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Parve
Medium
2 Hours, 15 Minutes
Diets 
There is a minhag the Shabbos after Pesach to bake shlissel challah as a segulah for parnassah. The dough presented below is an absolute pleasure to work with, and even if you decide to use it just for challah, you will be extremely pleased with the results. The challos come out light and fluffy and have the taam of Gan Eden! I also give the option of dividing the dough in four and making some sweet (Glazed Cinnamon Danish, Chocolate Swirl Coffee Cake) or savory (Garlic Knots, Onion Board) treats without investing too much extra time. They all freeze well, too. You can take challah with a brachah according to all opinions, as the dough uses over 6 pounds (3 kg) of flour. Thanks, HDG.
Remember to also check out our full guide to making challah, which includes instructions on 3-, 4-, and 6-strand braiding.
6 tablespoons Gefen Dry Yeast, or 180 grams (6 and 1/2 ounces) fresh yeast
6 and 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
3 yolks
1 whole egg
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 heaping tablespoons salt, mixed together with some of the flour
20 cups flour (if using Shibolim Whole Wheat Flour, use only 19 cups)
1 cup oil
1–2 eggs, beaten, for egg wash
Place yeast, warm water, and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Cover and proof for 15 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients except for egg wash in order, adding the oil slowly after the 15th cup of flour, until incorporated into the dough.
Add remainder of the flour and knead until a soft dough forms. Continue kneading for 10 minutes. If necessary, add an additional 1/4 cup oil at the very end.
Oil the top of the dough, then cover with a clean dishcloth and let rise in a warm corner of the kitchen for 45 minutes.
Punch dough down, take challah and divide evenly in four. For challah, shape into large challahs and/or small bilkelech and let rise 30–45 minutes. For other ways to use this dough, follow the directions for these sweet (Glazed Cinnamon Danish, Chocolate Swirl Coffee Cake) or savory (Garlic Knots, Onion Board) treats.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius), brush challahs with egg wash, and bake 35–40 minutes for challah and 25 minutes for bilkelech.
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if you make the recipe by hand, not machine would one need to change the order of ingredients or or the method ?
how many pounds / kilos? I’m seeing some mixed reviews as to the pounds of flour for this recipe – 5 or 6? In Israel the bags come in 1 kilo. I buy the sifted ones so cups are very confusing (pounds and cups weren’t adding up). Does 3 bags of 1 kilo each make sense?
Should be about 5.5 lbs – says about 2.5 kg of flour. for sifted it might be best to buy 3 bags as you mentioned 🙂
Super sticky I just put up my dough to rise, so I don’t know how the challah will turn out, but I do know that this was the stickiest dough I have ever worked with! I added at least an extra cup of flour and it was still impossibly sticky 🙁
You most likely over-proofed the yeast.
Sticky Dough… I make this challah all the time, and it comes out yum, but why is it always so sticky? i am using white (bleached) spelt flour, which i substitute in every recipe for regular white wheat flour and it works beautifully. Is that what’s making it so sticky?
It could be, sometimes recipes come out stickier than other times. I also recommend slowly adding more flour until it is at the consistency that you like.
Question about the yeast I would like to try this recipe I have made many recipes and none have asked for more than 4 ounces of yeast is this a typo or is it really supposed to be 6 1/2 ounces
Yes, it is correct 🙂
flour In Israel, it would be 2 bags of 1 kilo flour + how man more cups?
It seems that 1 kilo is 8 cups so if you’re trying to make this recipe with 20 cups you’d need 2 kilos + 4 cups.
5 or 6 pounds? Does this recipe call for 5lbs or 6lbs?
There are around 20 cups of flour in a 5lb bag.
By Hand Can this recipe be made without a mixer?
Yes, most challah recipes can always be made by hand. Just make sure you properly knead the dough!
spelt Can this recipe work with spelt flour?
I am not sure.
But I did see a few weeks ago a recipe for spelt challah, i do not remember where i saw it. In one of the weekly magazines. see recipe
Spelt Challah
• ¼ c. dry yeast
• 2 c. warm water
• 5 lb. spelt flour
• 1 ½ c. sugar
• 1 ¼ c. oil
• 3 1/3 c. warm water
• 2 tbs. salt
• 1 egg beaten, for egg wash
Mix the yeast and warm water in a large bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Add 2 ½ lb. flour, sugar, oil, and warm water. Mix together. Add the salt, mix and add the remaining flour.
Let the dough rise 2 hours, shape and let it rise for another 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Brush the challahs with the egg wash and bake for 10 minutes at 425 and 40 minutes more at 350.
I don’t see why not? What kind of spelt flour? Whole grain? Bleached?.
Challah Dough What do I do if dough still seems dry even with adding the extra 1/4 cup oil? Is there a specific flour brand you recommend for Challah?
Brynie says: I use 80% we flour. They sell Rubinfeld in US. I wd never add oil if dough is dry! Water!!!! I use a diff brand n/a in US. But Rubinfeld is superior.
Whole wheat and eggs
You mention using whole wheat flour, what percentage whole wheat flour do you recommend? All 100% or some 80% whole wheat? Also what size eggs do you use? Thanks!
The difference between the whole wheat flour and the regular is one cup. So should you choose to do a mixture, start with 19 cups and add a drop till 20 cups if mixture is sticky. Eggs are usually your typical large eggs.
how to make this recipe? How do i make this recipe in my bosch? is 6 pounds not too heavy for it?
I posed your question to our resident yeast expert (or mine I should say, I always ask her these questions) Brynie Greisman.. She also happened to write this recipe. Look at that! She said that you can use a Bosch for 6 pounds. If you have trouble let me know and I will ask about an alternative solution.
My challos are currently rising and the recipe fit into my bosch beautifully!
Great Recipe, The dough was a little sticky but otherwise its delicious.
We are so glad to hear!
i finally mastered my challah! i live in Israel and all the recipes I’ve tried came out really heavy…
i tried this recipe and finally succeeded! it came out light, fluffy, and delicious!!!
ty!
We are so happy to hear that this recipe worked for you. Enjoy!