Mini Challah

Home-baked challah smells and tastes amazing. But a typical loaf can leave you with a lot of leftovers if you’re making it for yourself or just a couple of people. Make this small challah version if you prefer to finish a loaf within a couple of days. This mini loaf is soft and golden and you can make different variations of it to suit your taste. Note that challah does not contain butter, making it a good bread to make if you or someone you’re goal is to avoid dairy.

Small Challah Ingredients

• Active dry yeast and warm water: Challah needs yeast to rise. Other rising agents like baking powder just aren’t powerful enough to create the amount of rising needed.
• Sugar: Challah loaves tend to be a little sweet.
• Egg: The egg binds everything together, along with the water.
• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour will produce a softer loaf that isn’t as chewy as one made with bread flour. However, it will provide enough strength to the dough to create sufficient structure for the loaf.
• Egg: An egg wash will help the top of the braid achieve that golden color during baking. Plus, it acts like glue for the seed topping if you decide you want it.
• Sesame or poppy seeds: These are optional toppings. You can leave them out if you don’t want them.

Directions

Step 1: Make the dough

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Dissolve the yeast in the water in a small bowl. Beat in some oil along with the sugar, salt, egg and 1 cup of the flour. Beat the mixture until smooth and gradually add more flour until you have a soft dough.

Step 2: Double the dough

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Sprinkle flour over your kneading surface and turn the dough out onto the layer of flour. Knead the dough for six to eight minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Coat the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Turn the dough over once to coat the top with oil. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm spot. Let the dough rise for about one hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Step 3: Form the loaves

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Remove the cover from the bowl and punch down the dough. Sprinkle more flour onto a surface and turn out the dough onto the layer of flour. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and shape each into an 8-inch rope. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the ropes on the sheet; braid the three ropes together and pinch the ends. Tuck them under to seal them. Cover the loaf and let it rise for 45 minutes until it’s doubled again.

Step 4: Bake the loaves

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the egg with some water and brush the egg wash over the top of the braid. If you want, sprinkle some sesame seeds or poppy seeds over the top of the braid. Bake the braid for 20 to 25 minutes until the top of the braid (the raised lumps) turns golden brown. Remove the loaf from the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool down.

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Small Challah Variations

• Make the interior golden, too: The crust of the challah isn’t the only part that can be golden. Many types of challah have interiors that are yellow or gold in color. Sometimes this is due to adding an extra egg yolk; in many cases, the color comes from a drop or two of yellow food coloring. Yet another method is to mix saffron into the dough.
• Play around with different fillings: Challah doesn’t have to be plain bread. You can make it with several fillings, from raisin-filled honey challah to variations like apple cinnamon and chocolate.

How to Store Small Challah

Leftover challah should be wrapped in plastic with the air carefully squeezed out (don’t squish the challah). For challah that doesn’t have filling, store it wrapped in a cool, dry spot for up to two days. If the challah has filling, especially with fruit or cream, slice up the leftover loaf and place the slices in the freezer. You could place them in the refrigerator for up to two days but the bread will dry out.

Can you freeze small challah?

You can bake the challah and freeze the loaves for later. However, slice the loaves before freezing. It may take a long time for the center to thaw fully if you freeze an entire loaf. Plus you’d have to thaw the entire loaf to get just a few slices. Let the baked challah cool down, slice it and then wrap it tightly in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and foil before placing it in a freezer-safe bag. Eat the challah within three months.

Small Challah Tips

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Why is some challah round?

Round challah is symbolic of eternal blessings, the yearly or continuous cycle or a crown (depending on who you ask) and typically appears during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year holiday. You can use the same recipe to make round challah as you do oblong challah and just twist the dough into a round spiral. You can make fancier versions with braided challah, but creating a simple spiral is acceptable, too.

What can you do with leftover challah?

Small challah, and challah in general, doesn’t last very long outside the freezer. If you’ve got leftover challah that you don’t want to freeze, you can toast slices and have those as a snack or bread-based side with dinner. Or, make challah French toast for breakfast or challah bread pudding for dessert.

Do you really have to braid challah?

Braiding challah is the traditional way of presenting the finished loaf. And the number of strands and lumps in the baked loaf have symbolic meanings. But if you really don’t want to braid it, you don’t have to. The recipe won’t change; you’ll merely end up with a loaf that doesn’t look very fancy. You can also make other shapes with it, if you like. However, if you’re trying to make the small challah for a holiday or Shabbat dinner do make an effort to braid it.