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My Most Delicious Challah is buttery and rich, yet light and fluffy. Simple to make, easy to eat, this will become your go-to recipe.
But first, a story……
This is the story of how it all started. This is the story….of me.
If you ever wondered where I began, at the very beginning, before In The Wild Heart Kitchen Blog, before Wild Heart Baked Goods, before I even really understood how to cook or bake at all….it all began with the search for home…the search for the perfect challah recipe.
As many of you know, I am a true New Yorker down to my very core. New Yorkers, as I’m sure many of you know, are a different breed. At the heart of every native New Yorker, lies the love for the Yankees, the ability to say Lon-Gi-Land, a jolly spirit, and a dedication to magnificent bread and baked goods. When I moved from New York to New England (many many…many years ago), I gave up the chocolate melt-aways, the bialys, the pizza (OMG), and the bagels. But, what I missed the most was challah.
Challah, such a simple thing.
Growing up, my father would return Thursday evenings from work around 7:30 from the deepest heart of Brooklyn. Even before I would hear his voice, announcing his homecoming, I would the hear loud crinkle of the bags. Those heavy duty brown bags with thick handles, filled to the brim with flakey pastries, mandel bread, and giant challahs. The smell of the chocolate from the pastries would waft from the bags as he unpacked them. The challahs were at the bottom; tall and perfect, with dark mahogany crusts. The type of crusts that shattered when you cut a slice.
They were perfect.
Simply perfect.
New England has a very different style of challah….but it’s not mine.
This challah is not home.
My search for challah became so dire that I taught myself how to bake, especially challah, until I became proficient. Until someone in town said, “Hey, you’re challah is so delicious. I want to buy five for this Friday.”
And so it began.
And it went and it went and it expanded into more than challah…into piles and piles of challah, and breads, and cakes, and scones and preserves and cookies, and a beautiful little pop up shop where everyone gathered….and life was happy.
Until I stopped. And I threw it all away.
I threw it all away. The 3 am mornings of baking, the lines of faces I couldn’t wait to greet at my shop, the happy coffee klatches that sat outside my little shop. I threw it all away to be here, with you. To launch In The Wild Heart Kitchen Blog and help you cook (and bake) with confidence. To empower you not to buy my baked goods, but create them at home and say “I made this.”
And it was all because of my longing to hear those heavy brown paper bags.
It was all because…. of challah.
My Most Delicious Challah:
Before you get really excited, this is not THE original Wild Heart challah recipe from my shop. No no….that one will come one day….a cookbook? One day.
This is my other most beloved challah recipe that I slowly crafted into what is truly delicious, my most delicious. My Most Delicious Challah recipe has extra egg yolks for richness, olive oil for a more buttery flavor, and honey to make the challah simply melt in your mouth. It’s a petite recipe, yielding two loaves, so it’s easily kneaded by hand.
If this is your first time baking challah, or any bread for that matter, welcome! Challah can seem overwhelming at first, but I promise it gets easier….almost second nature….with every batch you bake.
About bread baking & some useful tools:
If you are new to baking, I highly recommend reading my The Beginners Bread Baking Guide which really goes through so many important details, including water temperature, proofing, etc.
Keep in mind the weather! In the winter your dough will rise slower and you may require a little more flour to knead the dough until it feels “right.” In the summer, when there is a lot of humidity in the air, your dough may rise really fast and you may require less flour until it feels “right.” So now you’re going to ask me what is “right?” “Right” means the dough is soft, supple, a little tacky, but smooth (just like me!). Yep. But don’t worry! You’ll get the hang of it, I promise!
If you don’t own one already, buy yourself a digital kitchen scale. The most consistent baking comes from weighing your ingredients. They are relatively inexpensive and you will find yourself using it constantly. Please read my article on On Measuring Flour.
If you are like me and enjoy kneading your challah dough by hand, get a Danish dough whisk because it glides through that sticky moment at the beginning of mixing your wet and dry ingredients.
I’m going to state the obvious here and say buy a few pastry brushes. They come in handy for brushing olive oil on vegetables, to glazing cakes with simple syrup and, of course, to brushing egg wash on challah.
Never, ever, ever ever use dark colored cookie sheets. They will ruin whatever it is your baking with a burnt bottom. I absolutely adore these cookie sheets, I have them in every size. They are perfect for cookies, roast veggies, even chicken.
A little note from me!
The topic of challah, and bread in general, is so vast! I have tried to provide you with the real essential basics here. Please know you can always reach me via Instagram or email. I am so so SO happy to help with all your challah questions.
My Most Delicious Challah
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup lukewarm water see note
- 1 tablespoon +1½ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 500 grams bread flour + ¼ cup for kneading
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup white granulated sugar or ⅓ cup honey (see note)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for greasing bowl
For the egg wash:
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon water
For the topping:
- choice of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel topic, pumpkin seeds, etc.. optional
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a small bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and let it rest about five minutes, or until yeast has bloomed/foamed up. (if your yeast has not bloomed/foamed up by this point, your water was too warm or your yeast is dead). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, kosher salt and sugar (or honey). Mix well to combine.
- Add the eggs, egg yolk, olive oil and yeast/water mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon to create a rough, shaggy dough.
- Lightly sprinkle a clean kitchen counter or other work surface with flour and turn the dough out of the bowl. The dough will be sticky, but that's ok. Gradually knead the 1/4 cup of flour into the dough. Begin kneading the dough by pushing the dough forward with the palm of your hands, and then fold it back over itself. Give it a quarter turn between each knead. You may use the entire 1/4 cup or just short of it, weather depending.
- Depending on the weather, the dough may be sticky, so add a little additional flour as you knead, until the dough is slightly smooth and supple, but still has a little tackiness left.
- Lightly coat your mixing bowl in olive oil, a few tablespoons. Put the dough in the bowl and give it a little swirl around the bowl. Flip the dough over so all sides have been covered with oil.
- Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap, cover in a tea towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size.
- After 45 minutes, punch the center of the dough down. Fold and punch the dough four times, giving the dough a quarter turn between each fold and punch.
- Cover the dough back up and allow it to rise another 35 minutes. (If it's hot and humid out, check your dough after 25 minutes)
Braid the dough:
- Prepare a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 °F
- Uncover the dough and punch it down gently in the middle. Fold the dough over onto itself and then once more.
- Gently tip the dough out on to a clean work surface.
- Using a knife, diving the dough in half and form two balls. Divide each ball into the number of braids you want for each challah. (I make a four braided challah so I divide each ball into four equal pieces)
- To create the dough strands, using your hands, flatten out a piece of dough into a rectangle (roughly 3×5 inch). Position the rectangle so the shorter sides are on the top and bottom. Roll the rectangles up into a coil, short side to short side. Repeat this until all dough pieces are rolled into coils. Cover them with plastic wrap and allow them to rest for 8 minutes. (This is a very important step, do not skip).
- Uncover the dough and roll each coil out into a 7-8 inch strand. Taper the edges of each strand.
- Braid your challahs and place them on the prepared cookie sheet with plenty of space between them.
Prepare the challah for baking:
- Cover the challahs with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Allow them to rise in a warm place for roughly 15-20 minutes (please note, in the winter they will rise slower and in the summer they may rise very quickly, 10-15 minutes). Your challahs are fully risen with you can poke them with your finger and the imprint remains for a few moments and the dough very slowly springs back.
- Brush each challah with the egg wash. Brush on a little at a time. Be sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Wait for about 1 minute until the wash starts to dry. Apply one more coat of egg wash.
- If you desire, liberally sprinkle your challahs with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel topping, or topping of your choice.
Baking the challah and cooling:
- Place the challahs in the oven for 28-32 minutes.
- Your challahs are baked when they get a deep mahogany brown (don't worry, they won't dry out) and when you hear a hollow sound when you knock the bottoms of the challahs.
- Carefully removed the challahs from the cookie sheet (they are delicate) and transfer to a cooling rack.
- If you are planning on eating them right away, let the challahs rest for 30 minutes after baking. As tempting as it is don't eat them straight from the oven.
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