Vegan Challah (Water Challah) - Bread Recipe - Floured Frame (2024)

FAQs

Is challah better with bread flour or all-purpose flour? ›

Myrna's original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, and you can substitute that here. But I find bread flour gives the challah a nice chew without making it tough, and also helps the braided loaf maintain its shape after baking. For some novice challah makers, that braid can seem like the hardest part.

A challah recipe does not require braiding for its flavour or to bake properly – but it does usually require braiding in order to be called challah. Feel free to leave it out, but (if your audience are familiar with challah) you might get questions about why it isn't braided.

No special flour required to make the perfect loaf. Some challah recipes call for bread flour, but I use all-purpose flour and it works perfectly every time.

The yeast should be added last, after all of the dry ingredients. A crucial mistake that is often made is not passing the flour through a sieve before using it. If you don't sift the flour, the result is bread that is too dense and heavy. Sifting is what gives challah its soft, airy texture.

I always use bread flour (at least 13% protein) to bake Challah. Because it's an enriched dough, it needs the added gluten to create a strong structure. I use SAF instant yeast. I find it to be extremely reliable and long lasting.

Liquid absorption: Since bread flour's protein content is higher than all-purpose flour, it better absorbs liquid, often requiring a slightly higher water ratio to create the right dough consistency.

If your challahs are risen out instead of up, it's likely that your dough is too soft or too wet. Add another 1/2 – 1 cup of flour to it next time and see if that solves your problem. Or put in just a little less water than the recipe calls for.

Be careful not to over proof your loaves; if they proof too much, the air bubbles get too big, causing them to pop and then deflate in the oven.

The best baking temperature for *most* challahs is about 190°C / 365-375°F.

The term “challah” is applied more widely to mean any bread used in Jewish rituals. On the eve of Shabbat, two loaves are placed on the table to reference the Jewish teaching that a double portion of manna fell from heaven on Friday to last through the Saturday Shabbat.

Why is my challah so dry? ›

Once it looks like a smooth and elastic dough, STOP adding flour; too much flour will dry out the dough! Add a bit more OIL instead and your dough will be great!

In place of sugar, honey or maple syrup provide sweetness and moisture. Olive oil imparts a flavorful, herbaceous note to the bread — you can use a neutral oil, too, but the flavor of the former is truly something special. The focus on egg yolks, rather than eggs, ensures a tender, chewy crumb.

If the dough contains at least 1.666 kilo (a little more than 7 cups) of flour, one should take challah with a blessing. If the amount of flour in the dough is more than 1.2 kilo but less than 1.666 (5-7 cups), challah should be taken without a blessing.

Putting your flour through a sifter will break up any lumps in the flour, which means you can get a more accurate measurement. Sifted flour is also much lighter and airier than unsifted flour and is easier to mix into other ingredients when making batters and doughs.

Separate challah without a brocha when using flour weighing between 1.23kg and 1.67kg (between approximately 8 to 12 cups of unsifted flour or 9 and 15 cups of sifted flour). Separate challah with a brocha when using flour weighing more than 1.67kg (approximately 12cups of unsifted flour or 15 cups of sifted flour) .

Substitution Note: Since bread flour absorbs more water than all purpose flour, I always recommend reducing water/liquid slightly when substituting. Be aware that the dough may be stickier and less elastic by nature, and won't hold its structure or rise quite as well.

You can use all-purpose flour as a 1:1 substitute for bread flour and vice-versa. For example, for 1 cup of bread flour, you can use 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Bread and pizza crust made with all-purpose flour may have a little less chew than those made with bread flour, but the results will still be good.

All-purpose flour is the most common flour called for in recipes, for both cooking and baking. But if you don't have any in the pantry, or can't find any in the store, there are other flours you can use in its place. Bread flour and cake flour—on their own or mixed together—can substitute for all-purpose.

At 12- to 13-percent protein content, bread flour is stronger than all-purpose flour, but it can generally be substituted for all-purpose, and vice versa. However, it's important to remember that bread flour's increased protein could result in a dough or batter that's dry, so you may need to add water.