The Best Challah Bread Recipe to Make From Scratch

There's nothing like the smell of freshly baked homemade bread, especially when it is made from a traditional challah bread recipe. This is a kid-friendly recipe that produces fluffy challah.

Tips for Making Challah Bread

• All-purpose flour is the go-to flour used for making challah bread.
• For a sweet challah bread recipe, just add a tablespoon of extra sugar or honey.
• This is a "water" challah recipe that contains no eggs and is vegan-friendly, but there are egg-containing recipes out there.
• Try letting the dough rise overnight in the fridge for deeper flavor.
• Don't over-knead your dough as it can become tough and difficult to stretch.

Challah Bread Recipe Ingredients

These ingredients will produce two regular-sized loaves.

• 1kg all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 4 tbsp. sugar
• ½ cup oil
• 2½ cup warm water (or as needed)
• Coconut oil/milk for a vegan "egg-wash"

Method for Making Challah Bread

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Make an indentation in the flour and add the yeast, sugar, and oil in the middle.
3. Gradually add the water and mix until it forms a cohesive mass. If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour.
4. Knead until it reaches a smooth consistency.
5. Cover the bowl and leave to rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size. (Alternatively, place in the fridge overnight).
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into 6 pieces.
7. Roll each piece of dough into a 12"/30cm-long rope.
8. Place three of the ropes parallel to each other, join them at one end, and braid the pieces together. Do the same with the other three long pieces of dough.
9. Place the loaves on a baking sheet and let them rise for an additional 45min or until doubled in size.
10. Brush liberally with the "egg wash."
11. Bake at 375F/190C for about 50min or until the loaves are golden brown.

With this easy challah bread recipe, you don't need any experience in the kitchen and you'll get mouthwatering delicious bread.