Challah Baking Success: Your Guide to Perfect Loaves

If you have tried baking challahs before and failed, or haven't attempted it because you thought it was a long and complicated process, fear not. Many believe that baking challah involves a lot of mess and frustration, but the truth is, it's much simpler than assumed. There are a few secrets that make all the difference.

Baking challah involves six straightforward preparation steps:

1. Mixing Ingredients

2. First Rise

3. Braiding

4. Second Rise

5. Glazing

6. Baking

Two Important Notes:

• Don't be discouraged if your first attempts aren't perfect

Even if your initial challahs don’t look like the pictures in cookbooks, with some practice, you'll grasp the basics, and with Hashem's help, your challahs will turn out wonderful.

To avoid learning by trial and error, I've compiled many tips for making soft and delicious challahs.

• The tips are not rules but for guidance. Choose tips that suit you best

Remember, these tips are not rules. They might even contradict each other because of the different opinions presented here. Pick the tips that resonate with you.

Recipe Tips

Select a reliable recipe

It's crucial to choose a recipe from a trusted source for successful results.

Experiment with different recipes until finding your favorite

Each person has a preference for a particular dough texture. Some prefer a slightly sticky dough, while others like it more flexible. Try various recipes to find the one that feels right for you.

Avoid direct contact between salt and yeast

Salt can destroy the yeast's effect, so avoid direct contact between them.

For sweet challah, add vanilla extract

Vanilla extract adds a unique taste and aroma to sweet challahs.

Sifting Flour Tip

For efficient and quick sifting, place the sifter inside a plastic bag with two large spoons on its mesh. Pour one kilogram of flour at a time, close the bag, and sift. The spoons' weight speeds up the process.

(Refer to the section on flour sifting for more details).

Yeast Tips

Which yeast to use? Opinions vary:

1. Most home bakers prefer dry yeast

Advantages of dry yeast:

• Very convenient to use
• More available due to longer shelf life
• Generally more reliable
• Maintains high quality at opening
• Significantly cheaper than fresh yeast

Note: Though dry yeast lasts long, it can lose potency even before the expiration date without visible signs. Store the opened package in a sealed container in the fridge to prolong its effectiveness. If it's less active, discard it and buy a new one.

Some advocate for fresh yeast, noting their benefits:

• High-quality product with no risk of losing effect before expiry
• Excellent baking results
• Easy to measure, as one package fits one kilogram of flour

Why is the amount of yeast important?

Using too much yeast affects the challah's taste, giving it an unpleasant sour note. Too little yeast prolongs rise time or might not rise enough. Proper measurement is crucial.

How much yeast to use?

For each kilogram of flour, use one of the following:

A packet of yeast granules (50 grams).

Or a cube of fresh yeast (50 grams).

Or two tablespoons of dry yeast (17 grams).

Comparison between dry and fresh yeast:

Two tablespoons of dry yeast equals 50 grams of fresh yeast in a cube or granules. Follow your recipe for precise measurements.

Should you use more yeast in winter?

No need. Industrial bakeries might add extra yeast in winter, but at home, cooler temperatures could just slow the dough rising process. To speed this up, place the bowl near a heat source.

Dough Kneading Tips

The dough kneading step is crucial and can be more significant than braiding. Even if braiding seems important, proper kneading ensures beautiful and impressive challahs with Hashem's help. Ignoring key kneading rules may lead to less attractive breads regardless of the braiding.

Take ingredients out of the fridge in advance. For yeast dough, allow ingredients (flour, margarine, butter, milk, eggs) to reach room temperature by taking them out two hours in advance. This allows for easier kneading and better ingredient integration.

Order of Adding Ingredients

You can mix yeast with sugar and lukewarm water before adding the other ingredients or follow this sequence:

A. Start with dry ingredients:

• Salt
• Then place the flour on top
• Add sugar and dry yeast above the flour

Mix well after each addition to ensure full integration.

B. Moist ingredients:

After the dry ingredients, add the 'wet' ingredients as per the recipe: eggs (if the recipe includes them), honey (for Rosh Hashanah sweet challahs), and later water and oil as needed.

At this stage, use a mixer with a dough hook or your hands to begin kneading the dough slowly.

C. Oil and water:

Opinions differ on what to add first - oil or water?

One view: Add water first, then oil

The reasoning is that adding oil last makes the dough less sticky and allows it to rise better.

Another view: Add oil first, then water

The idea is that different types of flour absorb varying amounts of liquid depending on their grain and moisture level. Add water (or other liquids) gradually at the end to adjust accordingly.

(Liquids = water, milk, yogurt, juice.

Wet ingredients = oil, eggs, honey).

Add the liquid or water slowly while kneading to achieve the desired dough described in your recipe.

Sometimes recipes specify if the dough should be slightly sticky, should release from the bowl’s edges, or should appear more like a batter. This guides decisions on whether to adjust the water quantity.

Water amount is essential for dough texture:

A dry dough lacks moisture compared to a dough with enough liquids.

A dough with excess liquid will be overly sticky, struggle to rise during baking, and spread sideways rather than upwards.

How to know if there's enough water?

During kneading, the dough should easily separate from the bowl’s sides and be soft, flexible, and slightly sticky.

If the dough is too sticky and hard to work with:

1. Add a little flour while kneading until the dough matches the description in the recipe.

2. Sometimes wait:If the dough is slightly sticky, avoid adding flour, as over time and rising, the flour absorbs moisture, solidifying the dough.

Doughs with margarine or butter can be misleading since sometimes the fat isn't evenly distributed, appearing sticky at first. Usually, the dough stabilizes after a short wait.

If the dough is too dry, knead for an extra minute before adding more liquids from the recipe, as sometimes extra kneading helps form a solid dough.

Remember! The flour determines the liquid amount needed, following the rule ‘as much as the flour takes.’ Generally, follow the recipe's water amount, but when necessary, use judgment to adjust with more water or flour, or wait.

The full guide is available in the book "Shvilei HaChallah", by Rebbetzin Esther Tolida. 

Home Challah Baking Group – to arrange a home challah baking session, call: 073-2221290, email aviva@htv.co.il