I rarely get a chance to bake for the fun of it anymore, every recipe is for a job, a book, or some other project. I miss it. I miss the joy of waking up and deciding today is a chocolate chip cookie day. It’s not that I don’t love my job and its not as if there isn’t enough baked goods in my life, its just the spontaneity. These last weeks have been a blur of deadlines as I try and get all the projects I have on the go past the line, so that I have the time to spend with my puppy when he gets here at the end of the week (I can barely contain my excitement) but thankfully I got everything finished a little early and instead of taking it quietly for a few days, I woke up with the desire to bake something, specifically I wanted to make a loaf of Challah. 

Challah is a bread of Jewish origin, commonly served on Friday nights in Jewish households to celebrate the sabbath. In keeping with Jewish traditions and religious beliefs the bread is made without dairy, so no milk or butter as found in the similar French bread, Brioche. The reasons for wanting to make a loaf were two fold. Firstly I had been seeing so many loaves over on tiktok (yes I am on tiktok now, follow me if you’re on the app) and it got me itching to make one. Secondly I had been wanting to play around with a braided crown loaf for a long time but never found the excuse. Whilst any loaf of bread can be braided in this manner a crown braided Challah is often served on Rosh Hashanah, the round shape representing either community, the passing of the seasons or a spiral of upwards progress. 

The recipe I loosely based my loaf on comes from Tel Aviv based baker Uri Scheft and his book Breaking Breads. My adaption takes into account the flours of the UK, making a dough for a single loaf and flavouring it with honey, sesame and salt. 

Salted Sesame Challah
250g plain flour
250g strong white bread flour
7g fast action dried yeast
10g fine sea salt
185ml lukewarm water
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
4 tbsp honey
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Flaked sea salt and sesame seeds, for sprinkling

For the dough place the two flours, the salt and the yeast into a large bowl and mix together. In a jug whisk together the remaining ingredients, whisking until the honey dissolves into the water. Make a well in the dry goods and pour in the wet goods. Mix together to form a shaggy dough and then tip out onto the work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. The finished dough should be smooth and supple and a little firm. Challah dough isn’t sticky like brioche, it should be easy to handle. 

Form the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and set aside until doubled in size, about an hour. Once risen tip the dough out onto the work surface and knock back before dividing into four equal sized pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time press into a flat rectangle and roll up like a small Swiss roll (watch the video to get a better visual of this process). Roll each piece of dough into a strand that is roughly 40-45cm long.

Braiding the four strands into a loaf of challah is not as difficult as it looks but to make it easier I encourage you to watch the video on this page, watch it a few times, get familiar with the process as it is very easy to get lost in the process once you start. When I braid the loaf I basically say to myself ‘under goes over’ repeatedly and that keeps me on the right track. If you want a slower, step by step, guide to this particular braid this video from Jamie Gellar is also very helpful.

Once the loaf is braided and you’ve tucked the ends under the loaf, carefully lift the challah onto a parchment lined baking tray. Lightly cover and set aside or until almost doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes. Whilst the bread is proving preheat the oven to 220C (220C Fan).

When ready to bake brush the bread with a lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle liberally with flaked sea salt and sesame seeds. Place the baking tray into the oven and bake the challah for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set onto a wire rack and leave until fully cooled.

The challah will keep for 2-3 days.