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Recipe by Estee Kafra

Half Whole Wheat Challah

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Parve Parve
Medium Medium
50 Servings
Allergens
2 Hours, 20 Minutes
Diets

More than two and a half years ago, when I started writing for Binah Magazine, I put my challah dough recipe into one of the first issues. Since then, I have tweaked it and also played around with white whole wheat and regular whole wheat flour. You can use a larger percentage of whole wheat to white flour as long as it is five pounds in total.

Ingredients

Main ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons Gefen Dry Yeast or other active dry yeast (or 4 ounces fresh yeast)

  • 1 and 1/4 cups sugar

  • 3 cups warm water (105–115°F)

  • 2 additional cups water

  • eggs

Egg wash

  • 1 egg yolk

  • 1 tablespoon water

Directions

Prepare the Dough

1.

Place yeast, sugar and 3 cups water into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let sit 8 to 10 minutes, until bubbly.

2.

Add remaining ingredients, alternating wet and dry, with the kosher salt going last. Leave mixer on high speed for a full 10 minutes!

3.

Place a bit of flour into a large food-safe plastic bag or container, hold the top closed, and shake it up — flour will coat the inside of the bag. Place dough into the bag and knot at the top, leaving ample growing room. Let the dough rise about half an hour. (See note.)

4.

Separate challah (read more on separating challah here) and divide dough into 5 or 6 parts. Braid challahs.

5.

Let rise another 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Notes:

Never use garbage bags for rising the dough as they may have been treated with insecticides.

Bake

1.

Brush with egg wash. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown. (When you tap the loaves, they should sound hollow.)

Notes:

As soon as you can handle the heat, remove challahs from pans and place sideways on a paper towel or towel, if you do not have a cooling rack.
Half Whole Wheat Challah

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yocheved
yocheved
6 years ago

challah by hand what are the directions for this recipe if i wish to make it by hand?

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Cnooymow{shman
Cnooymow{shman
Reply to  yocheved
6 years ago

I made challah by hand for years. Sure, a mixer is easier, but a tight plastic glove and using your hand as a claw helps. I would say that at the beginning when the ingredients are still wet, use a spoon or whisk, and once it turns into a dough, start kneading.

Miriam
Miriam
6 years ago

Looking for help What can I do to get a very crispy crust?

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Cnooymow{shman
Cnooymow{shman
Reply to  Miriam
6 years ago

The usual way to make a crispy crust is to cook with steam in the oven. You can do this by placing a pan of boiling hot water in the oven when you bake the bread. You can also achieve a great crust by baking on a bread/pizza stone. Obviously, if using bread for a meat meal, it’s better to not use your dairy stone for that challa.

yo~}mo}srgaretten
yo~}mo}srgaretten
Reply to  Cnooymow{shman
6 years ago

i have a great tip for crispy challah crust. I use a special recipe (eggs)to brush my challahs . it is good for crisp, color and taste. For a recipe of 5-6 lb. flour, i use 1 whole egg, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp. sugar and 1 tbs. water (the water is actually to add that crisp). Mix well, brush the challahs and add some toppings like sesame, poppy etc.

Cnooymow{shman
Cnooymow{shman
Reply to  yo~}mo}srgaretten
6 years ago

Thanks Yittel. That sounds intriguing .