Raisin Challah
This Raisin Challah is a classic Jewish bread filled with plump raisins and made soft, fragrant with citrus zest, and just slightly sweet. It makes a lovely bread for sandwiches, base for French toast waffles, or side for soups or salads.
With this raisin challah recipe, I’ll show you how to braid an impressive 5-strand challah that’s so easy a child can do it! So grab your apron, and let’s embark on a challah raisin bread-baking journey.
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Ingredients
- Challah is an enriched bread dough like my chocolate chip brioche, Japanese milk bread, honey buns, and cinnamon rolls. Only challah is made with oil and not butter so that it can be eaten with either meat or dairy-based meals for folks who keep kosher.
- Raisins are often added to challah for sweetness. Raisin challah made for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) represents the hope for a joyous and prosperous year.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Sub honey for the sugar.
- Use different types of raisins or even dried cranberries or apples.
- Divide the recipe into two 3-strands to bake in two 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pans. Braid your raisin challah into a round loaf. You can even make raisin challah buns!
- Use food coloring and make a 6-strand rainbow challah.
Recipe tips and tricks
I grew up on the East coast of the U.S. with overstuffed deli sandwiches and kosher pickles, food-focused holidays, and guilt. And living in Seattle for over 25 years, I have accepted I can’t find good bagels or Jewish breads unless I make them myself. This challah raisin bread is one example.
Are you looking for other classic Jewish baking recipes? Try my shortbread Linzer cookies, chocolate rugelach, or Nutella babka.
Making the raisin challah dough
Step 1: Combine the flour, sugar, zests, yeast, and salt in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer or large bowl.
Step 2: Measure out the water in a 2 cup or larger measuring cup. Add the two whole eggs, two egg yolks, and oil, and whisk lightly until uniform. Refrigerate those remaining egg whites until ready to bake your raisin challah.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix on low speed using the paddle attachment of your mixer until combined. (If your mixer ever sounds like it is struggling, change to your dough hook immediately or you run the risk of burning out your motor.)
Step 4: Switch to the hook attachment and mix on medium speed for 6 minutes, adding small amounts of water or flour as necessary to get the dough to clear the sides of the bowl. The final dough should be soft and not sticky at all. It should pass the windowpane test if you do that sort of thing.
Step 5: Add the raisins and mix on low speed or by hand until completely incorporated in the challah dough, about 1 to 2 minutes. Mixing by hand prevents the raisins from getting chopped up by the mixer.
Step 6: Form the challah dough into a round, lightly oil a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place until about doubled, about 1 hour (Rise #1 of 3).
Tip from the wise quacker: The best ambient temperature for making bread is in the high 70s. If your home is cool, you can create a warm, place in two ways: 1) Turn on your oven (use the proofing function if it has one) and turn it off when it reaches 80 degrees or 2) Heat a microwave-safe cup of water in your microwave for a minute or two. Remove the water and quickly add your bread dough.
Step 7: Punch the challah dough down to degas it, re-form into a round, and again let rise until about doubled, about 1 hour (Rise #2 of 3)
Step 8: Divide the challah raisin bread dough into five equal strands and proceed with braiding the dough.
Braiding the raisin challah
Braiding challah is a great way to involve your kids in the kitchen. The pics and video below are of my kiddo when she was young doing the 5-strand braid.
To set up your braid, line up the five strands of raisin challah dough in front of you and pinch the tops together. Divide the strands into a group of 3 and a group of 2 (Panel #1, below).
Take the outside strand from the group of 3 and move to the inside of the group of 2 so it is now a group of 3 (Panel #2). Repeat with the outside strand of the new group of 3 (Panel #3).
Continue braiding the challah this way until you can’t braid anymore. Tuck the ends under the loaf and pinch them all together.
Step 9: Let rise again (rise #3 of 3) either on a parchment lined baking sheet or in a greased loaf pan. I love using this Emile Henry ceramic bread loaf pan to get a semi-uniform shape for sandwiches.
It should again double in size.
At least 30 minutes prior to baking, preheat the oven to 325℉. Right before baking, brush the loaf with the reserved egg whites (reserve for one more brushing).
Bake on a middle shelf for 20 minutes. Brush one more time with reserved egg whites to ensure coverage of the entire loaf after the oven spring.
Continue baking until internal temperature of your raisin challah is 190 to 195°, the crust is a rich caramel brown, and the bottom sounds hollow when thumped. This should take about 40 to 60 minutes in total, depending on the size of your loaves, whether you are using a pan, etc.
Cool for at least one hour if you can before serving!
What to serve with raisin challah
- Spread with butter or a non-dairy spread, with jam or without.
- Try my orange zest French toast waffles.
- Enjoy with a soup and salad like my garbanzo bean soup and rainbow salad or feta kale salad.
Recipe FAQs
Challah will keep well for a few days at room temperature wrapped in a plastic bag on the countertop. You can also freeze challah whole or freeze slices in a freezer bag. Never put bread in the refrigerator or it will dry out.
Challah *is* bread, so it is redundant to say “challah bread.”
No one will stop you if you want to add sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or everything bagel seasoning to your raisin challah before baking!
Related bread recipes
Check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery bread recipes like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Orange Raisin Challah
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 4¼ cups (530 grams) unbleached bread flour plus more as necessary
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- zests of 1 orange and ½ lemon
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast one packet
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (177 grams) lukewarm water plus more as necessary
- 2 eggs, whole
- 2 eggs, separated whites reserved for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons canola, safflower, or other neutral-flavored vegetable oil
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar, zests, yeast, and salt in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer or large bowl.4¼ cups (530 grams) unbleached bread flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, zests of 1 orange and ½ lemon, 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast, 1 teaspoon salt
- Measure out the water in a large-ish (2 cup is ideal) measuring cup. Add the two whole eggs, two egg yolks, and oil, and whisk lightly until uniform.¾ cup (177 grams) lukewarm water, 2 eggs, whole, 2 eggs, separated, 2 tablespoons canola, safflower, or other neutral-flavored vegetable oil
- Add the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix on low speed using the paddle attachment until combined.
- Switch to the hook attachment and mix on medium speed for 6 minutes, adding small amounts of water or flour as necessary to get the dough to clear the sides of the bowl. The final dough should be soft and not sticky at all. It should pass the windowpane test if you do that sort of thing.
- Add the raisins and mix on low speed or by hand until incorporated, about 1 to 2 minutes.½ cup raisins
- Form the dough into a round, lightly oil a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until about doubled, about 1 hour (Rise #1 of 3).
- Degas, re-form into a round, and again let rise until about doubled, about 1 hour (Rise #2 of 3)
- Divide into three or five equal strands and braid the dough. Please see the main post text for more instructions. Let rise until doubled again (Rise #3 of 3).
- At least 30 minutes prior to baking, preheat the oven to 325℉.
- Right before baking, brush the loaf with the reserved egg whites (keep for one more brushing).
- Bake on a middle shelf for 20 minutes. Brush one more time with reserved egg whites to ensure coverage of the entire loaf.
- Continue baking until internal temperature is 190 to 195°, the crust is a rich caramel brown, and the bottom sounds hollow when thumped. This should take about 40 to 60 minutes in total, depending on the size of your loaves, whether you are using a pan, etc.
- Cool for at least one hour if you can!
Notes
Nutrition
This orange raisin challah recipe is adapted from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. I strongly recommend this bread cookbook for all levels of bread-baker.
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I do not have the pan that you used. What size bread pan would I use ?
Hi Pauline – you have lots of options – you could make two three-braid challah in regular loaf pans. Or make one large loaf. I’ve done it both as a 5-braid and have recently been playing around with a 6-strand round loaf.
Hi, thank you for such a nice recipe! Do you bake the Challah with the cover of the Emile Henry pan on? (I am assuming your ceramic bread loaf pan has a cover)
Thanks again!
Hi Francesca – thanks for asking. Yes, if I’m using the bread pan for this challah recipe, I bake initially with the cover on, remove it when I do the second egg wash, and bake the remaining time without the cover.
Thank you! I will certainly try this 🙂
Best recipe of chala ever!
Specific points: thank you for giving the right internal temperature! The bread looks totally ready when is still uncooked inside.
Thanks for putting the right amounts of ingredients in every step – very handy.
I baked the chala for my partner’s birthday (with more sugar than i the recipe) and it was a great success!
I wish I could post a photo here.
Hi Rebecca. Thanks so much! I’m so glad you loved my raisin challah. Feel free to tag me on Instagram or other social media – I’m uglyducklingbakery on most platforms – Joanne