The Secret Is Out- My three favorite challah recipes!

Every Friday evening as the sun sets behind the Phoenix mountains, we gather our family around the table and begin our Erev Shabbat dinner. I light the candles and sing the traditional blessing, my husband blesses the LORD for the kiddush and hamotzi, and then we bless each other. I love having my table adorned with faces I love, delicious food, and fresh flowers. The warmth of God's presence and the glow of the Shabbat candles make Erev Shabbat what it should be... glorious!

One star of every Shabbat dinner is my homemade challah. Depending on the type of cuisine we are having, I use a variety of three original recipes. They are very similar in measurements, but the slight variation of ingredients makes it different enough to detect a small change in flavor and texture.

Candyce's Original Challah Recipe
6 egg yolks
1 2/3 cups of warm water
1 stick (1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tbspn kosher salt
5 3/4 cups of bread flour
2 tablespoons of yeast

Candyce's Dairy Challah
6 egg yolks
1 2/3 cups of warm whole milk
1 stick (1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil)
3/4 cup of honey
1 tbspn kosher salt
5 3/4 cups of bread flour
2 tablespoons of yeast

Candyce's Parve Challah
6 egg yolks
1 2/3 cups of warm water
1/2 cup of extra virgin coconut oil or olive oil
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tbspn kosher salt
5 3/4 cups of bread flour
2 tablespoons of yeast

For the baste:
Mix together 1 egg, a splash of heavy cream, and some honey.

The process is all the same. 
1) Place all of your wet ingredients in your bread machine.
2)  Add the kosher salt, then the bread flour and then the yeast.
3) Set your bread machine to the dough setting and walk away! You have now have about 90 minutes to do whatever is on your heart. After the initial 30 minute kneading, your dough should look similar to this.

4) After the dough has finished rising, take it out and divide it in even pieces enough for two loaves. Roll each piece into an long strand and set it aside.
(If you are going to do a three strand braid, then you want six pieces. If you are going to do a four strand braid, you want eight pieces. And if you are doing a six strand braid, then you want twelve pieces.) Also, if you want to add anything to your dough such as: chocolate chips, raisins, cheddar cheese, jalapeños, blueberries etc., now is the time to do it!

5) Braid your challah.

6) Cover your braided loaves and let them rise in a nice warm place for about half an hour. Sometimes I warm my oven to about 200 degrees F, place a dish of warm water on the bottom rack, and then turn it off. It makes a great place to let the challah double in size.


7) Take out your challah, baste it, add your favorite toppings, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. This is the plain Jane version, but here is a list of my favorite toppings:
* kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* cinnamon and sugar
* poppy seeds
* sesame seeds
* raisins tucked in the crevasses of puffed loaves







Enjoy!