This fluffy challah bread recipe bakes into a golden, beautifully braided loaf with a tender crumb, rich flavor, and just a touch of sweetness!

If you have ever torn into a warm loaf of challah and watched those golden strands pull apart into soft, feathery ribbons, you already know exactly what we are chasing here!

This fluffy challah bread recipe gives you a beautifully bronzed, glossy braid with a tender, lightly sweet center that smells of fresh bread, eggs, and just enough richness to make cutting a polite little slice feel almost impossible!!

Ingredients

For Challah

• 4 1/4 cups bread flour, 510 g, plus 1 to 3 tablespoons only if absolutely necessary
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast, 7 g
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 65 g
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, 9 g
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water, 190 g, around 100°F to 105°F
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, 60 ml, such as avocado, canola, or grapeseed oil

For Egg Wash

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Small pinch of salt
• Sesame seeds or poppy seeds, optional

Yield: 1 large braided loaf
Servings: About 12 generous slices

How to Make Fluffy Challah Bread

Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl, then add instant yeast and sugar. Because we are using instant yeast, you technically do not need to proof it first, but I like stirring everything together and giving it about 2 minutes while I gather remaining ingredients.

Water should feel comfortably warm rather than hot. If it feels like bathwater you would hesitate to put your hand into, it is too hot for yeast.

Add 2 whole eggs, extra yolk, and oil, then whisk until mixture looks smooth and evenly yellow. Do not worry about making it foamy. We simply want eggs dispersed through water so they can hydrate flour evenly.

Add bread flour and salt. Stir with a sturdy wooden spoon or dough whisk until flour disappears and you have a rough, shaggy dough. It will not look impressive yet, and this is precisely where some bakers start adding flour because dough seems sticky.

Don’t skip giving it a short rest! Cover bowl and leave it alone for 10 minutes. Flour will absorb moisture during this little break, and dough will become noticeably easier to handle without making you add unnecessary flour.

If using a stand mixer, attach dough hook and knead on medium-low speed for about 8 to 10 minutes. If kneading by hand, turn dough onto a very lightly floured counter and knead for about 12 to 15 minutes.

At first it may stick lightly to your fingers, but keep working before reaching for extra flour. Properly kneaded dough should become smooth, elastic, and soft, and it should pull away from your work surface much more cleanly than it did at start.

Stop and pinch off a walnut-sized piece of dough, then gently stretch it between your fingers.

If you can stretch it into a thin, almost translucent membrane before it tears, gluten has developed properly. This is commonly called a windowpane test, and it is far more useful than blindly kneading according to a timer.

If dough tears immediately and looks rough around edges, knead another 2 minutes and test again.

Now make your first small judgment call. Dough should feel soft and slightly tacky, meaning you can touch it without coming away with half your loaf attached to your palm.

If it is truly wet and impossible to handle after kneading, add bread flour 1 tablespoon at a time, kneading thoroughly after each addition. Usually 1 or 2 tablespoons is plenty.

Please resist dumping in another half cup! Future-you, eating fluffy challah, will be grateful.

Lightly oil a clean bowl, shape dough into a loose ball, and turn it once in oil so surface does not dry out. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, a plate, or a clean damp towel and allow dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 75 to 100 minutes, or until roughly doubled in volume.

A kitchen around 75°F to 78°F is ideal. A cooler room may require closer to 2 hours, and that is perfectly fine. Dough does not own a wristwatch.

Rather than relying entirely on time, look at dough. It should be visibly inflated and airy, and when you gently press it with one finger, indentation should remain for a moment rather than bouncing back immediately.

If dough has barely grown after 75 minutes, give it more time. A slow rise does not mean failure.

Turn risen dough onto a clean counter and gently press out some large air pockets. Do not attack it with your fists. You spent more than an hour encouraging those bubbles, so a little diplomacy is appropriate.

Weigh dough if you have a kitchen scale, then divide it into 3 equal portions. Equal pieces matter because uneven strands produce a loaf with one enormous side and one rather confused little tail. If you do not have a scale, divide as evenly as you can by eye.

Shape each portion into a short cylinder about 8 inches long, cover loosely, and allow pieces to rest for 10 minutes. This short bench rest relaxes gluten, which makes strands much easier to lengthen without snapping back at you.

Working from center outward, gently roll each piece into a rope about 18 to 20 inches long.

Try making ropes slightly thicker in center and narrower toward ends. If a rope keeps shrinking back, stop rolling it, move to another piece, and return after a few minutes.

Resting is better than forcing dough and tearing its surface.

Place 3 strands beside one another and pinch their top ends firmly together. Braid as you would braid hair: bring right strand over center, then left strand over new center, and continue alternating until you reach bottom.

Keep braid neat but not overly tight because dough needs room to expand during second rise and baking. Pinch bottom ends together, then tuck both ends slightly underneath loaf for a clean shape.

Transfer braided challah to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap or a clean towel and let it rise for 45 to 75 minutes. During final 30 minutes, preheat oven to 350°F, placing a rack in center.

Pay attention to dough rather than automatically baking at 45-minute mark. Fully proofed challah should look beautifully swollen, with strands rounded rather than tight.

Gently press one inconspicuous spot with a fingertip. If dent springs back immediately, give loaf more time. If it returns slowly and leaves a faint impression, you are ready.

If indentation collapses and stays deeply sunken, dough has probably proofed a little too long, so bake it promptly.

Whisk egg with 1 tablespoon water and a tiny pinch of salt until completely smooth. Brush egg wash gently over all exposed surfaces, including little valleys between braided strands.

This is what gives challah that deep, shiny mahogany-gold finish, so take an extra minute and cover it evenly. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds now, if using.

Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes. At about 20 minutes, rotate baking sheet so loaf colors evenly. Challah contains both sugar and eggs, so it can brown faster than lean bread.

If top reaches a rich golden brown before center is finished, place a loose piece of aluminum foil over loaf for remaining baking time.

Finished challah should be a rich golden brown all over, feel fairly light for its size, and sound somewhat hollow when tapped underneath.

For most reliable result, insert an instant-read thermometer into thickest part of loaf without hitting baking sheet. Center should register about 190°F to 195°F.

Transfer challah to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 60 minutes, preferably 90 minutes if you can stand it.

I know this sounds cruel when your kitchen smells like a bakery, but slicing extremely hot bread releases steam while crumb is still setting and can leave inside gummy.

Once it has cooled, pull apart one of those braided sections and admire those long, soft strands. You earned that moment!

Serving Suggestions

Challah needs very little help, but these are some of my favorite ways to serve it:

• Serve thick slices slightly warm with salted butter and honey.
• Toast slices and spread them with jam, fruit preserves, or nut butter.
• Use it for French toast, especially once loaf is a day old and can soak up custard without falling apart.
• Prepare egg sandwiches or turkey sandwiches using thick challah slices.
• Serve alongside roasted chicken, brisket, soups, or holiday dinners.
• Tear pieces apart at table and serve with olive oil or flavored butter.
• Turn leftovers into bread pudding.
• Cube slightly stale challah and prepare an extra-rich French toast casserole.

For breakfast, I particularly like it toasted until outside edges become crisp while center stays soft, then topped with butter that immediately slips into all those little crumb pockets. Very little effort, very good morning!

How to Store Challah

Once completely cool, keep challah tightly wrapped or in an airtight bag at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Avoid refrigerating bread unless absolutely necessary because refrigeration speeds up starch changes that make bread seem stale.

If your loaf is already a day or two old, do not mourn! This is when French toast enters wearing a tiny superhero cape.

Once you slice into this fluffy challah bread recipe, you should find a golden crumb that feels light in your hand, pulls apart in delicate strands, and stays tender enough that even next-day slices are worth getting excited about!!

Hungry for more feel-good meals? Explore these 21 Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Recipes for a nourishing start and 10 Anti-Inflammatory Dinner Recipes for delicious evenings that make healthy eating easy!