Why I Started Making My Own Challah

By Lizzie Rubin

SAN DIEGO — There’s nothing like an audience and an impending deadline to put your goals into motion.

In 2017, I decided that, despite never having baked or cooked anything in my life, I wanted to learn to make challah. I told everyone I had wanted to make challah to connect to my culture and roots. But really, it was because I was fed up being too late to grab the last challah at my local Trader Joe’s that I said, “F*** it, I’ll do it myself.” After ruminating over the idea for months, I (finally) made a Facebook event, and invited a few dozen of my female friends, while my husband scrolled on Pinterest for recipe inspirations.

The event was a huge success, and what culminated was a monthly tradition of Rosh Chodesh (first of the Hebrew month) challah bakes. On Wednesday night, I would make around three large batches of challah dough, and on Thursday evening, 15-20 friends would show up to braid dough, nosh a little, schmooze a lot, and bake their challahs before leaving with a beautifully golden loaf in their arms.

Like most good things, COVID-19 halted our monthly Rosh Chodesh get-togethers, except for a few virtual baking sessions. The births of my first and second daughters have also made me a little busier than before. But, when the timing is right, I’m confident our monthly challah bakes will resume.

Recipe

Yield

2 large loaves

Ingredients

5 tsp activated yeast

1.75 cups water

1 cup sugar

0.5 cup olive oil

6 eggs (5 for the dough; 1 for egg wash)

Dash of salt

8-9 cups bread flour

Instructions

On Thursday night or Friday morning:

1. Add warm water and yeast together, and wait for yeast to bloom (about 5 minutes).
2. Add sugar, salt, olive oil. Mix.
3. Add 5 beaten eggs. Mix.
4. Add flour, 1 cup at a time. Allow flour to mix fully before adding in the next cup. The amount of flour can vary; the most important part is how the dough feels. The dough should be dry enough so that it doesn’t stick to your hands.
5. Allow to rise for 2-3 hours.
6. (You can skip this step if you start your dough on Friday morning.) Punch the dough down, cover with Saran wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

On Friday morning:

7. Remove dough from refrigerator. Allow for dough to warm up to room temperature.
8. Braid the dough.
9. Allow to rise again for 45-60 minutes.
10. Turn on oven to 350F.
11. Egg wash your challah, and place in oven.
12. Bake until your loaves are golden brown (about 35-45 minutes), rotating every 15 minutes for an even color.

Lizzie Rubin lives in Pacific Beach with her husband and two children.