This Challah bread is a staple during Hanukkah, but it's also great for sandwiches and French toast!
Growing up in the culturally diverse city of Vancouver gave me the opportunity to witness and partake in many cultural and religious events and celebrations. From the annual festival at the Greek Orthodox church to the elaborate Chinese New Year celebrations, I reveled in learning about the various customs. Traditional costumes, dances and, oh yeah, food fed my imagination and insatiable taste buds (challah bread was one of those foods that caught my attention). Thanks to my Jewish friends, I learned (and still use) many Hebrew and Yiddish words. I try to work my personal favorites, chutzpah (audacity) and meshugenah (crazy person), into conversations as often as possible for the warped joy of seeing my friends' perplexed looks.
Inevitably, every December, my Jewish friends and I would have a debate about the virtues of Christmas versus Hanukkah. We were 10 or 11 years old, so these conversations did not revolve around pressing religious or political issues. Rather, we excitedly discussed which holiday gift-giving traditions were better for our toy-obsessed selves. Was it better to receive a pile of presents on one day or one present each night for eight nights? Which holiday foods were better - latkes and applesauce or Chocolate & Peppermint Bark cookies? Yep, we were solving the world's problems, one holiday at a time.
Hanukkah, of course, is much more than presents and latkes. It is known as the Festival of Lights, eight days of celebration that is symbolized by the lighting of one candle each night on the nine-branched menorah. The festival celebrates the time of the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem in the second century BCE. Judah Maccabee and the other Jews involved in the rededication proclaimed a miracle when the olive oil used to light the menorah lasted for eight days, rather than just one day, which gave the people time to press more oil for the lamp. The role of olive oil in this event is why fried foods, such as potato latkes, are popular foods on Hanukkah.
In honor of the lighting of the first candle tonight, I wanted to make a recipe that might be featured in a traditional Jewish meal. The dense, slightly sweet egg bread is braided and baked to a deep golden brown. It works beautifully on its own, with a swipe of butter, but also makes a mean sandwich or batch of French toast. This recipe is straight from the pages of the December 2010 issue of Saveur Magazine. Be sure to check out their other ideas for a traditional Hanukkah feast.
The recipe:
Heat milk to 115 degrees in a small saucepan. Pour it into a large bowl and stir in yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes to give the yeast a chance to activate. The surface should be foamy after 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together melted and cooled butter and eggs. Stir into the milk mixture.
Stir in flour, ¼ cup sugar, and salt until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 6 to 8 minutes.
Set the ball of dough in a large bowl that is greased with cooking spray or butter and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough, recover with plastic wrap, and let rest until the dough is slightly puffy, about 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from bowl and divide it into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 16-inch rope. Lay the dough ropes side-by-side and pinch one end of the ropes together.
Braid the pieces of dough in the following manner: Cross the left piece of dough over the middle piece. Cross the right piece of dough over what is now the new middle piece. Try to do this as evenly as possible to avoid large gaps between the dough ropes. Continue this process until you reach the end. Pinch together the ends and tuck the both ends underneath the loaf.
Place the loaf on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let the dough rest (proof) for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the mixture all over the surface of the loaf. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake until the bread is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.
Other Hanukkah recipes:
Cookin' Canuck's Family Crockpot Applesauce
Cookin' Canuck's Zucchini Latkes with Yogurt Curry Sauce
Savor the Thyme's Sweet Potato Latkes with Applesauce Sour Cream
Herbivoracious' Bunuelos with Honey (Sephardic Hanukkah Donuts)
The Jew & the Carrot's Cholent with Beans, Potatoes & Beef
Printable Recipe
Challah Bread (Braided Egg Bread) Recipe for Hanukkah
Ingredients
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons milk I used whole milk
- ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 4 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 egg yolk
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat milk to 115 degrees in a small saucepan. Pour it into a large bowl and stir in yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes to give the yeast a chance to activate. The surface should be foamy after 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together melted and cooled butter and eggs. Stir into the milk mixture.Stir in flour, ¼ cup sugar, and salt until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Set the ball of dough in a large bowl that is greased with cooking spray or butter and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, recover with plastic wrap, and let rest until the dough is slightly puffy, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough from bowl and divide it into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 16-inch rope. Lay the dough ropes side-by-side and pinch one end of the ropes together.
- Braid the pieces of dough in the following manner: Cross the left piece of dough over the middle piece. Cross the right piece of dough over what is now the new middle piece. Try to do this as evenly as possible to avoid large gaps between the dough ropes. Continue this process until you reach the end. Pinch together the ends and tuck the both ends underneath the loaf.
- Place the loaf on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let the dough rest (proof) for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the mixture all over the surface of the loaf. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake until the bread is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.
Debi Shawcross (Table Talk)
I just finished a week of holiday cooking classes where I used challah bread in a savory mushroom bread pudding. ---It was not homemade however~ you did a beautiful job with it!
danasfoodforthought
This looks great! I tried to make challah for rosh hashannah, and while it looked pretty, the texture was not right. It was very dry and not nearly dense enough. I'll have to try this recipe next time!
Maria
Wow, your bread is absolutely gorgeous!
Jenny
Gorgeous Dara! I need!
marla {family fresh cooking}
Ha! Used to have the same debate with my girl friends. Living in NY we had a similar diversity to Vancouver. Now there is no comparisons I just celebrate every holiday that comes my way.
I remember many crispy cool days in NYC, taking a long walk & picking up a freshly baked challah bread. With each step I took a bite & it was blissful! Carbs didn't count nor show those days 🙂 Beautiful bread Dara. xo
Jamie
What a truly wonderful post! Yes, I can just hear those long-ago discussions about which of us, Jews or Christians, had it better, and I can taste all of those wonderful Hanukkah treats that I grew up eating. What a joy to be able to trade and share customs and stories and culinary delights! Your Challah is stunningly perfect and next time I make Challah I will turn to this recipe. It is beautiful! Happy Holidays! (my husband also gets a kick out of using Yiddish words like these!)
ChefDruck
Your challah is gorgeous! My MIL has tried to pass on her recipe to me many times but it never comes out pretty. I'll have to try your recipe!
Miss
I've got to try this, it must be marvelous!
savoringeverybite
Your bread looks amazing! I love to learn about different culture's food and traditions also. You wrote a wonderful post and have tempted me to try this out!
briarrose
Beautiful loaf! You did a lovely job.