Challah Recipe

4 cups flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1 cup water
½ tsp salt
¼ cup honey
6 Tbsp oil 
2 eggs (+1 for egg wash if desired)

Instructions: 

If your yeast is not quick yeast, proof it in water until foamy. 

Combine ½ of your flour with your salt. 

Add your honey and oil. 

Add your water and yeast and stir to combine. Add your egg and knead until smooth ball forms. 

Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl and cover lightly. 

Allow the dough to rise until double - 30 to 90 minutes. 

Knead your dough 3-6 times and divide it into sections. I usually do four but you can do as many as you want for your braid. 

Roll each section into “logs” that are equal length. 

Braid your dough and place it on an ungreased baking sheet. 

Allow to rise an additional 60-90 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 375℉. 

If you want a shiny and crunchy crust with soft dinner-roll-like insides, beat one egg with 1 Tbsp water and apply it to the top of your braid. 

Bake your bread for 25-30 minutes. 

You can then tent your bread with foil and pop it back in the oven for 10 minutes or so for an extra crispy crust or allow it to sit on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes after removing it from the oven. 

Say your prayers, break your bread, and enjoy! 

The Story Behind the Recipe:

This is another recipe that began during our Messianic walk as we started honoring the Sabbath day as God has commanded in Exodus 20:8-11 "8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (KJV)

You might be thinking "There is literally NO mention on bread in that scripture." and yes, that is correct. Where the challah (literally meaning bread; there is no specific challah recipe for the Sabbath) for Shabbat comes into play is on Shabbat you are not to do any work: i.e. no cooking. As most people farmed and grain was the primary source of food, as mentioned several times throughout the bible to include the Lord's prayer "give us this day our daily bread", and as an homage to the mana from heaven, bread was prepared for the family to not be hungry nor fast on the Sabbath (fasting on the Sabbath is strictly prohibited as this is a FEAST to the Lord). Bread keeps well, you can eat it with fruit, meat, honey, etc. and makes for an easy meal to prepare in bulk for a day of rest. I will admit, I googled "Challah recipes for Shabbat" and went to the most "Jewish" sounding website to look at their recipe. I then looked at 4-5 more recipes to compare (to make sure I was doing it "right") and took the most similar parts of the recipes, and tested them out until I had one that worked. 

I’ll be honest; I wing this recipe nine times out of ten. I have it memorized because I’ve made it almost every week for the last two years. I like to experiment with it and have added cheese and herbs to it, made an onion flavored one (I forgot I wasn’t making pizza dough and added some onion powder by accident… It was delicious though!), I’ve added cinnamon and sugar to it, brown sugar, even cocoa powder! This recipe can literally be transformed into whatever you want it to be! 

I love that this recipe can be plain or flavored, but I really love that you can swap out ingredients with little change in the taste/texture! I can’t tell you how many times I have run out of eggs before making challah… I regularly run out of eggs and know ALL the substitutes for them (and which ones absolutely do not belong in certain dishes… I apologize to my family for these failed experiments) and have found that you can omit it entirely (the bread will not be as filling, but texturally it won’t change a noticeable amount), or use yogurt, flax egg, and even just an extra tablespoon of oil. I’ve used different flours, different oils, sugar, honey, and maple syrup (for dessert ones)! (update: Blue Agave Nectar is DELICIOUS in this! It's not as heavy as the honey and is such a delightful, subtle flavor. I HIGHLY recommend trying it!)

We eat this bread weekly for Shabbat and it is arguably Amelia’s favorite part of Shabbat (until pizza comes out, I should say). She sits through prayers, scripture, blessings, and FINALLY she gets some bread. This child LOVES bread! Emma has come to join our family's extreme (and possibly unhealthy for a moment during quarantine) love of bread. IMPORTANT NOTE: This bread contains honey and therefore should not be given to children under the age of one. You can substitute the honey if you would like to give this bread to your infant. I enjoy this bread with honey for an “after dinner snack” or as an appetizer with herb-infused oil - if this is your plan I would omit the honey and use 1 ½ t sugar plus some savory additions. 

Let us know how this recipe has worked for you and what tasty changes you may have made! 

P.S. If you're like me and you usually have leftover challah this French Toast Casserole is amazing with this bread! The honey really takes it up a notch and the braid makes for super easy tearing with EVEN BITES! (A pet peeve of mine is uneven pieces in a baked dish because how could it possibly cook evenly if the pieces are not even?!)

Thank you for your support and God Bless!