Challah

Slightly sweet with a pillowy-soft interior that has a slight satisfying chew to it, a challah loaf is impressive by taste alone, but the true wow factor is in its presentation. Whether you serve this signature bread at your Hanukkah festivities or decide to switch the traditional round for a loaf at Rosh Hashanah, challah will be the addition on your table that's just as beautiful to look at as it is delicious to eat. Read on to learn everything you need to know about this classic loaf, including how to make that signature braid:

What is challah?
Challah is a yeasted dough, enriched with eggs and oil with a little bit of added honey for that signature subtle sweetness. Similar to brioche, the bread is slightly sweet and wonderfully soft inside. Brioche typically contains milk and butter, but challah doesn’t contain any dairy. While the bread's soft texture can hardly be beat, what really sets challah apart is its traditional braided presentation and shiny golden crust.

The signature braid:
To give challah its stunning look, the dough is braided before baking. While challah's presentation can differ (see our round challah and challah rolls), a braided loaf is the most traditional way to bake the bread. You can go crazy with a 4- or 6-stranded braid if you prefer, but we went with the classic 3-strand for simplicity in this recipe.

For a simple braid, lay 3 ropes of dough parallel next to each other. Pinch the very tops together. Take the far left piece and place it over the middle piece, making it the middle piece. Then take the far right piece and place it over the middle piece so that it’s now in the middle. Repeat this process from left to right until you reach the end of the dough. Pinch the pieces together, and you're done! Tip: You can tuck the very bottom and very top under itself to help give a cleaner-looking braid.

Storage:
Challah, like most breads, is best the day it’s made, but it stores well in a paper bag wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 3 days. This challah recipe makes two loaves because, if you’re putting in the effort to make homemade bread, you should get double the reward for it. If you only need one loaf at a time, wrap the completely cooled second loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. We love it toasted to help bring it back to life—reheat the frozen loaf in a 350° oven. For even easier serving, pre-slice the loaf so that you can take out and reheat individual slices as needed.

Looking for ways to use up that leftover challah? Hint: It makes for some of the best French toast or bread pudding.

Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!