Half Whole Wheat Challah

Estee Kafra Estee Kafra
5.0 (3 reviews)

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.

2h 20m 50
Medium Vegetarian Pescatarian Parve

Contains: Gluten, Wheat, Egg

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.

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:

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

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.

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2 Comments

yocheved •

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

Chaia Frishman •
Reply to yocheved

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 •

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

Chaia Frishman •
Reply to Miriam

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.

yittel margaretten •
Reply to Chaia Frishman

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.

Chaia Frishman •
Reply to yittel margaretten

Thanks Yittel. That sounds intriguing .