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Soft Braided Challah With Simple Pantry Ingredients
This Soft Braided Challah is a simple homemade bread with a rich texture and light sweetness, perfect for family meals or baking ahead.
Why you will love and enjoy this Soft Braided Challah
- It’s soft, slightly sweet, and perfect for sharing or freezing for later
- The dough is forgiving, even if you’re not super confident with bread yet
- You can shape and braid it your own way, no pressure for perfection
Classic braided bread with yeast, sugar, and soft crumb
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Soft Braided Challah
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Proofing Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 large 1x
- Category: Bread Recipes
- Method: Easy baking
- Cuisine: Jewish
Description
This challah is soft, lightly sweet, and beautifully braided, the kind you tear into while it’s still a little warm. It’s not complicated, just a bit of time and patience, and honestly, it’s worth every minute.
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 4 cups warm water (not hot, just warm to the touch)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 packages active dry yeast
Dry ingredients
- 5 lb flour (about 14 to 15 cups, all-purpose works best here)
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
Oil and egg mixture
- 1 cup oil
- 4 eggs
For finishing
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, gently mix 4 cups of warm water, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 3 packages of active dry yeast.
- Let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until it foams and smells slightly yeasty. If it doesn’t foam, your yeast may be inactive, and it’s better to restart here.
- In a large bowl, mix 5 lb flour (14 to 15 cups), 2 Tbsp salt, and 1 cup sugar.
- In a separate small bowl, lightly beat 4 eggs into 1 cup of oil. Just combine until smooth.
- Pour the yeast mixture and the egg and oil mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Start mixing with a wooden spoon. It’ll look messy, but keep going until a rough dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead.
- Add small dustings of flour if it’s too sticky, but don’t overdo it.
- Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes until the dough feels smooth, slightly tacky, and elastic.
- Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down gently to release air.
- Divide into 4 equal portions. Each portion becomes one challah.
- For each portion, divide into strands (3 or 4 strands work well), roll them out evenly, and braid. Place the braided loaves onto lined baking sheets.
- Beat 1 egg and brush it over each loaf for that shiny finish. Let them rise again for about 45 to 60 minutes, until puffy.
- Preheat your oven to 350⁰F (175⁰C).
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, rotating trays halfway if needed, until the tops are deep golden brown and the loaves sound slightly hollow when tapped.
- Let cool a bit before slicing. Or don’t, and just tear into it while it’s warm.
Useful tips and tricks:
- The dough should feel soft, not dry, and braids should be snug but not stretched tight.
- Water temperature for yeast. Too hot kills yeast, too cold slows it down. Aim for warm, around 105 to 110⁰F.
- If you do not have oven space for 4 loaves. You can easily half the recipe.
- Can I freeze it? Yes, after baking and cooling.
- Can I use less sugar? Yes, reduce slightly without affecting the structure too much.
Notes
Created, prepared, tried, and tested by Karen
This Challah gives you bakery-style bread from your own oven. It’s a satisfying bake from start to finish.
Soft Braided Challah offers a soft, tender crumb and a simple method that doesn’t feel overwhelming. It gives a satisfying result with enough flexibility to suit different kitchens, making it a recipe people will want to try right away.
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Fantastic and thanks a million Karen. I will try your recipe next time I make challahs! I look forward to seeing a lot more from you😘❤️🎂
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Thank you for your nice comment Hannah. You’re a super star