Baking bread at home is a labor of love. It takes time and requires planning, but the smell that fills your home and the feeling of pulling a fresh loaf out of the oven are truly special. In my opinion, there’s no better bread to start a home-baking journey with than challah. It’s extremely forgiving, but the final result is as delicious as it is impressive. Here are my tips for making yours better!
I don’t have my own challah recipe, but my favorite one to use was developed by Jake Cohen and for his NYT-best selling book “Jew-ish”. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to re-write the recipe on my blog, so here are a few places to find it online:
Jake makes his challah on the Drew Barrymore Show
New bread bakers often worry that they are going to ruin a bake by kneading or mixing their dough for too long. However, enriched doughs like challah or brioche are essentially impossible to overmix. In fact, under mixing is one of the main things that can keep you from achieving a smooth dough. Your first mix should be no less than four minutes, first at speed 2 and then at speed 4, in a standing mixer.
Allow the dough to rest for two minutes before mixing for another three minutes on speed 4. At this point, your dough should pass what bakers refer to as “the windowpane test.” This means the dough is elastic enough to be pulled until it’s thin enough for light to be seen through it. The gluten has developed in the dough to the point where it is strong enough to be stretched and shaped without breaking.
You want your dough to be tacky, not sticky. If it sticks to the counter or the mixing bowl, add flour 1-2 tablespoons at a time until it doesn’t. You should not need to add any flour to your work surface when trying to braid it.
When it comes to baking, especially baking with leavening, it’s always better to use a scale instead of measuring cups. I also highly recommend using a scale when dividing strands of dough for challah. While many recipes will say, “divide your dough into 6 even strands,” the reality is that those strands will never be even unless they’re actually weighed out.
After you divide your strands, you’ll have to preshape them (and let them rest) before rolling them out into braidable strands. This step is extremely important if you want to make shapely strands that won’t tear or be clumpy when you form them.
When rolling out your dough for the final shape, start with your hand firmly in the center and roll a few times. Then begin using two hands to roll both sides of the strand until the ends are tapered. Don’t be timid! This dough is extremely strong and elastic, and using a firm hand while shaping will create long smooth strands that are perfect for braiding.
After I braid my challah, I always egg wash it before setting it aside to proof. Egg wash should be 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of water, and a pinch of salt. Whisk it together thoroughly so there are no strands of white left. Allow your challah to proof until doubled in volume, or for about an hour. Once it’s proofed, egg wash one more time for ultimate glossiness.
Side note: while you do want to egg wash twice, you do not want to over-wash to the point where little pools of egg form in the crevices of the dough. They will turn into omelets when the challah bakes.
Overnight proofing will give your bread a more complex and delicious flavor. There are two options for overnight proofing. The first is to mix your dough and then let it rise in the fridge overnight. Pull it out an hour before preshaping and let it come to room temperature. The second option is to do all the steps through braiding. Instead of allowing the bread to proof for an hour, place it in the fridge on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let it proof overnight. Remove it from the fridge the next morning and let it stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes before baking.
