Irizarry Challah Bread Recipe
Shalom! Blessings. I'm sharing this challah bread recipe with you—the bread traditionally made for the Sabbath. It's our favorite recipe. I should warn you that I'm not a professional baker or pastry chef, and I might not use the correct terminology, but I've been making this recipe for over eleven years, and believe me, so many people—I've lost count—have asked me for it. I ended up thinking it would be best to put all my notes and recommendations together here. I hope it's a blessing to you.
To go directly to the recipe, scroll to the bottom of the page.
In our family, we've adopted the tradition of eating this bread every Shabbat, the seventh day of the week, or Saturday. It's delicious and brings that sweet, homey feeling when we bake it every Friday afternoon before sunset. It's become something very special for our family; the children have become expert bakers, helping to make the dough, and they already know the recipe by heart. In the families of the people of Israel, it was adopted to prepare and eat challah bread, in remembrance of the loaves that were in the tabernacle and temple. Just as it's a tradition to light candles on Shabbat to welcome the seventh day, in memory of the candelabrum in the tabernacle and temple that was always kept burning, so too is this bread prepared.
This recipe requires a bread machine. I'm sharing some photos of bread machines. I found our first one at Goodwill for $6.99 (US), but that was a few years ago. There are other recipes that don't require a machine; this isn't one of them. If you can't find a machine, I suggest using other recipes.
The machine is used to make the dough, but the bread is baked in a separate oven. For this recipe, make sure you have a bread machine with a "dough" and/or "leave dough" setting.
Humidity affects bread dough. I've made the same recipe in the same house with the same ingredients, the same machine, the same oven, and I've had different results because of the humidity. At my house, I have to use less flour in the summer and more in the winter. The altitude and temperature where you live will affect how you make the dough—my recommendation is, if it seems dry, you can add more water and/or use less flour. And if it's too wet and sticky, use less water and/or more flour.
Also, keep in mind that not all ovens are the same or heat the same way. There are electric ovens, gas ovens, and some that have different settings or configurations for how they distribute heat inside the oven. I'm sharing this so you don't get frustrated if it doesn't turn out exactly right the first few times; it might take you a few tries to adjust it according to your preferences. At my house, I set the convection oven to 310°F for 40 minutes, and the recipe says 350°F for 35 minutes—you might have to adjust it based on what you have at home. I use a stone baking sheet. This will also affect how the bread turns out. If you use a cookie sheet or a glass baking dish, you'll have to adjust the temperature. My least favorite method would be baking it in a glass dish because it tends to burn more easily. If that's all you have, you can use parchment paper, which will help prevent sticking. If using a stone baking tray, I spray it with olive oil before putting the dough on.
When you make the dough in the machine, follow the ingredient list in order. Start with the liquids and end with the dry ingredients; the yeast is the last thing you add. Again, this is how it's done in this recipe. Others are the other way around. Follow the list in this order to ensure it turns out as it should.
Hafrashat Challah, the "blessing over the bread" in the Jewish context, specifically referring to challah, involves setting aside a portion of the dough before baking it. This is considered a commandment, but it's specifically related to the Temple when a portion was set aside for the Levites. What makes challah bread challah and not ordinary bread is the setting aside of that portion. Today there is no Temple. We personally do this in remembrance, practicing and remembering that bread offering in the Temple. A piece of dough (about the size of an olive) is set aside and then burnt. We leave it in a corner of the baking sheet while the rest of the dough bakes.
Here's the recipe, I hope it's a blessing!
Oven temperature: 350°F
Baking time: 35 minutes
(If you set it to 310°F, you can bake it for 40 minutes)
INGREDIENTS
5-6 large egg yolks
1 2/3 cups room temperature water
1/2 cup grapeseed oil (you can substitute with olive oil, coconut oil, or melted butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon salt
5-6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place the ingredients into the bread/dough machine in the order listed. Liquids first, dry ingredients last.
2. Let the machine prepare the dough using the "dough" or "leavened dough" setting.
3. When the machine finishes, remove the dough and let it rest in a container for two hours. You can cover it with a thin cloth that allows the dough to breathe but retains moisture.
4. Divide the dough into four sections. You can then braid each section (if you want to make it traditionally braided) and let it rise for half an hour. This is when you set aside the "challah" portion – about the size of an olive.
5. Brush the dough with honey.
6. Sprinkle ground cinnamon and raw sugar over the honey.
7. Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes.
Enjoy! The blessing before eating the bread is:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ
Baruj ata Adonai Eloheinu melej ha’olam hamotzi lejem min ha’aretz.
Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, ruler of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth.