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Sliced loaf of challah bread on a serving plate
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5 from 9 votes

Cinnamon Challah Bread: An easy step-by-step guide

Have you ever had Challah bread? It is a traditional Jewish bread that originates from Eastern Europe and can be served on Shabbat and major Jewish holidays like Hanukkah and Rosh Hashanah. With the help of this easy step-by-step guide, you will be able to create soft, fluffy, and delicious challah bread in your own kitchen. Once you have all of the ingredients ready, it's time to get started!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Rising8 hours
Total Time9 hours 15 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Eastern European
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 249kcal
Author: Sabine

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add the flour, salt, yeast, vanilla, eggs, olive oil, orange juice, and honey, and knead on low speed until it comes together about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Let rest for 20-30 minutes.
  • Knead on high speed for about 6-8 minutes until the dough is smooth, releases from the sides of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test. It's a soft, heavy, and smooth dough that is slightly tacky to the touch.
  • Lightly spray a straight-sided container with oil and transfer the dough to the container; lightly oil the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours until it has doubled. Then put it in the refrigerator and let rest overnight, about 8-12 hours. It will continue to grow until it has about tripled.
  • Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
  • In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with oil. Set aside.
  • Remove the dough from the container with a dough scraper and place it on a very lightly oiled work surface. Roughly shape the dough into a square and divide it into 4 equal pieces. 
  • Apply a little oil to your fingers, place one piece of dough on the lightly oiled work surface in front of you, and use your fingers to flatten it into an 8x13-inch (20x33cm) rectangle that is about ¼-inch (0.5cm) thick. Starting from one long side, roll up the dough tightly and seal the edges by pinching them together with your fingertips. Then use your hands to roll the dough into a 15-inch (38cm) long rope. Repeat with the other three pieces of dough.
  • Place all 4 strands side by side and pinch the top of the 4 strands together. To simplify the following explanation, let's number the 4 strands. We're going to use numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. The leftmost strand is 1 and the rightmost strand is 4. Now take strand number 4 and cross it over strand 3, then under strand 2 and over strand 1. So you basically weaved strand number 4 into the others from right to left by going over strand 3, under strand 2, and over strand 1. Start again with the rightmost strand and cross it over, under, and over the other 3 strands from right to left. Continue until all of the bread is braided.
  • Pinch the end together and tuck the tip under it so it has a nice shape. Then open the top of the loaf where you initially pinched all 4 strands and braid it just like the other end of the loaf to get two nicely braided ends.
  • Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and let rest at a warm room temperature (77°F / 25°C is ideal) for 45-60 minutes until it has doubled.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C) for 15-20 minutes.
  • Brush the dough with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse nib sugar if desired, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the loaf is deep golden brown and it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom of the loaf. To prevent heavy browning, cover loosely with aluminum foil after 20 minutes if necessary.
  • Remove from the oven and cover with a clean and dry kitchen towel for 15 minutes. Then uncover and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Video

Notes

*You can use table salt, kosher salt, or sea salt.

**First, cut off the straight end of the vanilla bean. Then place the tip of your sharp knife below the curled end and cut the vanilla bean through the middle of the bean lengthwise. Although you don't need to cut it all the way through, it's ok when you do so. Then open the vanilla bean and scrape out the flavorful seeds with the back of your knife. Then just use the seeds.

Nutrition

Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 314mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 94IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg