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A traditional four strand braided challah bread enriched with whole wheat flour and oats made me feel better about eating half a loaf of this rich, delicious, beautiful braided bread.
Step into the world of wholesome baking with our whole wheat challah recipe! Combining the rich tradition of this beloved bread with the goodness of whole wheat flour, we’re bringing you a deliciously nutritious twist on a classic favorite. Get ready to indulge in the sweet aroma of honey-infused dough and the satisfaction of homemade bread that’s both hearty and heavenly.
Challah is a bread of celebration in Jewish tradition. At a time when white flour was considered a luxury, its use was reserved for either the wealthy or for festive events. In Judaism, the Sabbath is a weekly holiday, and these fancy shaped loaves made with white flour were seen as a fitting way to honor the Sabbath.
I hadn’t made challah before or done a four strand braid, so the video Ruth provided helped to easily explain the braiding technique. The dough was easy to work with and the braid came together quiet easily.
The whole wheat flour and oats added a nice texture without weighing down the bread. I’m fairly sure I ate more than my fair share of one loaf of this beautiful bread.
The second loaf I made shorter and fatter so it would fit perfectly on my pretty new Cook for the Cure Pass the Plate plate.
Such a fun and easy way to make a difference. I’m looking forward to checking out my plate’s registration and seeing how many times the plate I bought has been passed and where it ends up.
Thanks Ruth for the great recipes, instructions and videos. I’m sure this won’t be the last challah bread I bake.
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Whole Wheat Challah
Ingredients
- 2 packages dry yeast (4 ½ teaspoons )
- 1 cup warm water, 100°F
- ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup one stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 – 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water for glaze
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Allow to stand about 5 minutes until foamy.
- With paddle attachment beat eggs, sugar, butter, whole wheat flour, 2 cups all purpose flour, oats, and salt into the yeast mixture.
- Once combined, switch to the dough hook and knead for 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour a little at a time if needed.
- Form dough into a round, compact ball. Turn in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm area until doubled, approximately 2 hours.
- Once dough has doubled, punch down. Cover and allow to rise again for an hour.
- Punch the dough down again, divide in two.
- Take each half of dough and divide into 3, 4, or 6 strands, braid, and place onto parchment covered baking trays. Cover with the towel and allow to rise another hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Brush loaves with egg wash. (Sprinkle with vanilla sugar/sesame seeds/poppy seeds/other topping here if desired)
- Bake 20 to 30 min. until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool before serving.
Patricia Har-Even
Absolutely successful. Came out like delicious cake. Didn’t have time to ‘prove’ according to recipe timings because of Shabbat at 7.00pm & I only started at 2.30pm but it seemed to make no difference to the fluffy tenderness if my four plaited challa rolls
Jill
This bread turned out wonderfully! I was wondering if there was a proper way that you suggest to store any leftovers or if we wanted to save a loaf for a few days before gifting.
Barbara Schieving
That’s great – thanks for sharing Jill! Bread freezes well in Ziploc bags or wrapped in plastic wrap. It thaws quickly on the counter. I liked to cut it into slices before freezing with I know I’ll only be eating a slice or two at a time.
Brad L Hoggatt
My 14 year old son and I found this recipe and decided to make it for his 4H project this year in baking. His first attempt came out beautifully- we cannot wait to attempt it again- we hope it tastes as good as it look!
Barbara Schieving
What a great project to bake with your son. So awesome that it came out beautifully on his first try. Enjoy!
shayndel
Thank you! This is one of my favorite Challah recipes!!
Blessings and Shalom!
Barbara Schieving
Thank you Shayndel!
Vanessa
I have been making this wonderful recipe for challah for several weeks now. Dare I admit it – the last time – I omitted doing the plaits for the sake of speed (not a corner I recommend that you cut). Not that the plaiting takes long, I mean the rolling out of the plaits! I made two oval unplaited loaves and baked them side by side as usual.
To my surprise, the loaves were much dryer and usually they’re beautifully doughy. It made me wonder if the plait structure actually has an effect on the bake as until now, I thought it was simply aesthetic. They did ‘spread out more’ which made me think that the plaiting also effects loaf height (never thought would be talking about such things) and maybe strengthens the loaf, just as a thread has more strength when plaited too… Any enlightenment appreciated and thank you for a great recipe!
Jenny s
Made this today. Totally The Best!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Jenny! So glad you enjoyed it.
Fe
just made this! it’s delicious. one thing, though, in the directions section there isn’t a step that tells you to add salt, so i forgot it and it definitely needed the salt.
Barbara Schieving
Glad you enjoyed the bread. Thank you so much for the heads up! I’ve made the correction on the recipe.