Fancy Plaited Challah Bread

Post published:May 27, 2020
Post category:Recipes
Post comments:9 Comments
Post author:Melissa

I ‘ve always wanted to make bread and try my hand at yeasted bakes, so when they made Challah on the Great British Baking Show, I had to try it myself. I also plaited it like they did on the show. Let me tell you, I definitely felt accomplished after finishing this fancy plaited challah bread.

I ended up using a video from the YouTube channel of one of the GBBO contestants, Mat Riley to do the braid because I definitely needed the visual element to do this braid.

I’ve done braids before in my hair, and I’ve even done a 6-strand challah, but I haven’t done 8 and it’s a lot to work with!

*Note: This post contains affiliated links from which I will earn a small kickback. Thank you for your support!*

Make Your Dough and Knead It

The challah dough is simple. I just combined yeast, warm water, and sugar and gave a few minutes for the yeast to foam up. Then I added in the rest of the ingredients and blended it with a dough hook in my kitchen aid stand mixer.

I kneaded the dough by hand for 6 minutes and added a little bit of flour while I was doing it so my dough wasn’t too sticky to work with. You can knead the dough in the stand mixer too if you don’t want to get your hands dirty.

Proofing and Plaiting

After kneading, I put the dough in a greased bowl, covered it with siran wrap and put it in the warmest part of my house. I let it rise for 2 hours. After the first rise, I cut it into 8 equal portions and rolled out the balls into strips. Then I had to combine the ends together and start braiding.

I followed Mat Riley’s Youtube tutorial and you should too! I have the video embedded below for you to watch while you braid. As I braided, my dough was kind of stretching out and I didn’t make my braid tight enough so I ended up with a loose stretched out plait. Hopefully next time around will work better for me.

UPDATE: I made a six strand loaf after this and it came out perfect.

Tips

If you want to try and make challah and find the 8-strand braid too difficult, Kitchn included 6-strand braid directions or you could do the easiest, a regular 3-strand braid like you would do in your hair.

I also found this amazing blog post from Tori Avey on the many forms challah can take, you can braid it, loop it together, or make little mini buns. Check it out if you want to expand your horizons!

Cook Challah Bread

After braiding, I carefully transferred the loaf onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I covered it and let it rise for another hour.

Then finally it went into the oven! It cooked for about a half hour. There are two ways you can check to see if it’s done. Either you can use a thermometer to check the internal temperature which should be at least 190F. The other way would be to just knock on the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, it’s done.

Eat!

I cut a couple of fresh, hot slices for my husband I and put some butter on them. Let me tell you, nothing is better than hot bread fresh out of the oven!

Please Comment and Share!

As always, let me know what you think in the comments with a rating and review. I would love to hear your feedback and your comments help other people to see my blog so thank you! Tag me on social media too @withlovemelissashop.

You’ll love what’s in my shop, check that out too! I have a whole range of instant downloads and merchandise, all outdoorsy, cute or bookish!

You can buy me a coffee on Ko-Fi, subscribe, or commission me to send you a beautifully decorated postcard.

Look at other ways you can support me that are not monetary related here. Any support you can give means the world because it allows me to do what I love!

Pin This!

Eat this toasted with some butter and homemade Strawberry Jam. Yum!

Archive Dive!

Plaited Challah Loaf

Sweet Melissa, Recipe from Kitchn

An enriched bread that is perfect for a fancier french toast or just as good slice of regular toast with some butter.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Proofing Time 3

Course Breakfast, Side Dish

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

1 Cup Warm Water
2 Tsp Active Dry Yeast
4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Tsp Salt
2 Large Eggs
1 Egg Yolk (Save White for Egg Wash)
¼ Cup Avocado Oil

Instructions

Put warm water in your stand mixer bowl. Mix in sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. Using dough hook, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together until combined. The dough should be a bit sticky.
Take out of bowl and hand knead for about 6 minutes. You can add a bit more flour so it’s less sticky. After kneading, place in a large greased bowl and cover let rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
After it rises, cut the dough into 8 equal portions and roll out into 16″ strands. Combine the tops and braid together. Transfer onto baking sheet with parchment paper. Let rise another hour covered in a warm place.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the egg white with a little bit of water and brush onto loaf. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. You should be able to knock on the bread and it’ll sound hollow.

Keyword Plaited Loaf, Yeasted Bread