Poppyseed Challah Bread

It's been nearly a year since I made challah bread —I don't know why; it's soft, delicious, and not too hard to make. AND, secretly, it's kind of fun to make and the final product is so pretty haha This time I used a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which was slightly different than the recipe I used previously, but just as good.


Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 Tbsp of active dry yeast
1 Tbsp + 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 eggs
1 Tbsp salt
~8 cups AP flour
poppyseeds for sprinkling


In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp of sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water. Make sure the water isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast (i.e., your bread will not rise), but also make sure the water isn't too cold or it will not activate the yeast (i.e., your bread will not rise) haha Let set for a few minutes.

Whisk oil into the yeast mixture, and beat in 4 eggs, one at a time. Then, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Gradually add the flour until the dough holds together. Now, it's kneading time! On a floured surface, knead dough for approximately 10 minutes or until it is smooth. Add additional flour if necessary.

Rub oil on the inside of a large bowl and place dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size. I learned a trick to help with rising. Boil a pot of water and place it on the bottom rack of the oven, and the bowl containing the dough on the top rack of the oven. Close the over door and let rise. The steam from the pot of boiled water really helps with rising. Awesome trick.

After the dough has risen for one hour, punch it down, cover, and let rise for another 30 minutes. You can use the pot of boiled water trick again if you want. I did.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Once the second rising has finished, divide the dough in half and form two balls. To make a 4-braid challah bread, take one ball of dough and divide into four equal balls. Using your hangs, roll each ball of dough into a strand (approximately 12 inches long). Place the 4 strands in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together and tuck underneath. Now, for the braiding. Move the outside strand over top of two strands and under one strand. Repeat this process, moving from left to right, until the loaf is completely braided. Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath. Repeat this process with the second ball of dough.

Place the loaves on the parchment lined baking sheets.

Beat the remaining egg and brush it on top of the loaves. Sprinkling with poppyseeds. If you don't have poppyseeds, you can use sesame seeds or no seeds (your choice!).

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. If you find that the loaves are browning up quickly, you can place a piece of tin foil over the top of the loaves.

Let loaves cool on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy :)

Also, for more details on braiding and forms of braid (e.g., 6-strand braid), see my previous post: Challah Bread