Round Challah

By Justin SullivanPublished: Aug 26, 2021

2 Ratings

Andrew Bui

One of the best part of Rosh Hashanah dinners growing up were the enormous, show stopping round challahs, beautifully braided and deeply golden brown. This recipe gives you the opportunity to make your own amazing bread-y centerpiece! The challah is round to represent the circular nature of our year and seasons and is sweet to represent the new year.

My family was obsessed with the challahs from Zomick's that would be baked in a tin and I would tear up and dip in honey. This recipe is my ode to those challahs and all those amazing New Years celebrations with my family. Also don't feel restricted to the classic swirl or simple design, feel free to go as simple or complex as you want!

This challah can be wrapped and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days or 6 months in the freezer. If you tried your hand at making this holiday classic, let us know how it came out in the comments below!

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Yields:: 16 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 5 mins
Total Time:: 4 hrs

Ingredients

4 c.
all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
2 tsp.
kosher salt
3
large eggs, separated
3
large egg yolks
1/3 c.
vegetable oil
6 tbsp.
honey
2
(¼ ounce) packages instant yeast (4 ½ teaspoons)
Nonstick Spray

Directions

1. Step 1In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook combine flour, salt, 2 eggs, egg yolks and vegetable oil. In a medium bowl combine ¾ cup warm water, honey and yeast. Pour yeast mixture into the stand mixer and begin to mix on low.
2. Step 2Knead dough on low until it pulls away from the bowl and is only slightly sticky, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands until smooth on the outside and springs back when pressed with your fingers.
3. Step 3Spray the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough proof until nearly doubled in size, about 90 minutes. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch the dough down once then turn it out onto a work surface.
4. Step 4Instructions for swirl challah: Roll dough out into a rope, about 20 - 22 inches in length, then spiral the rope in on itself to create a round loaf. Tuck the remaining end under the challah to make sure the spiral doesn't come loose.
5. Step 5Instructions for 6 strand braid: Portion the dough out into 6 equal pieces and roll them into 6 ropes of equal length, about 15 inches long. Begin to create a basic lattice by laying 3 of the ropes horizontally, ½” inch apart in the center of your workspace.
6. Step 6Fold the top and bottom ropes back and place one rope, vertically in the center of the work space, then fold the ropes back over. Then, lift the two sides of the center horizontal rope and place the two other ropes a ½” to the right and left of the center vertical rope, then place two ends of the center horizontal rope back down over the vertical ones. You should have a small lattice where the ropes are almost touching and there are 4 groups of three rope ends on the top, left, right and bottom.
7. Step 7Take the bottom centermost rope, and pass it over the strand to the right. Work counter clockwise passing the next rope over its neighbor. When done, there should be 6 pairs of ropes where one rope is crossed over the other. Now beginning with the pairing in the bottom right, take the strand that is under its partner and pass it over the rope to the left. Continue moving clockwise until you are back to having 6 pairs of strands. Repeat the prior step in the clockwise direction, pulling tightly to ensure no gaps remain, and tuck any remaining dough tightly underneath the challah.
8. Step 8Transfer the prepared loaf to the baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest until almost doubled in size for an additional 60 minutes.
9. Step 9Toward the end of this final proof, preheat the oven to 375º F and beat the remaining egg with a fork.
10. Step 10Remove the plastic wrap from the loaf and brush thoroughly with egg wash, making sure to coat all the braided nooks and crannies. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake until the exterior of the bread reaches a deep caramel color and a thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reaches 190ºF, 35 to 40 minutes.
11. Step 11Remove loaf from the oven and let cool completely.

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Andrew Bui

Justin Sullivan

Assistant Food Editor

Justin Sullivan is the Assistant Food Editor for Delish, where he helps test, develop, and (of course) taste recipes like one-pot meals, easy desserts, and everything in between. He has worked in professional kitchens across New York, but his favorite role will always be as matzoh ball sous chef to his grandma. He loves diners and being from New Jersey, and when he’s not prepping and testing hundreds of Delish recipes, Justin travels the globe as the world’s foremost chicken finger critic.