Making great home-made challah bread is simple and easy.   Karen B. Kwitter, professor of astronomy at Williams College, shares her know-how and tips on baking delicious challah bread.  Get advice on avoiding common baking mistakes and great recipe ideas from an experienced challah baker.

1. How did you learn to make challah?  Where would you recommend a novice challah baker start? 

I learned challah baking from my grandmother. She would bake for special occasions and I loved to watch and help her make not only challah, but rugelach, sponge cake and strudel. She never measured quantities, but her eye was unerring – I can’t recall anything she made that wasn’t delicious. To start, I would just plow in – find a recipe, and go with it. Try several! After a little experience, you can customize any of them and make them your own.

2. Separating the challah dough is a profound spiritual experience.  What does this process involve?

According to tradition, some of the dough is to be sacrificed, as a reminder of the portion given to the Kohanim (Priests) in Temple days. I don’t use enough flour in one 3-loaf recipe to be required to separate challah with or without a blessing, but I usually take a small piece of dough, affix it to one of the bead pans and discard it after baking. The process reminds us that all nourishment ultimately comes from God.

3.  Could you share some tips for avoiding common mistakes that you have gleaned from your own challah-making experience?

The most important thing is to make sure the yeast is dissolved in water of the correct temperature, which isn’t hard to do. The water should be hot, but not so hot that you can’t stand to keep your finger in it for 5 seconds or so. If in doubt, let it cool for a minute or two, and it will be fine. Also, yeasts act differenty according to age and temperature, so don’t be a slave to the clock. If your dough hasn’t doubled in the allotted time, let it go longer; if it’s doubled in less time, that’s fine, too.

4. Is there a big difference in taste between store-bought and home-made challah?

Absolutely! A store-bought challah, to me, anyway, tastes like plain bread, while homemade challah tastes delicate and eggy. In addition, pick up any store-made challah and it will be light and airy; this is good for a soufflé but not for challah, which should be substantial to lift and break apart. Also, store-bought challahs are an artificial yellow from food coloring, while a homemade challah has a light yellow color from the eggs it contains.

5. Could you share your favorite challah recipe with us?

It’s my grandmother’s recipe:

You will need:

 7 cups flour
 1 T salt
 1/2 cup sugar (or honey)
 2 pkg yeast + 1/3 cup warm water
 1/2 cup oil
 4 eggs
 1 cup boiling water
 1/2 cup cold water
This recipe makes the equivalent of 3 braided loaves.

Beat eggs in a small bowl.
In a large bowl mix oil, sugar and salt.
Add boiling water to large bowl and stir until all is dissolved.
Sprinkle yeast into a measuring cup with 1/3 cup warm water. Wait a few minutes, then stir.
Add cold water to mixture in large bowl. (The stuff in the bowl should now be the right temperature to add yeast. If too hot, wait a few minutes; if too cold, put the bowl in the microwave to heat it.)
Add yeast to large bowl.
Add eggs to large bowl, reserving about 1 tablespoon.
Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
Turn out dough onto floured board and knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed (but not too much). Dough is ready if it springs back after being poked with a finger.
Put back into bowl, cover with dishtowel, and put in warm oven (heated to 170-200, and then turned off beforehand) until doubled - about 1 hour.
Turn out onto floured board and knead for 1-2 minutes.
Divide dough into thirds.
Take one of the thirds, and knead for another minute. Form into 8-12 small "snakes" for bulkies, or 3 large snakes for braid. Make bulkies by knotting each small snake and pinching the ends together. Place bulkies close together, pinched-end down, in a greased pan (I use Pam). For braids, pinch ends of 3 large snakes together and begin braiding. Pinch ends together when done. Place in greased round pan or loaf pan.
Repeat for 2 other thirds. Put formed loaves/bulkies into oven (pre-heated and then turned off, as before) for about 45 minutes.
Remove from oven. Turn oven to 350.
Brush tops gently with reserved egg. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, if desired.
Bake for about 30 minutes (loaves) or 20 minutes (bulkies). Times will vary. Watch for moderate browning on top, but be careful not to allow scorching on bottom.
Remove from pans and place on dish towels to cool.