Not only is sourdough challah bread beautiful, but it also is one of the most delicious. With a soft, fluffy texture on the inside and a beautiful, golden, braided crust on the outside, it’s the perfect recipe to grace your table for a holiday feast or an average weekday.
This recipe is almost exactly like my absolute favorite sourdough brioche, except challah is a traditional Jewish bread made for certain holidays.
It is a kosher loaf, so it doesn’t contain any dairy products. Instead of butter and milk, I swapped it out for oil and water. And it is so good.
While still a rich bread, challah has a slightly different flavor and texture than brioche. You can eat it as is or use it for sandwiches, French toast, bread puddings, breakfast strata, stuffing, or French toast casserole.
I took the classic recipe and made into a healthier, fermented, sourdough version. Light and pillowy, this will easily become one of your favorite recipes. Plus, it is so stinking easy.
Why you will love this recipe:
Light and fluffy. What is not to love about that?
Healthier and easier to digest. This is because it contains fermented grains. The anti-nutrients are broken down, making the vitamins and minerals easier for our bodies to absorb. The fermentation process also breaks down the gluten, making it easier to digest.
Flavor. Compared to regular yeast-risen bread, the sourdough adds a delicious but subtle tang to the bread.
Tips For Making Sourdough Challah
- This recipe makes a very wet dough, which will cause you to question whether you have added enough flour to it. With enough patience (and kneading), the dough will come together. We’re talking a ridiculously long time (like 20 minutes in the kitchen aid mixer), but it will eventually pull from the sides of the bowl and be a smooth and elastic dough.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. The bread won’t be as soft, but it will still be delicious.
- New to sourdough? Check out how to make a sourdough starter here and over a hundred sourdough recipes here.
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Tools you may need:
Baking dish or cookie sheet
Bench scraper (optional, but handy)
Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
Sourdough starter – This needs to be active and bubbly so it rises really nicely.
Bread flour – Bread flour gives this bread a light and fluffy texture because it has a high protein and gluten content compared to all-purpose.
Unbleached all-purpose flour – Freshly milled or store-bought. I love the mixture of all-purpose flour and bread flour for the best texture.
Honey – I love to use local honey.
Eggs – Preferably pasture-raised, but use the best quality you can find.
Salt – I always choose sea salt.
Water
Oil – Use a neutral tasting oil, like avocado or melted coconut oil. Other oils will do, but we try to avoid unhealthy, overly processed oils like canola, corn and vegetable.
FAQ:
Is Sourdough challah a thing?
100%. You can make just about any type of bread, dessert, and baked good with sourdough starter. And if sourdough challah wasn’t a thing before, I hope it is now.
What makes a challah different from bread?
It is an enriched bread, meaning it is a richer bread that contains eggs. The main difference between challah and brioche is that brioche contains eggs, butter and milk, whereas challah is made with oil rather than butter and water in place of milk.
Can you braid sourdough bread?
Yes. This dough is perfect for braiding and making those beautiful braided loaves of bread while also getting the benefits of the sourdough.
What is the best flour for making challah?
I like to use a mixture of all-purpose and bread flour. This gives it a fluffier texture. If you don’t have bread flour, you can just use all-purpose, but the bread will be more dense.
Can I let challah rise overnight?
Yes. I like to start my dough the night before and allow the dough to rise overnight, then shape in the morning, allow to rise one more time and bake.
This type of recipe is my favorite, since the bulk of the work is done the night before, making it super easy the next day to get bread on the table.
How To Make Sourdough Challah
Feed your sourdough starter at least 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. It should be nice and bubbly before starting the dough. I will usually do this around lunch time.
The night before, add all ingredients in a mixer and knead until the dough is smooth, glossy, and pulls away from the stand mixer bowl.
*This is a very wet dough, but after about 20 minutes in the stand mixer (or kneaded by hand), it will come together and form a nice dough. Even though it is tempting, don’t add more flour.
Cover with plastic wrap, a damp towel, or a tight lid and allow to rise at room temperature for about 10 hours (or until doubled in size).
Braiding Challah
In the morning, take the dough and cut into four equal portions.
Take each dough ball and roll it into a long rectangle, approximately 18-20 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. Then roll it into a skinny rope. I find this easiest with a bench scraper.
Place all four pieces of formed dough on the counter and pinch the ends together.
Starting from the right side, cross the second piece of dough directly under the piece to the left and then over the dough piece all the way on the left.
Then, take the portion all the way on the right and put it over the dough piece directly to the left of it, under the piece in the middle, and lastly, over the piece all the way on the left.
Continue with this pattern until it is completely braided. Pinch the ends together and tuck the ends under the loaf.
Place in a greased baking dish. A 9×13 will work. You can also bake it on a cookie sheet.
Allow the dough to rise for another hour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Brush an egg wash over the loaf. You can make the wash by beating an egg with water. This gives it that beautiful color and shine.
Bake for 25 minutes until the challah starts to turn golden.
Baking For Dinner
Feed starter before bed.
Mix up dough in the morning, per instructions above.
Allow for the first rise – 6 to 8 hours in a warm place until doubled – covered with plastic wrap, tight lid, or damp towel.
Shape. Place into parchment-lined loaf pans.
Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour, and bake for dinner.
Find more of my favorite sourdough bread:
- Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Banana Bread
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread
If you make this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone with your delicious creation.
Sourdough Challah Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 6 tablespoons oil, any neutral tasting oil will do. I did coconut oil melted
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup water
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Feed your sourdough starter at least 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. It should be nice and bubbly before starting the dough.
- The night before, add all ingredients in a mixer and knead until the dough is smooth, glossy, and pulls away from the stand mixer bowl. This takes about 20 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap, a damp towel, or a tight lid and allow to rise at room temperature for about 10 hours (or until doubled in size).
- In the morning, take the dough and cut into four equal portions.
- Take each dough ball and roll it into a long rectangle, approximately 18-20 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. Then roll it into a skinny rope
- Place all four pieces of formed dough on the counter and pinch the ends together.
- Starting from the right side, cross the second piece of dough directly under the piece to the left and then over the dough piece all the way on the left.
- Then, take the portion all the way on the right and put it over the dough piece directly to the left of it, under the piece in the middle, and lastly, over the piece all the way on the left.
- Continue with this pattern until it is completely braided. Pinch the ends together and tuck the ends under the loaf.
- Place in a greased baking dish. A 9×13 will work. You can also bake it on a cookie sheet.
- Allow the dough to rise for another hour.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Brush an egg wash over the loaf. You can make the wash by beating an egg with water.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the challah starts to turn golden.
Notes
- This recipe makes a very wet dough, which will cause you to question whether you have added enough flour to it. With enough patience (and kneading), the dough will come together. We’re talking a ridiculously long time (like 20 minutes in the kitchen aid mixer), but it will eventually pull from the sides of the bowl and be a smooth and elastic dough.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. The bread won’t be as soft, but it will still be delicious.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So I made a silly mistake… I threw all the ingredients together (have made it a few times and it’s so yummy!) but I forgot to add water. Noticed after I mixed it for 20 min… anything I can do to salvage it like add water after? 😫
Yes, I would give it a try.
I would love your thoughts on my situation. Every other week, I make this recipe and the sourdough brioche using the same starter. The brioche rises beautifully in the amount of time you have in your recipe. The challah takes so long! A could have times, it didn’t rise at all, but the brioche did. Is there anything that I can try to get a successful rise (bulk ferment)? We love the challah tastes so I would love to use this recipe.
I would make sure to put the challah in a spot that is nice and warm to give it the best environment to rise! Some doughs can vary in the amount of time it takes them to rise.
This be tried this recipe twice. Tastes wonderful but it’s always raw in the middle. It’s cold now, so when I followed it exactly the first time it came out raw in the middle and didn’t rise much while it was dough. So in order for the second attempt to rise to double its size I had to let it sit 24 hours before finally being able to roll and form and that had to let it rise over night againto let it rise after forming. Just baked it and it looks so beautiful but it’s still raw in the middle. My starter is very active and bubbly and im following everything exactly…so what am I doing wrong? Why is it raw in the middle?
Every oven may be a bit different, so it sounds like you need to bake longer.
I saw your review before baking mine and I was afraid it would happen to me, so I baked mine at 350F for 40 minutes and it turned out perfect.
How much is 1 cup of active starter in grams?
Approximately 250 grams.
This is definitely a little more dense than my regular challah recipe(is that normal?). But I loved it and will be making it again!
It should be nice and fluffy. Was your starter nice and active? Was it allow to rise both times until doubled? And did you reach the windowpane test? Those would all be factors.
Can you make this without egg? Looks delicious!
No. I would use my sourdough sandwich bread if you don’t want to use egg. It can still be braided as well.
Are there any adjustments needed if it was made with AP Einkorn? Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try this!
Yes. Einkorn doesn’t absorb liquid like all-purpose flour, so you will want to reduce the amount of liquid. It also has much less gluten so it won’t be as light and fluffy.
I was wanting to make a sourdough stromboli. Do you think this dough would work well for that? If so, after the bulk ferment, would I fill it with the sausage, etc, shape it and then leave it out to raise for an hour or refrigerate it? Thanks!
I think it would work just fine for that. Sounds tasty!
This Challah bread looks delicious! I am excited to try it for the Holidays.
I was wondering how long this bread can last – if for whatever reason it’s not eaten in one meal XD.
Thank you,
Tamika
It will stay good for at least 3-4 days. We tend to demolish it in one sitting .
If I do the bulk proof overnight, braid it in the morning, then let it rise for another hour, can I then pop it in the fridge till I’m ready to bake it that evening? And would you say this recipe is more of an egg challah than a water challah?
Yes. You can store it in the fridge for up to five days before baking.