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Round challah with a honey ramekin in the center.

Round Challah for Rosh Hashanah

Beth Lee
Round challah is the perfect shape for celebrating the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). Using my dear friend Lonni's tried and true traditional challah recipe, you'll be baking your own round challahs with confidence all year round.
4.73 from 11 votes
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Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Course bread
Cuisine Jewish Holiday Baking, Jewish Holiday Cooking
Servings 24 servings
Calories 167 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon active dry or instant yeast
  • 1 ½ cups warm water between 105°F and 115°F
  • ⅓ - ½ cup sugar
  • 6 cups flour she uses regular flour, not bread flour
  • 1-2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 - 4 eggs she usually adds 4 eggs, I used 3
  • ⅓ cup oil vegetable or canola

Egg Wash

  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon water

Instructions
 

Prepare dough

  • Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar to the warm water, then add the yeast. The yeast will bubble up in a minute or so, (if it doesn't then the yeast is no good)
  • In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, salt, eggs, oil and balance of the sugar. Then add the water/yeast proofing mixture.
  • If kneading by hand, you can start with a wooden spoon or just dig your hands in and combine. When it starts coming together in the bowl, transfer it to the counter to continue the kneading. It takes Lonni about 20 minutes to knead the dough by hand. She used to do it in the mixer, but really likes to feel the dough and put her heart (and muscle) into the process. Knead until smooth and shiny and springy.
  • If using the stand mixer, start on medium low to combine the ingredients, then turn it up to about medium. At about 5 minutes, scrape down the sides and let it continue to knead for another 3 minutes or so. Check with your finger to see if it's tacky or downright sticky or too dry. Tacky but not wet is perfect. I like to take it out of the stand mixer and finish the last bit of kneading by hand just to get a feel for the dough. Do this on a lightly floured surface and flour the dough if it is still sticky.

First rise and shape

  • Place the dough back in the large bowl, cover and let rise until double in size. The time varies by the weather. Lonni says you can also do this the night before and let rise in the fridge overnight.
  • Once doubled in size, turn the dough out onto the counter and divide in half. Braid, or shape as you wish. Lonni likes to add cinnamon and sugar to the middle of her dough strands.
  • To make a strand of any length for braiding or coiling, form a piece of dough into a cylinder then roll it out with the palms of your hands to the length you want. If it’s uneven, just squish it with your hands to even it out a bit. Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

To make a round challah

  • Coil Method: Take any length strand (for a fairly large round loaf try 24") and loosely coil it up and connect the end underneath (see video of Lonni doing this).
  • Round challah with ramekin: Braid half the dough into a 3- or 4-strand challah. Grease the outside of an ovenproof ramekin. Place the ramekin on your parchment-lined baking sheet and encircle the ramekin with the braided dough. Connect the ends of the dough together. Not to worry if the connected part isn’t as perfect as the rest of the braid. It will all look beautiful after it rises and bakes. (see video)

Final rise

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Place prepared loaves on a lightly oiled baking sheet, silicone mat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Let rise approximately 1 hour in a warm place. Lonni says it is important not to let the second rise go much longer than an hour. After that the yeast begins to die and your challah will be flat and taste "yeasty". Check periodically - you are looking for about a 30% increase in size and the dough should spring back slowly when you poke it.

Egg wash and bake

  • Whisk the egg and teaspoon of water and brush the loaves with the egg wash.
  • Turn oven down to 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped. If you have an instant-read thermometer, they should register between 190° and 200° F when done.
  • Remove immediately to a wire rack so the loaves don't get soggy on the bottom. Resist cutting them until they cool down.

Video

Notes

  • Even if you have a stand mixer and dough hook, try, as Lonni does, to knead the dough by hand from start to finish at least one time. It will really help you learn about how dough forms and what it should look like and feel like when it's ready to rise.
  • The recipe card below will give you approximate rise times but remember, the climate of your home, the outside temperature, the location in your kitchen where the dough rises, even how many eggs you use will all affect how quickly your dough rises both the first and second time. So use visual cues as well as rise times to decide when your rise is done.
  • Lonni sometimes makes the dough the night before and let's it rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight.

Nutrition

Calories: 167kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 3gFat: 3gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 106mgPotassium: 42mgSugar: 4gVitamin A: 30IUCalcium: 8mgIron: 1.5mg
Keyword bread, challah, Rosh Hashanah
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