few weeks! I froze them right after they cooled but next time might try freezing them after they're braided, before they rise the second time. That way I can have really fresh challah on demand each shabbos. I also threw in some chocolate chips to a couple loaves/buns, and cinnamon sugar into a few others. They all turned out yummy.
WOW! This recipe is fail proof and fantastic! I have to say that in the middle of making this we ran out of flour and you need 12 cups. SO, I ran to the store came back and the yeast was bubbling on the top of the batter and I thought I ruined it, but NO! It made it better and the bread fluffed up and cooked beautifully! WOW! This is easy, wonderful and makes great Challah French toast! You cannot go wrong with this!
I've never had Challah bread but this one turned out not only beautiful but very tasty and good. The flavour is lightly sweet and the texture is velvety inside, soft and light. One thing that I was a little confused by was the rising time. The first rise took 1hr and the 2nd took 40 minutes. I did only 1/4 of the recipe (15 servings) and it turned out into a big loaf so I can't imagine how the big the full recipe turnos out to be. The instructions said 40 minutes but mine was done in 25-28 minutes - probably because it was smaller than intended. Bottomline - the bread was delicious and I will try the full recipe for Easter dinner. Thanks! June/2012 Update!!!! I made half the recipe as described (except for the sesame seeds). This time I let it rise for about 1 hour in the oven with the light on for some heat and it rose beautifully! t was too late that night and decided to form the bread (braid it) and then leave it rising in the fridge overnight. I covered it with saran wrap (loosely) and then placed a wet cloth on top. Bread was looking great in the morning. As an experiment I baked one of the loaves right away at 400 for 30 minutes and it turned out beautiful. The second one I let it sit and come up to room temperature before baking. I did not see a difference but the dough itself on both breads was so elastic and almost velvet like. The flavor was different, more yeasty and less sweet. It was delicious and so convenient to have fresh bread for breakfast!
This is an excellent recipe. It never fails. I bake for a local farm market and use this recipe every week. Have made sweet raisin challah and wheat challah with simple substitutions. This year wanting to simplify a cinnamon roll recipe I decided to try this dough because of the high rise. They turned out beautiful. Have had many compliments on them. Have to watch the rise or they get to big to fit in the containers. I get four good size loaves from one recipe and 24 or more large cinnamon rolls. Thank you so much for sharing this. I have customers that come a long way for this bread.
This was my first loaf of bread, ever, so I don't have much to compare it on. However, I found the recipe easy to understand, relatively quick to make and excellent to eat! A perfect French Toast bread that fed a whole household. I even cut the recipe in half (well, except I added 3 eggs instead of 2.) and it yielded two lovely loaves. In the future, I will not be concerned if the rise-times take longer than expected- especially if I'm in a higher altitude. To help it along, I covered the bowl with a warm, damp towel and put it near the wood burning stove. Also, I will probably keep from adding a few cups of flour immediately so that I might knead them in later. I feel like the kneading process ate up too much extra flour because the dough was so sticky, resulting in a bread that was a little dense for my taste. All in all, I WILL be making this again, and probably often! Quite delightful!
Love this recipe. The only thing I changed was 1/2 a cup of GOOD REAL honey in place of white sugar. Fantastic, thank you Shana Tova
This is the first time I have made Challah and this recipe was amazing. My husband says it is the best challah he has ever eaten. I will definitely be making this again!!!
Love this recipe. I got this large 6 braid loaf and 2 smaller round spiral loafs from a half batch... so easy to work with and throw together on a weekend.
This recipe was great. Easy to make, easy to bake. I would add more salt (perhaps double it), and more sugar (again, perhaps double), and then it would be a 5-star challah. This does make a HUGE batch though. Also, the kneading doesn't have to be for the full 8 to 10 minutes, and can be done in a large mixing bowl (for mess contamination). Also, if you're camping, this can be baked in a dutch oven, 30 minutes over a fire, then 30 minutes off of the fire, with the lid on to steam. It won't be as beautiful, but it is a lot more fun.
I halved the recipe and still got 2 BIG 6braid loaves! My family loved it. The vanilla on the top totally made the bread. I added some cloves, cinnamon, cardomon and nutmeg. We had the bread with dinner last night and had alot left over. To keep it from going to waste, I used the rest to make french toast for dinner tonight and it made the best french toast any of us ever had. It is a nice dense bread, so you have to soak the bread in your egg mix a bit. Awesome, thanks for the recipe!
this was quite good. i've been searching for a delicious challah recipe that doesn't take too long because often i don't remember until i get home from the gym - around 4. this was quite good. my browned quickly on the outside, perhaps because i didn't eggwash it. my dough was sticky, and i added a lot of extra flour though that may have been because i quarted the recipe. all in all, will make again in a pinch, however, my favorite challah recipe does top this one but it's quite time consuming. but don't let that make you skip over this recipe. i do recommend it.
This is the only Challah i have ever made or eaten... and it was fantastic! Super fluffy crumb and beautifully perfect crust. Definitely recommend you try this!!!
I did not add the vanilla, this bread was delicious. It rose beautifully and made the house smell wonderful.
I would like to give this recipe 10 stars. I work in a synagogue and serve challah every Saturday. I made this for myself so halved all the ingredients. It made 1 huge loaf and two rolls. Absolutely scrumptious and so easy to make. Will definitely make again. Thankyou for a great recipe
I halved this recipe and created 2 bakery quality large loaves. My family gve RAVE reviews! (I personally ate it for dinner and breakfast- huge chunks!) Will be making full recipe for Thanksgiving feast, and probably multiple batches to give as holiday gifts! (Will be pairing with my Cinnimon Honey Butter: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup extra fine or confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup honey 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon- mix and put in cute canning jars). Inexpensive and full of LOVE!
Wonderful! This was so fast and easy, and I've never made any bread before-if I can do it anyone can.
I have had tremendous success with this recipe. It is the first Challah I ever made and is now my go to fail safe recipe. The texture and taste are both wonderful!
This an excellent recipe. I halved the recipe also. Using it as is would make 3 challahs. Traditional Challah should not contain honey, but 7 ingredients (supposedly corresponding with the 7 days of creation). I think this recipe is excellent as is!!
This was really good, the directions were great and easy to follow. The bread turned out beautiful, thanks for the recipe :)
I just want all you guys to know that who ever tastes this challah, just goes NUTS So pass around this recipe so that people wont have to suffer!!!! :) and dont worry i am adding a Hershey's chocolate cake and a mocha oatmeal cake soon.....
Cons: When I scaled the recipe by half, something must have happened because the dough was a huge sticky mess. I'm not even sure how much extra flour I ended up adding just so I could try and do something with the dough, but it was a lot. That kind of annoyed me because I'm not a great baker and I like to follow the directions exactly. However, this dough was such a mess there was no way I could shape it at all if I didn't just keep throwing in more flour. The taste was good, very adequate, but not what I was hoping it would be so I will probably try other recipes to see if I have better luck. Pros: Like I said, the taste was perfectly fine and it made nice French toast. This loaf also looked amazing when I took it out of the oven which is a miracle, since the dough was still sticky enough that I had a hard time braiding it and just assumed it was going to look like a big lump.
This was a hit at the dinner I brought it to last night. I looked up how to do the 6 strand braid and it's really worth the trouble. Here's the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=22p3wIHLupc I halved the recipe to make 1 braided loaf and it was huge! I think I will make 2 next time out of the halved recipe. Many Challah recipes have poppy seeds on them instead of sesame seeds, so if you have those on hand you can substitute it. This bread is really good to dip in hummus and other dips and it looks great for serving! Other than the six piece braid, you can make a wreath by 3-strand braiding, and where it connects, make a bow out of dough. It's beautiful to serve with a dip in the middle!
I will look no further for a Challah recipe. This one is perfect. This bread has wonderful flavor and a tender, moist but light texture. Save any bread that might be left, toast bread cubes in the oven on a baking sheet and use for stuffing and bread pudding. Just fantastic!
This bread was really good. I was a little worried when it first came out of the oven because it looked nothing like challah. But as soon as everyone started eating it they loved it-my family of 5 people devoured about 1/5 of this recipe. It was awesome-would recommend.
We LOVE this Challah, every year my church asks me to make it for our congregation. This is the only Challah bread recipe I will use. Thanks for sharing.
This came out flat and hard. I halved the recipe. I am glad I didn't make the whole thing. What a waste. I don't know why it got such rave reviews. I like the taste of the ones with honey better anyway. Thanks anyway.
I have been searching for a great challah recipe for years. With my daughter's Bat Mitzvah pending the search went into high gear. This was the recipe we baked for her big day. We mixed and braided the dough a week before the event. The day before I defrosted and baked the challah. It came out wonderful. People raved about it. My daughter had another thing to be proud of at her Bat Mitzvah because she was able to tell everyone there she and her mother baked the fabulous challah!
What a beautiful Shabbat Challah. It was very easy to make, and so delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
This was perfect. I know others have mentioned sweeter or eggier, but this was better then what I remember, and I'm from a family of brooklyn jews. thank you, this will be a friday project. it was done pretty quickly, even tho I was pannicing it wouldn't be done before sunset. thank you!
I hereby declare this a 5-star recipe. I completely committed to this recipe without adding or changing anything and ended up with two ENORMOUS, golden loaves that were soft and dense. I can't wait to try it out for French toast! I agree with other reviewers, it isn't sweet but honestly, it's "just right." As a novice baker, this recipe was easy and provided great results. And don't be afraid of the quantity. I didn't halve it but wasn't unmanageable .
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! Will be making this for years to come. It's bulletproof, as far as I can tell. The family has been having trial challah for a week now, but this one is THE BEST by far. The dough rises perfectly and looks amazing when the cooked challah is torn into pieces. As many people have noted, this makes for *a lot* of dough. I cut the recipe in half and got 2 regular sized challahs and 5 little buns. I covered the bread with a sugar crumb topping (really good!); here is the recipe for that in case someone is looking: Sweet Crumb Topping: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup canola oil, 1 capful vanilla extract (optional). Mix with a spoon until crumbly and sprinkle over challah.
The taste was good but not the sweet, eggy challah that my family likes every shabbat. I think it rose too long because it was very dry, which would make great french toast.
Gorgeous, gorgeous challah....and such an agreeable dough to work with. Five stars! Thanks for the recipe.
I am a challah lover from way back. I LOVE this recipe!! I make mine with poppy seeds or raisins. Will make again and again!!!
This recipe makes a great challah! But it definitely takes much more flour, i keep adding and adding to what recipe suggests, untill iget the right dough
Wow! This came out like the real thing! I am not much of a baker. So, I was so surprised to see this bread come out of my oven! Absolutely beautiful in both appearance and texture. I do agree that more sugar or some honey would be nice. I like my challah just slightly sweet. This ends up being very neutral. I also have to say though that I would not classify this recipe as easy. It is a simple recipe, but kneading the dough for 10 minutes was a work out for me. It could have something to do with being 7 months pregnant, maybe I'll try the kitchenaid next time :)
Im no great cooker...but this recipe was great!!!!!! easy and very tasty. Thanksss And my challa looks wonderfull...just think need wait grow a few more before put in the oven. (maybe next time will put in the sun for help)
This is a great recipe. I use it all the time. The bread is soft and moist on the inside and crusty on the outside. The dough rises very quickly which is great. I have substituted the All-Purpose Flour with Hi-Gluten Bread Flour and the results are amazing. If you use Hi-Gluten Bread Flour you have to bake the bread at 375 F or it will get too dark.
My first time making challah. As always whenever I'm gonna do something for the first time I'm nervous. But I have to admit I am quite proud of myself because the end result was better than I expected. My only disappointment is that it was a tad too dry. Next time I'll bake for 35 minutes instead of the full 40. Also, I eliminated the sesame seeds. I prefer my challah naked.
Good bread, but not my kind of challah. I like mine egg-ier and sweeter. Also, I halved the recipe and had to use more than half the flour required.
I rarely write reviews on this site but I just had to comment on this on. This is hands down the best challah recipe that I have come across. The recipe came out perfectly. Huge loaves as well so we cut the recipe in half. Definitely a keeper that I will use again and again.
This bread was great. I halved the recipe and made two Large loaves. Great taste and texture, the leftover bread made the most delish' bread & butter pudding. Wonderful, Thank You
This was really good. I scaled the recipe down to 15 and replaced half the flour with whole wheat pastry flour and 1/4 cup wheat germ. It was soft, moist and flavorful.
Absolutely 5 stars for the looks !! i will try submit a photo later , this was a beauty when it came out of the oven. I halved the recipe,braided the dough into one huge loaf, sprinkled sesame on one side and poppy seeds on the other .I like the taste, too, actually even better the next day .I will have to agree with the others tho, in the sense that this is too dense to be 'Challah'. I, also was looking for an eggier, airier Challah ..Thanks a lot for sharing !
Good recipe. Just like I remember challah tasting, but I think I'll skip the sesame seeds next time.
This recipe is all you will ever need when it comes to challah bread. The dough was beautiful and very easy to work with. I made it according to the recipe with quick rise yeast. I am with a nonprofit agency and we have made many loaves for Shabbat using this recipe. We tried other recipes and many were sticky and difficult to braid. I work in extreme heat with no air conditioning so to find a recipe that is wonderful in the heat and moisture I work in is wonderful! Thank you, for sharing this recipe....you are feeding many hungry kids. (Shabbat Shalom)
Apparently egg breads are the way for me to go. Anytime a bread recipe turns out for me the first AND second times, and tastes so good- gotta get a high score. Also pushing this one over the top is the easy preparation. I divided this recipe by 6 in order to get a great recipe for a loaf for 2, myself and my spouse. Wonderful- just as directed. Well, I did use poppy seeds instead of sesame, but that's all variable w/o affecting the performance of the functional recipe). This will be a permanent addition to our recipe box. Thanks for posting!
Just made this bread and loved it! Family can't get enough of it. Only thing I did different was use poppy seeds instead of sesame seeds because it was what was on hand. Have already shared the recipe. :)
Lacks the richness and texture that I associate with challah. Several recipes on this site yield a much more typical challah. This is OK as a "general bread" recipe. I suggest making a 1/3 recipe and dividing that into two loaves. The recipe as written makes a huge amount of bread.
This is fabulous. I have made Challah for years but never found a recipe I was totally happy with. This one is crusty on the outside but not dry inside and it has great flavour. It makes two humongous loaves.
Excellent recipe. The great thing about it is that you only have to let it rise 1x!!!!! This is fantastic. I am an experienced baker & it is perfect texture. Glad I found this recipe!
this is the best recipe for challah bread that I have found. I did decrease the size to 6 cups flour because I kneading the bread in my kitchenaid. I served it to my family of 9 and there was not a crumb left. They ate both loaves!
This was a great starting point for our first challah, thank you. The changes I made: I used 4c whole wheat flour, needed about 15c flour total, added one extra egg, used honey instead of sugar and palm shortening instead of oil. We made several loaves with this one recipe. 2 - 7 plait 700g each), 2 - 4 plait (600g each), 3 - woven/round (2 - 400g and 1 - ~200g), and one small 5 plait (a few hundred grams). I did a blog post about it if anyone is interested in seeing all the photos. Frugal Home and Health, June 6, 2014. I used a total of 4 baking sheets (two stones and two air-bake) and a pyrex dish for the smaller loaf. I have access to TWO ovens and used them both. If I only had one oven I would have put some of the dough in the fridge for later or some in the freezer for much later. Hindsight tips: - This makes a lot of dough. In order to control the size of the loaves better, I suggest using loaf pans. My oven will hold 4 loaf pans comfortably (and still produce nice loaves), however this recipe would need about 8 smaller loaf pans of 6 larger ones. You could use two racks, but the bread will not cook as nicely. - Be sure to rotate your loaves if you do not have a convection oven. - A firmer dough is easier to work with, however too firm will produce a more dense bread. My dough was a tad on the sticky side, but still worked well. Also, a firmer dough will produce a taller loaf instead of a flatter one. - Makes great french toast! We enjoyed that the next day.
I'm not sure what I did wrong, but this did not turn out for me, I will try another
I've had a lot of experience baking challah and for this particular recipe, the consistency was delicious but I found it rather flavorless. I would recommend either adding more sugar or adding honey on top and then it would be great!
Great recipe. Your are not allowed to burn the challah while the other loaves are baking. It can only be burnt alone.
This was my first time making bread. This is a very easy to follow recipe. Oh, and it is DELICIOUS! I will definitely make this again.
Tasty and beautiful bread. My family loves it and if you have leftovers (rare in my house) it makes the absolute best french toast
Very tasty bread, but it came out too dense to be "real" challah. But good for everyday bread.
DELICIOUS cHALLAH!!!! NUNU YOUR ARE THE BEST!!!! eVERY ONE JUST LOVED IT. aNY OTHER RECIPES ? yOUR ARE eXCELLENT.
This recipe was awesome. The only thing i changed was 1st rise was an hour. Then second rise after the weaving was 25 min. The bread looked good, tastes good the smell was mouth watering. This was also my first attempt at baking bread.
This is one awesome bread, my only word of caution is if you follow the directions exactly you will end up with two HUGE loafs so you really need a big oven. When I make it again today I will make it into three loafs. Thank You for the recipe!
Very delicious bread! The best Challah recipe I've ever tried!
This is by far the best challah bread that I've made so far. Unfortunately for me, it was not quite as sweet and eggy as the challah from my childhood that I'm desperately trying to recreate. Maybe if I add a little more sugar/honey and another egg it will be perfect. It was quite good however, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
This was the first Challah recipe I've tried and it couldn't be easier for a novice baker!
Really great recipe! I have to add more flour than what is listed but it always comes out so good! Easy and delicious! I've passed the recipe on to so many people and all of them absolutely love it. I add chocolate chips, sometimes cinnamon/raisin, and for a dinner loaf, I add herbs... rosemary, basil. I make 4 loaves with this recipe and they can all be a different flavor! Thanks!
This was a great bread, but not as sweet as I like challah to be. I'm going to try adding more sugar and some honey next time. But it made a lot and everyone liked it!
I was looking for a more crunchy recipe and when I tried it and this was perfect! soft insides and hard, beautiful outside. easy to chew too! my family like it and not I'm using this recipe for a group Challah Bake! Oh, and I left out the vanilla. thank you for sharing your recipe!
excellent recipe, though I added a little more sugar and quite a bit more salt, I'll be using this recipe for years to come, thank you!
I made it and it was amazing. just like my Grandmother made; she used to laugh when us the kids would say Rosh Hashanah Challah tasted better than shabbott. I miss her so much!
Tasted great. Easy to make. The first time it was a little more dense then traditional Challah. (I forgot to let it rise a second time before baking) It was still great.
Great recipe! I'm have very little cooking talent and I just made some amazing Challah. Used 1/3 of the recipe and made a very large loaf with my two children. Moist, springy and delicious!
I've made this a bunch of times, and I always halve the recipe but keep the salt/sugar measurements the same. The consistency is perfect but the taste needs a bit more punch. I also add cinnamon to the glaze for a little extra flavor.
This recipe is wonderful, a definite keeper. The first time I made the whole recipe, and my oven could hardly contain the results. There was bread to give away. I love the light stretchy texture of the finished bread. It reminds me a bit of the bread of cinnamon rolls. The next time I made it, I mixed it up a little using 1/6 of the flour as wheat flour.
So Easy! We loves this Challah.
This bread was fabulous! I have never made bread before and I was a little nervous. It was great, however the recipe made Gigantic loaves!!!! The two loaves are so large that I can cut them in half and have enough bread for Shabbat dinner for the entire month ( family of three)!
This is the first homemade bread I've ever made! It was amazingly easy. Smells and tastes great! One thing though is that the bake time is a little over estimated. It took less than 25 minutes for me and my friend also said he baked his too long. Thanks for sharing!
Turned out amazing! Followed the recipe exactly, except made half the amount.
I used honey to sweeten this bread and liked it very much. I shared with an elderly man who had just lost his wife and several people at the funeral asked him to get the recipe for them. I will be making this bread again soon.
I've only ever had Challah that I've made myself and like another reviewer it was because I needed it for French toast. I'm a regular bread maker and have found this recipe to be one of my favorites. I whisk together the original 1/2 cup of sugar with the warm water first then add the yeast and it comes out great. Then I add the eggs, salt and oil in a separate bowl with a little vanilla extract. Afterwards I add the yeast mixture and whisk together. I then add the flour, I start with 6-7 cups depending on how sticky the dough is before turning it out. Once I have it turned out I then incorporate most of the remaining flour while kneading it. The remainder of the recipe I follow to the T except for the temperature I turned mine down to 350degrees as my first batch in three years and a new stove burned. I'm planning on trying the Challah II recipe shortly to see if honey makes a difference. Thank you so much for posting this recipe, it's just great!!!
So I changed up the recipe a bit to fit it to our family's preferences. I halved the recipe and still came out with 7 mini loaves about 7.5"long and 2" wide. Also made 2 rolls about the size of my fist. I used a half half mix of white flour and whole wheat white, 1 egg and 2 Yolks, 2pkgs of rapid rise yeast, added 1 tbs of honey to the lukewarm water, and baked them in my TFAL convection toaster/roaster oven. ( Which sucks btw, don't buy one if you're in the market for a large, toaster/roaster oven.) I set one cup of flour aside to knead with. The first batch of 3 loaves went into the oven after rising the second time while everything else went into the the fridge so they don't over rise. Yes, it's a thing. A few weeks ago, I left my dough rising almost 3x the recommended time and it came out beautiful but dry as crud. The all knowing Google informed me that my dough was probably the victim of over rising. Hey, if you read it on the Internet, it must be true. Like some reviewers, i also had my bottoms cooked too dark, so my second and third batch went into the oven 2 spaces higher than usual for 20 min and then brushed AGAIN with the egg mixture and moved down for the next 20. Perfect!
I followed the recipe exactly, but when it came time to eat the challah, i felt it was missing something - the taste was very flat & boring. The bread came out a little denser than I like challah, but you can't omit any of the flour or the dough will be too sticky.
I made this bread for a Hanukkah party my son was going to. I wasn't sure what it was supposed to taste like, and I was so scared it would be awful. But when we went, Everyone was saying it was the best Challah they had every had, and very seriously asked if I would make it every Friday for them if they paid me. I have to say, I loved it, but I was so happy with all the great things everyone said, made me feel like a star.
This was *bleep*ing outstanding! I was actually expecting it to be a bit heavier of a bread than it was due to the eggs but it game out light and fluffy. I cut the recipe in half after seeing other reviews on how huge it is and am glad I did. I'm not sure what I could have fit the entire recipe in at one time. And just love the touch of vanilla in the glaze. The only change might be that I'll probably leave the seeds off next time just purely due to the mess they made as they fell off every time someone touched the loaf. For the braiding, as a half recipe I went with 4 braids instead of the recommended 3 because it seemed like the loaf would be too long with 3 sections. There are some easy to follow youtube videos out there if you have never braided bread before. Its extremely easy.
I made as directed but subbed 2 cups of orange juice for 2 of the 4 cups of water and added orange zest to the dough. I also used orange juice instead of water for the topping. It made a lovely loaf that I used part of to make French Toast Casserole (from this site) with after it sat for several days. Delicious! Thank you!
