Homemade Braided Challah Bread Recipe

Name: Homemade Braided Challah Bread Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 160 min
Ingredients: 400 grams all-purpose flour ((bread flour will also work)); 8 grams diamond crystal kosher salt; 7 grams instant yeast; 85 grams warm water ((80°F)); 30 grams olive oil; 28 grams honey; 2 large eggs ((room temperature)); 1 large egg yolk ((room temperature, save the egg white)); 1 large egg white ((reserved from the egg yolk in the dough)); ¼ teaspoon water; ⅛ teaspoon salt ((optional))

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Learn how to make a delicious single loaf of homemade braided challah bread. This soft challah recipe uses an extra egg yolk, a generous pour of honey, and the richness of olive oil for the perfect golden brown challah crust with a soft, slightly airy interior texture.

In this post I'll show you my best tips for braiding a three-strand challah, but you can absolutely use this base challah dough to make any type of challah braid or shape your heart desires.

sliced challah bread on a tan napkin on a wooden serving board.

Looking for an even smaller challah recipe? Check out my small batch challah bread which uses just 1 cup of flour!

Jump to:

What Is Challah?
📋 About This Recipe // Why You Should Try It
📖 Challah Ingredient Notes
How to Make Challah Dough (Stand Mixer)
📋 How to Braid a Challah Loaf
🥣 Kneading Challah Dough By Hand (No Mixer)
🌡️ A Note on Temperature and Dough Rising
🔪 Equipment Notes
⏲️ Storage & Freezing Challah
👩🏻‍🍳 Practical Tips and Recipe Notes
💭 Recipe FAQ - Flour types, gluten free, etc.
TL;DR — Recipe Summary
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

What Is Challah?

Challah is a specific type of enriched bread usually made to celebrate Ashkenazi Jewish ritual holidays like Shabbat (the weekly Sabbath) as well as other major Jewish holidays (though not Passover, during which no leavened bread is eaten).

While other classic enriched doughs like my simple brioche bread are soft and fluffy due to the addition of milk and butter, challah bread is typically made dairy-free.

Why is challah dairy-free? When you keep kosher, you aren't supposed to mix dairy and meat. Since challah is traditionally served at mealtime, it is instead enriched with eggs and olive oil. That way it is considered "parve" (Yiddish for "neutral") and can be served with meals containing dairy or meat products.

an overhead shot of a large braided challah loaf on a wooden board.

Traditionally, homemade braided challah is shaped as a three-strand braided loaf (which is what I'll show you how to do in this recipe post).

It's also perfectly acceptable to shape a four, six, eight, or even 12 strand braided challah loaf. The sky's the limit, really. If you can braid it, go for it! There are a lot of really creative challah braiders out there.

On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, challah is baked in a round spiral to honor the cyclical nature of the calendar year. My round apples and honey babka is shaped in a twisted spiral for that reason (though it uses a buttery brioche dough).

Challah can of course be cut into slices, but according to some Shabbat traditions the challah should be torn by hand as it is passed around the table.

📋 About This Recipe // Why You Should Try It

There are a lot of great challah recipes out there, so when I decided to make my own homemade braided challah recipe, I decided to prioritize a few things:

I wanted a recipe that would make just one loaf of challah. A lot of popular challah recipes make two, if not three loaves of challah. According to Jewish tradition, you're supposed to have two challahs on Shabbat, but this is The Practical Kitchen and I'm personally not very religious — I just don't need two challahs!
I wanted a challah braiding technique that would help avoid the "pulling" texture you sometimes get in between the ropes of dough when it bakes. A lot of recipes don't mention how to avoid that; and I was determined to figure out the trick (and I did!).
I didn't want any ingredients to go to waste. Challah recipes often use extra egg yolks or only use egg yolks in the dough, and I wanted to develop my homemade braided challah recipe so that no parts of the egg go unused.

close up of a slice of challah bread on a wooden board.

This challah recipe uses two large eggs and one egg yolk, but the extra egg white is reserved to use as the egg wash on the final loaf.

One of the trickiest things about developing a challah recipe is creating a dough that is hydrated enough to shape so that the braids fuse into one solid loaf as it bakes, but that will also hold the braided shape and definition.

Too little water and the ropes won't fuse together during the final rise. Too much water and they'll fuse together so much that you lose the pretty braided shape.

I started with a very low hydration version of this challah dough and increased the amount of water in the dough by almost double over the course of recipe testing!

The final version of my challah dough is soft and supple, easy to roll into long ropes for braiding with minimal effort. And the trick to avoiding the "pulling" texture is to leave a little room during braiding to give the ropes space to expand. Easy-peasy!

📖 Challah Ingredient Notes

You only need a few simple ingredients to make this single loaf of braided challah! See recipe card (at the end of the post) for quantities.

all of the challah ingredients measured out and labeled.

All Purpose Flour - I usually use King Arthur Baking's all-purpose flour when I make this challah. It has a slightly higher protein (gluten) content than most other all-purpose flours, which helps give the challah its soft, chewy texture. For an even softer, chewier braided challah, you can use bread flour instead; it has a higher protein (gluten) content than all-purpose flour.
Salt - Salt doesn't just add flavor to your dough, it helps control the yeast activity. I use the chef-standard Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which has larger, irregular crystals that dissolve quickly compared to other brands and styles of salt. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is is also half as salty as other brands of salt by volume (teaspoons), so make sure you're measuring salt by weight! If you're using a different type or brand of salt and measuring by volume (teaspoons), cut the amount of salt in half.
Instant Yeast - Sometimes called "rapid rise," "bread machine," or "quick rise" yeast. I like instant yeast because it's designed to be added directly to the dry ingredients and doesn't need to be activated before use. If you only have active dry yeast, mix it with the warm water and let it sit for a minute or two before adding to the other liquid ingredients.
Water - Lukewarm to slightly warm water — not hot water (hot water would scramble the eggs and kill the yeast). If you want to be precise, you're looking for a temperature of about 85°F.
Eggs - This recipe uses 2 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk in the dough. The egg wash is made from the leftover egg white. So that's 3 eggs total. Bring the 2 whole eggs to room temperature by submerging them in hot water for 10 minutes so that the egg white and yolk loosen up and incorporate easily into the dough. For the third egg, it'll be easier to separate the yolk from the white when it's still cold.
Olive Oil - A fairly mild flavored olive oil works best for challah dough. Olive oil or extra virgin olive oil will both work just fine here, use whatever you've got at home. Olive oil adds flavor and, along with the fat from the egg yolks, helps give the challah a soft tight crumb and soft crust.
Honey - Challah is a moderately sweet bread so I like using a robustly flavored, high quality honey to really emphasize that sweetness.

How to Make Challah Dough (Stand Mixer)

We're following the standard dough mixing process for this homemade braided challah loaf. Mix the dry ingredients — flour, salt, and yeast — together first in the bowl of your stand mixer. This helps distribute the dry ingredients evenly so the dough can combine smoothly.

In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, water, honey, and olive oil. Just enough to break up the yolks and get the honey to start dissolving.

a stand mixer bowl with flour, yeast and salt in it, next to a liquid measuring cup with eggs, water, honey, and oil and a whisk in it. a small container with an egg white is next to them.

Save the egg white from the extra yolk to use for the egg wash later. Just put it in a container in the fridge, it'll be fine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and attach the dough hook.

the wet ingredients in the center of the dry ingredients in a mixer bowl with a dough hook.

Mix on low speed, pausing to push more flour into the center of the bowl periodically, until the dough comes together in a messy ball. This can take 5-7 minutes — be patient!

kneaded challah dough wrapped around a dough hook in the bottom of a mixer bowl.

Once the dough has come together, increase the speed slightly to knead the challah dough for another 5-7 minutes until it's smooth and slightly tacky to the touch.

After 7 minutes of mixing, if the dough is still struggling to come together, you can drizzle water ¼ teaspoon at a time onto the dry bits in the bowl until it does.

A lot of the liquid ingredients in this challah dough take the flour longer to absorb than water. The dough might seem dry during the initial mixing stage, but as you knead the dough and then leave it to rise, the flour will have plenty of time to finish absorbing them.

During the kneading stage, if the dough is sticking or clinging to the bottom of the bowl, pause periodically to scrape it up and add it to the dough. This is a also good time to pull the dough off the dough hook and flip it over in the bowl so that it kneads more evenly.

Shape the dough into a ball by tucking all the edges under so you have a nice smooth top. Then place the dough ball back in the mixing bowl and lightly coat the outside of the dough with olive oil.

Cover the bowl and set aside somewhere warm (72°F) to rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size. Mine usually takes around an hour and 15 minutes to rise, though sometimes it needs the full two hours if it's very cold in my kitchen.

a small ball of challah dough in the bottom of a brown mixing bowl before rising.

the challah dough in a brown mixer bowl after rising. it fills almost the whole bowl.

Check the dough after an hour using the fingertip poke test. (It's what it sounds like.) All you need to do is gently press a fingertip into the dough.

If the dough feels soft and indentation fills back in slowly and stops before it fills in completely, it's ready.
If the dough feels firm and the indentation fills in immediately and completely, it needs more time. Cover it back up and check again every 15 minutes until it looks right.
If the dough completely deflates under your fingertip, that means it has over proofed. Knead it back into a ball, cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes, then proceed with the recipe.

📋 How to Braid a Challah Loaf

Okay, I usually avoid talking about hair and food at the same time but, when it comes to challah, if you can braid hair you can braid challah. And if you can't braid hair, the good news is braiding challah is much easier. (No frizz or flyaways to manage, yay!)

Don't be too hard on yourself if braiding challah doesn't come naturally to you on your first go. It will become easier with practice. I've got step-by-step photos to walk you through it and you can also check out the video at the end of this post if you want more visual guidance!

The first step is to divide and pre-shape the dough into logs. This helps the dough get used to the new shape before you roll it into longer ropes.

dividing the dough into three equal pieces using a green kitchen scale. the third piece of dough is on the scale weighing 226 grams.

Divide the dough into three equal portions. It's okay if they're off by a little bit. Just try to get them as close to equal as possible without having to combine a lot of smaller pieces so the dough is smoother to roll.

two pieces of dough are on the counter while two hands fold another portion of dough into a log, pressing with fingertips to seal it in a tube shape.

Gently flatten each piece into a long-ish rectangle, then roll it up into a tight log, using your fingertips to seal the seam together at the bottom. Set each pre-shaped log aside while you roll up the next one.

This gives the challah dough time to relax before you roll it into the longer rope.

At any point if the dough feels like it's fighting you, doesn't want to roll any longer, or is shrinking back a lot each time you lift your hands, you can cover the ropes with a clean dish towel and let them rest for a minute or two, then resume rolling.

two hands rolling a tube of dough into a long rope.

Roll each log of dough to an even thickness, starting with your hands in the middle of the rope and moving them to the ends of the rope as you roll.

Taper the ends of each rope by tilting your hands so your pinkies are against the counter and your thumbs are angled up as you roll the ends.

a long rope of dough next to a long metal ruler showing the rope to be twenty inches long.

Each rope of dough should be about 20 inches long. The dough ropes will relax and shrink back slightly as they rest, so measure them after rolling all three. Roll them again if needed to reach 20 inches.

If you don't have a long ruler and are just eyeballing the length, just make sure they're all equal length once relaxed.

Now, it's time to begin braiding your challah loaf.

As you braid your challah there are two things to keep in mind:

Keep the braid a little bit loose to avoid that "pulling" texture when the loaf bakes. You aren't braiding hair for a cheerleading competition here. Once the loaf is braided it rises again; the challah dough ropes need room to expand as they rise without pulling on each other.
As you cross the dough ropes over each other, think of it like you're folding them at a crease, rather than always keeping the top side of the dough rope facing up.

Three ropes of dough joined at the top. A finger is pressing down at the top to seal them together.

Pinch the three ropes together at the top. The middle rope should be on top.

a bench scraper holds the joined top ends of the dough ropes down while two hands cross the far right rope over the middle rope.

Take one of the side ropes and loosely cross it over the middle rope.

the challah is halfway braided, two hands are crossing the left rope of dough over the middle rope.

Take the other side rope and cross it over the new middle rope. Repeat to the end.

The finished braided challah ends in a point. A hand is pinching the ends of the dough ropes together.

Pinch the ends together at the bottom firmly so they don't come undone.

Gently lift and tuck the pinched together ends under the loaf. This prevents the narrow ends from burning and gives your challah nice rounded ends.

Then transfer the whole challah loaf to a parchment lined sheet pan.

the braided challah on a parchment lined sheet pan with a sheet of plastic wrap over it.

Spray the top of the loaf lightly with non-stick spray or brush with oil. Then cover loosely with plastic wrap and rest for 1 hour in a warm spot until doubled in size.

the risen challah on a sheet pan with a pastry brush and container of egg white wash.

Brush the surface of the challah loaf all over with the egg white, making sure to get around the sides, near the bottom of the loaf, and into all the creases.

Bake the challah for 30-35 minutes at 350°F until it's nice and golden brown. If you have an instant read thermometer, you're looking for an internal temperature of 195°-200°F for doneness.

a loaf of baked challah bread on a light tan linen napkin.

🥣 Kneading Challah Dough By Hand (No Mixer)

No mixer, no problem! You can absolutely make the dough for this homemade braided challah by hand. Follow the recipe as stated, except use a dough whisk, spatula or even your hands to mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a shaggy dough forms.

Then turn the dough out onto a clean countertop and knead by hand for about 10-15 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic. This is a dense dough and will definitely put your arm and shoulder strength to the test.

Stretch your shoulders well before (and after) kneading and make sure to set a timer — it always takes longer than you think it will!

You may need to dust down a little additional flour while kneading just to prevent the dough from sticking to you and the counter, but a little sticking is normal. Use a light hand when dusting the flour — you don't want to incorporate too much flour into the dough.

The rest of the homemade braided challah recipe will follow as written!

🌡️ A Note on Temperature and Dough Rising

Depending on how cool or warm your liquid ingredients were, and how cool or warm your kitchen is, your challah dough may rise faster or slower.

Warmer temperatures speed up yeast activity. But temperatures over 110°F during mixing can kill it!
Cooler temperatures slow yeast activity. You can even reduce the yeast by half and let this challah dough rise in the fridge overnight before shaping if you prefer.

In baking, "room temperature" is generally somewhere around 70-75°F.

Just because your challah dough is ready sooner or later than the recipe says doesn't mean it's not working — there might be other temperature factors affecting how quickly or slowly it gets there!

🔪 Equipment Notes

You don't need to use all of the same equipment I use to make this homemade braided challah, but here are the tools I used and recommend:

Stand Mixer with Dough Hook - If you have a KitchenAid mixer with the tilt head and the bowl that screws in at the base, the motor may struggle with this dough — keep a close eye on it. You may need to hold the bowl in place to make sure it doesn’t unscrew during the kneading process. If you have a bowl-lift model, still keep an eye on it the whole time it's mixing and kneading. You don't want the mixer to walk itself off the counter!
Kitchen Scale - You'll need a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients for this bread recipe. The ingredient quantities are so small that if you're off by a little bit it can make a big difference in how your bread turns out. You'll get the best results from pretty much any baking recipe if you measure ingredients by weight.
Parchment Paper - I've been using these pre-cut quarter pan parchment sheets lately and can usually get 2-3 uses out of them!
Bench Scraper - A flat metal bench scraper is helpful for dividing the dough. I also use it to weigh down the joined ends of the challah to hold them in place while I braid it.
Flour Duster - I always keep flour in a flour duster handy so I can easily dust my counter and bread with flour without it being clumpy or uneven.

a braided challah wrapped loosely in a light tan cloth.

⏲️ Storage & Freezing Challah

This homemade braided challah is best eaten with in the first 2 days after baking. You can store it at room temperature for 4-6 days, though it will begin to dry out after a couple days. Storing it in an airtight container like a large resealable bag works well.

Do not refrigerate bread; the fridge temperature will make it go stale even faster.

This braided challah loaf freezes beautifully. You can freeze it whole or slice and then freeze it, both options work fine.

Store the frozen challah in an airtight plastic bag in the freezer with as much air pressed out of the bag as possible. Reheat the whole loaf from frozen at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes in an oven or toast up the frozen slices in a toaster oven.

👩🏻‍🍳 Practical Tips and Recipe Notes

You can also use this dough to make a round challah, a four strand woven round challah, etc. The baking time shouldn't change too much, but you're always looking for that 195°-200°F internal temperature for doneness.
If you live somewhere very dry, you may find the dough needs a bit more water during the mixing stage; if you live somewhere very humid, hold back about 10-15 grams of water to start, and add it in gradually only if the dough needs it.
For a darker homemade braided challah, you'll use a true egg wash made with a whole egg instead of just the egg white — the fat from the yolk helps give the crust a darker color.
Pre-shape the dough logs and roll the ropes on an unfloured surface. You want to use the friction of the dough against the counter to help shape it; if you put flour down the dough will have trouble sticking to itself and will slide all over the place and be much harder to roll.
Just to say it — you CANNOT use a hand mixer to make the dough for this homemade braided challah. No, not even if your hand mixer came with "dough hooks." Don't do it. Just trust me.
I was recipe testing this at the height of winter when it was like 65°F in my kitchen. I don't have room for a full bread proofer, but I did pick up a seed-starting heat mat for under $20 that I cover with a kitchen towel and put my mixing bowl and sheet pan on to provide warmth to the challah dough while it rises and it works great.

💭 Recipe FAQ - Flour types, gluten free, etc.

Why is this recipe in grams? I want to use cups!

Using a kitchen scale to measure ingredients for baking is the most accurate way to measure. It's the only way to ensure you get the right ratio of water, yeast, salt, and flour so that your challah dough behaves the way you want it to. I tested and developed this challah recipe using weight measurements. If I were to convert it to cups, I would be using an online converter — just like you would. And since there's no set standard for what "1 cup" of flour weighs, different online converters use different weights to equal "1 cup" of flour, which means I wouldn't be able to promise you'd get the same results!

Can I make this challah bread with gluten free/almond flour/whole wheat flour?

Certain brands of 1-for-1 gluten free flour do work for bread recipes, but I'm not sure which ones they are and haven't tested any here. If you do use a 1-for-1 gluten free flour and are successful, please leave a comment sharing which brand you used and how it turned out!

Whole wheat flour and almond flour can't support the gluten development necessary to make challah bread. Whole wheat flour still contains the bran, which cuts through the gluten strands, making it hard to build strength into bread dough. Almond flour is simply ground almonds, it doesn't have anything in it that will help it develop gluten or give this dough structure.

Can I make challah even though I'm not Jewish?

Yes, you absolutely can!

TL;DR — Recipe Summary

Mix the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, mix together the liquid ingredients.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with the dough hook until it comes together in a shaggy mass on the hook.
Knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth and elastic.
Cover and rest (bulk ferment) for 1-2 hours in a warm spot.
Divide the dough into three equal pieces, and roll them into tapered ropes about 20 inches long. Braid the ropes loosely, leaving space to expand as the challah rises. Tuck the ends under.
Cover the challah with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot until almost doubled in size.
Brush the challah lightly all over with egg white wash.
Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F until an internal temp of 195°-200°F is reached.
Let cool completely before serving.

📖 Recipe