Something good about this quarantine? It gave me the time I needed to create more recipes and do experiments with all my starters. I’ve had sourdough challah in my “to-bake” list for the longest time. And I finally have a recipe I’m 100% satisfied with.

I used all-purpose flour with a protein content of 11.7% for this delicious challah recipe. Don’t worry if you can’t find bread flour, I know it’s difficult to find these days.

UPDATE 10/18/2020: Based on the feedback I received, I decided to update this post to talk about the oil and how to easily incorporate it.

About the recipe

This dough is not on the sticky side, however, you need to make sure you develop the gluten very well. If you do so, you will have a delicate and cohesive sourdough challah that will stay fresh for several days. You can check this post for some guidance on how to knead enriched dough based on real bread science.

I can’t stress this enough: make sure you knead the dough well. Do it little by little. Allow the gluten enough rest if you think the dough is not really coming together after a while. If you’re using a stand mixer, the dough shouldn’t stick to the bottom. And if you’re using your hands, the dough shouldn’t stick to the heel of your hands or the counter.

Developing the gluten well takes a bit of time, but the reward will be amazing. You’ll end up with a dough that’s easier to handle (it won’t stick everywhere), a plump braid, and a bread that won’t dry out and harden right after it cools down.

The ingredients

Since this recipe doesn’t have a lot of moisture, I prefer to add all ingredients at once except the oil. I find it’s the best way to ensure salt and sugar dissolve well, and that all ingredients are properly distributed. You want to have a homogeneous dough.

Once you start kneading and the dough acquires certain consistency, add the oil and incorporate it well. This step might be easier to do by hand than with a stand mixer. You can add the oil little by little or all at once, whatever is more comfortable for you.

In the ingredient list, you’ll find a range in the amounts of oil and water. You can decide which type of dough you prefer. A slightly softer dough that leads to a slightly softer bread, or a slightly stiffer dough that’s easier to shape. The range is not large, but those extra 10 or 20g do make a difference, especially using AP flour.

My flour has 11.7% of protein, if yours has more/less, you will need to adjust the amount of water accordingly

What If I can’t eat eggs?

If you can’t eat eggs you can substitute them with pumpkin puree. It’ll give the dough an orangey color, but it’ll make the dough spongey too. Just be careful with the liquid because pumpkin puree does have some extra moisture.

How to incorporate the oil

If you have read some of my posts you know I’m very particular about developing the gluten network. Adding butter when the dough is half-developed is a bit of work but nothing impossible. However, adding oil can be a lot trickier. So here are my tips:

1) Add the oil little by little. If you add it all at once the outer layer of the dough will be covered in oil and won’t let it penetrate.

2) Squeeze the dough as you knead so you can break that outer layer and the oil can penetrate.

3) If you still have problems, cut the dough into smaller pieces to increase the surface area of dough that hasn’t been coated in oil yet (the inside part) and keep squeezing

4) If you work on your counter, squeeze the dough as if you were wringing out a cloth.

5) Be patient, it’ll take a few minutes but it’s not impossible!

The key to incorporate the oil is to make sure it can pass through that outer layer of dough that has been coated in oil and is slippery. You can cut the dough, squeeze it, wring it… Whatever works for you.

But.. Can I just add the oil with the rest of the wet ingredients?

Yes, you can AS LONG AS you make sure the gluten is developed correctly. The reason I encourage you to add it later is that we tend to stop working the dough absorbs the fats. And that leads to denser crumbs and lower quality bread.

But if you make sure you get that beautiful windowpane and a dough that is elastic and nice. Then yes, you can add the oil earlier in the process.

I’d still suggest you add it after mixing everything else, while you have that shaggy mess of dough at the beginning. The reason why is because the flour had at least some time to hydrate without oil getting in the middle. Moreover, the gluten network is still at a very early stage, so it’ll be easier to squeeze the dough and allow the oil to be absorbed.

How to ferment sourdough challah

I found that the temperature range in my house did not affect the fermentation too much. However, the amount of water did. Keep in mind that the temperature didn’t vary that much (68-74F) and wasn’t too warm.

Note: if your house is very warm, the temperature will affect the fermentation more than it affected me. Keep an eye on your dough during bulk fermentation.

While all sourdough challahs turned out great; I found that the recipe with a little more water fermented faster and the dough was a bit slacker; which made the braiding a bit more difficult as the ropes stretched very easily. The dough with slightly less water and oil ended up in very plump braids; (the very first photo), but the bread was slightly drier than I prefer.

I did all bulk fermentations overnight at room temperature (about 8h at 68-74F depending on the day). The recipe with more water over-proofed a little and developed a slightly sour taste (at both temperatures, even at 68F). However, you can fix this easily by reducing the bulk fermentation.

The recipe with less water didn’t get to rise that much but was still puffy and the taste was sweeter. After shaping, all loaves proofed for 3-4 h (until they were puffy, not until they doubled). The loaves with less water held the shape better.

You should take these experiments as a guide. But what you’re looking for is a puffy dough that still feels stiff (not sticky). If you press carefully, you should leave a mark that springs back slowly. You can adapt the fermentation to your own kitchen conditions.

What I’d suggest is to not rush the bulk fermentation. If your dough didn’t ferment enough, then it could tear open during baking.

Find the balance between temperature and fermentation

In any case, try not to over ferment the dough, or it might turn sour and slacker. It should feel puffy, it should smell like sourdough but not too acidic with slightly but pleasant acetic hints. Same for the final proof, let it get puffy but don’t wait until it doubles.

It’s very difficult to see when it doubles unless the dough is in a container. Waiting for it to double might end up in an over-fermented dough that will flatten during or after baking and won’t taste as nice.

How to braid this sourdough challah

Divide the dough into as many portions as you want strands in your braid. Let them rest 10 minutes before you make the ropes.

To make the ropes, flatten the dough balls into a 2 in/10 cm oval. Then starting on the long side roll the oval onto itself giving it some tension as you go. Once you shaped the log seal the seam.

Let the logs rest a few minutes; then starting from the middle towards the outside stretch the logs and make the ropes. If the ropes keep shrinking let them rest. The gluten it’s pulling and if you continue to stretch the dough you’ll end up breaking the gluten structure.

Braiding the challah a little loose will allow it to tighten as it proofs. It will puff up during baking and be very plump. If the braid is too tight from the beginning, it could tear during baking

After you brush your challah with the egg white, you can sprinkle some poppy or sesame seeds to decorate it!

Here you have a video for an 8 strand challah:

The good thing about challah dough is its versatility when it comes to shapes and braiding. If you’re looking for a beautiful shape but are a bit intimidated by braids, I’d suggest you try your hand at a round challah. It’s very easy to braid and you won’t get lost.

The baking

Since every oven is a bit different, bake your challah until it’s golden brown. If it gets too dark on top you can tent it with aluminum foil until it’s done inside. If you have trouble knowing if the bread is done, check the inside temperature. It should register at least 200F / 94C.

I have this thermometer and I’m very happy with it. It’s fast and accurate and it can hold the max/min temperature. What I like the most is that it has a magnet! So I can leave it stuck on the fridge while I’m baking for easy use.

After baking let the challah cool down for a while. It will help set the crumb and aromas!

I hope you enjoy this wonderful sourdough challah!

If you make this easy sourdough challah, let me know what you think and tag me on your creations! I love to see what you guys make!

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For suggestions or want me to adapt a yeast-based recipe into a sourdough one, etc. please contact me and I’ll try my best to respond and plan a recipe!

Happy baking!

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