Perfect Challah Every Time: Troubleshooting Tips Every Baker Should Know

When something goes wrong during baking challah, it’s important to identify the cause so we become aware of the mistake and avoid repeating it in the future. Following are some tips and tricks for your next challah bake!

Sticky Dough

• If the dough is sticky — let it rest for ten minutes after kneading, then knead again.

• If it remains sticky — add a little flour as needed.

Dough That Is Hard to Knead

• If the dough is too hard to knead — add a bit of water and knead very thoroughly.

• Always add the water gradually, not all at once.

• After kneading, let the dough rest and rise.

Bad Odor in the Dough

A foul smell in the dough indicates a spoiled ingredient or over-proofing. Here are examples:

Examples of spoiled ingredients:

• Spoiled egg — Sometimes the smell comes from a bad egg. It’s best to crack each egg separately into a small bowl (as we already do when checking for blood) and make sure it’s fresh with no bits of shell.

• Sour milk or butter — If the dough is dairy, the butter or milk may have soured. Margarine can also cause an off-flavor.

Over-proofing

• If the dough has a vinegar-like smell, it likely over-proofed and began to ferment too much.

A properly proofed yeast dough has a pleasant, yeasty smell — not sour. ​In general, if the dough has a very unpleasant odor, it’s best to discard it.

Dough That Doesn’t Rise

Failed rising can happen for several reasons:

• Too much salt

• Too much sugar or water

• Not enough yeast

• Over-proofing, which causes the dough to collapse

• Oven that is too hot during baking

Bread That Rises Too Much

Over-rising can be caused by:

• Not enough salt

• Too much yeast

• Letting the dough rise for too long

Cracks or Splits in the Crust

Possible causes:

• Not enough proofing time

• Too much flour

Damaged or Poor Texture

May be caused by:

• Too short a kneading time

• Over-proofing

• Oven temperature too low

Crust Too Thick

Can be caused by:

• Not enough sugar

• Over-proofing

• Oven temperature too low

• Too much humidity during proofing, which causes the starch on the dough’s surface to harden

(Starch comes from wheat, is made of sugars, and serves as an energy source. It does not dissolve easily and tends to harden when in contact with water, affecting texture significantly.)

Bread Spreads Too Much

Possible cause:

• Not enough flour in the dough

Uneven Rising

Possible cause:

• Uneven heat in the oven, causing bread to rise inconsistently

Bottom of the Bread Is Wet or Doughy

Possible causes:

• Baking time was too short compared to the recipe

• Using a pan that doesn’t conduct heat well, such as disposable aluminum pans

The Most Important Tip of All: Prayer

Before preparing the dough, say that the challot are being made in honor of Shabbat Kodesh, and accompany the entire process with intention, prayer, and heartfelt requests.

Of course, there will be no open miracle without proper effort — a good recipe, learning, practice, and understanding the process.

Above everything — before, during, and after — one should pray. Prayer is the Jewish people’s secret weapon, and it applies even to cooking and baking.