The Best Challah Recipe: Airy and Light

Are you a Challah fan? Challah is a staple at our home for Friday night dinner. We always use the leftovers (if we have any left, that is) for Saturday morning Shashouka breakfast or for making the perfect French toast in the morning. To spice this dish up, pair it with the Turkish Bean Soup, or have the soup and challah for lunch the following day. I promise, this amazing recipe will make you give up on buying store challahs.

My Personal Challah Tradition:

Challah is a dish that makes me feel nostalgic and makes me think of fun times with my family. One of my favorite childhood memories was when my siblings and I would sneak into the kitchen and break into the fresh Challah. We would even slather on some chocolate spread to elevate the experience. Today, my family can finish an entire Challah in one sitting, just eating it with Nutella.

For those of you who do not know, Challah is bread, typically sporting a braided style and is a staple in Jewish cuisine. Challah is made either savory (with seeds or spices, or both) or sweet (with sprinkles, chocolate or sugar)

Challah Recipe Ingredients:

Now that you learned more about Challah, you are ready to hit the ground running. Here is everything you need to stock your kitchen to make this delicious, light and airy challah recipe:

• Bread Flour
• Warm Water
• Active Dry Yeast
• Sugar
• Salt
• Margarine
• Eggs (regular, yolks and white are needed)

The Light and Airy Challah Recipe:

For years, I have been on a quest to create the perfect Challah recipe. It seemed like they were all the same and nothing was blowing me away. So, I knew that there must be something I was doing wrong. I tried water challah recipe, egg challah recipe; I tried everything and anything to make my challah less cake-y and more airy.

It was not until recently that I cracked the recipe code. In quarantine, I have a lot of time on my hands to explore and experiment with recipes and see what works and what does not. Eventually, I decided to “mix” a few recipe tricks I learned along the way and see if they all worked together to make the perfect Challah. Guess what? It was a success!

My family was so amazed at how good the challah was, we dropped one at our parents’ house so they could try it and experience the deliciousness just as we did. During these times, things are scary and uncertain. Even though we saw them just to drop off the food, it was so great to quickly see them and made things feel a little more normal.

Recipe Tips and Tricks:

Now that I found the perfect recipe, I can not wait to explore with different braiding designs and share them with you guys! Do you have a braided design you love? Share it in the comments or tag us in your photo so I can see your magic.

Personally, I always opt for a classic braid design and sprinkle on sesame seeds. I love a savory Challah! With this dish, the possibilities are endless. Feel free to get creative with your toppings. Here are some ideas I have and would like to explore further one day. Let me know down in the comments or tag the Rolled In Dough Instagram if you try any out!

• Sesame Seeds
• Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
• Poppy Seeds
• Thyme
• Red Pepper Chili Flakes
• Milk Chocolate Chips
• White Chocolate Chips
• Dark Chocolate Chips
• Rainbow Sprinkles
• Chocolate Sprinkles
• Oreo’s
• Fruit

A Rolled in Dough Quick Tip: When dividing the challah dough to make the strands for the braid, DO NOT KNEAD THE DOUGH. Instead, Roll it out into long rectangular shapes with a rolling pin and slowly roll them into themselves to make one long strand. This allows for nice dough folds and creates a soft, airy texture inside of the challah.

Now, you are ready to officially get started. Here is my Light and Airy Challah Recipe! Enjoy and have fun!

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Are you still hungry? Check out some of our bread-like dishes, including the Cherry Tomatoes and Rosemary Focaccia and the Classic Cornbread.

Are you looking for something more sweet? Check out our cake recipes here.