Rich, lightly sweet, fluffy braided challah bread is delicious and looks so beautiful that it can easily be a centerpiece for any food-gathering event.
This dairy-free fluffy braided challah bread is one of my favorite breads to make at home. The bread has a dark, shiny crust and a lightly sprinkled sesame seeds layer. Its soft and fluffy texture with a touch of sweetness will make everyone fall in love at the first bite.
Made from scratch, this recipe is perfectly soft and delicious by itself, with a dap of butter, or better yet, with a fully loaded butter board.
Undoubtedly, I love baking bread from scratch. I have so many homemade, freshly made bread recipes on the blog that I would love to showcase with you all.
This fluffy condensed milk bread remains one of the most-rated homemade breads on the blog. These soft and sweetened condensed milk dinner rolls and honey dinner rolls are other superstar recipes you must try. Or this much simpler braided soft cinnamon raisin bread recipe can be considered a sweeter version of this challah.
Fluffy braided challah bread
This bread recipe is entirely made from scratch. It's not the easiest homemade bread to achieve, but the result will be well worth it after you spend some time with it.
The challah follows its traditional technique, so there will be no dairy in the recipe. It is still filled with rich flavor (thanks to the oil and eggs) and a super soft texture.
You'll see the recommended shape for the bread in most recipes is the 6-stranded braid. But honestly, this braiding type is too complicated for any home baker. However, professional bakers prefer it because it provides a much higher volume loaf of bread after baking.
It is much easier to make 3-stranded braid breads, one small and one large, and put them on top of one another. You still have a high-volume loaf without scratching your head off if you do the 6-stranded braid.
Challah ingredients
- Flour: I used bread flour (3 cups) as the base for this challah to hold up the structure of the bread as intended. I don't really recommend swapping this for cake or all-purpose flour.
- Whole eggs: this challah is a dairy-free bread, so to achieve such tender texture and rich flavor, whole eggs (2) are a must.
- Instant yeast: a necessary ingredient in any bread recipe.
- Water and vegetable oil: as a tradition, this bread is made without dairy, so water and vegetable oil help hydrate the loaf and keep it from crumbling & falling apart.
- Sugar & salt: both help to add extra flavor to the bread.
How to make a traditional challah bread
Add bread flour, yeast, and salt to a mixing bowl. Then whisk together water, oil, eggs, and sugar in a separate bowl until sugar has dissolved completely.
Start the mixing process by using a dough hook at a slow speed, and gradually add water and oil mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until the dough starts pulling away from the side of a mixing bowl (about 2 minutes), and use a spatula to scrape down the bowl as needed. Then increase the speed to medium-low and mix until the dough is smooth (it'll be a little sticky); this process takes about 5-6 minutes.
Carefully transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.
Start kneading the dough to form a smooth, round ball, about 1 minute.
Place the dough (seam side down) in a large mixing bowl lightly greased with flour or lined with plastic wrap. Cover tightly and let it rise until the size increases by half—approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
When the dough is ready, carefully transfer it to a lightly floured counter. Divide it into two portions: one is smaller than the other.
Work with the bigger portion first. Cover the other one with a towel to prevent it from drying out. Divide each dough into three equal portions and stretch each into three ropes.
Pinch the far ends of the three ropes together.
You can start braiding the ropes by placing the middle strand over the other two strands alternatively.
Keep braiding until you reach the end of the ropes. Remember to pinch the bottom together to keep the braid intact. Transfer the finished dough to a lined baking pan (cover lightly with a towel). Repeat the process with the smaller portion.
Carefully place the smaller loaf on top. Tuck the end of two loaves carefully so they can stick to each other. Cover the dough loosely with a large plastic wrap and let it proof until the size increases by half. Approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.
Preheat oven to 375F. When the dough is ready, brush it with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Put the ready-to-bake dough in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remember to rotate it halfway.
The challah bread should have a shiny, dark golden brown crust with a lightly yellow inside texture.
What to do with challah leftover?
Here are few ideas to do with your amazing fluffy braided challah bread leftover:
- Make it into a delicious bread pudding. I have just the right recipe for you; check out this undeniably tasty raisin bread pudding with sweet coffee sauce for inspiration.
- Or make a slice of French toast for a quick breakfast. Sounds good, doesn't it? You can use this pumpkin spice French toast recipe as a guide for your next leftover.
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Fluffy braided challah bread (Dairy-free)
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets 1 for baking and 1 for cooling the challah
Ingredients
For challah
- 3 c bread flour
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ½ c water room temperature
- ¼ c vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ c sugar
Others
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add bread flour, yeast, and salt to a mixing bowl. Then, whisk together water, oil, eggs, and sugar in a separate bowl until sugar has dissolved completely.
- Start the mixing process by using a dough hook at a slow speed, and gradually add water and oil mixture to the flour mixture.
- Mix until the dough starts pulling away from the side of a mixing bowl (about 2 minutes), and use a spatula to scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Then increase the speed to medium-low and mix until the dough is smooth (it'll be a little sticky); this process takes about 5-6 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.
- Start kneading the dough to form a smooth, round ball, about 1 minute.
- Place the dough (seam side down) in a large mixing bowl lightly greased with flour or lined with plastic wrap. Cover tightly and let it rise until the size increases by half—approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
- When ready, carefully transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter. Divide it into two portions: one is smaller than the other.
- Work with the bigger portion first. Cover the other one with a towel to prevent it from drying out. Divide each dough into three equal portions and stretch each into three ropes.
- Pinch the far ends of the three ropes together.
- You can start braiding the ropes by placing the middle strand over the other two strands alternatively.
- Keep braiding until you reach the end of the ropes. Remember to pinch the bottom together to keep the braid intact.
- Transfer the finished dough to a lined baking pan (cover lightly with a towel). Repeat the process with the smaller portion.
- Carefully place the smaller loaf on top. Tuck the end of two loaves carefully so they can stick to each other.
- Cover the dough loosely with a large plastic wrap and let it proof until the size increases by half—approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375F. When the dough is ready, brush it with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Carefully place the smaller loaf on top. Tuck the end of two loaves carefully so they can stick to each other. Cover the dough loosely with a large plastic wrap and let it proof until the size increases by half—approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- When the dough is ready, brush it with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Put the ready-to-bake dough in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remember to rotate it halfway.
- Transfer the braided challah to a wire rack and let it cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
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