Bread Machine Challah for Shabbat and Festivals

Directions

1. Place the warm water, salt, sugar, margarine, egg, bread flour, and yeast in the pan of a bread machine in that order, set the machine to the dough setting, and start the machine.
2. When the dough cycle of the machine is finished, place the dough on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 3 pieces, and roll them into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look.
3. Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper, and place the braided challah on the prepared sheet. Cover the loaf with a plastic bag to prevent drying out, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk together 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of water, and vanilla in a small bowl, and brush the glaze on the challah. Sprinkle with optional toppings (see footnote).
5. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, 35 to 40 minutes.

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Reviews (18)

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34

RancherMomma

Feb. 24, 2010

"Best Challah I have ever made in 20 years... The only thing I changed was adding 6 tbsp of sugar not 2. From the second I touched the dough in the bread maker I knew that I had Challah gold on my hand..." See mores... will never use another recipe again. BEST EVER!"

21

JAN

Dec. 8, 2009

"This recipe just came out on the site today & I decided to try it & I am so glad I did. Wonderful flavor with a chewy texture that was exactly what I was looking for. The dough is very easy to work..." See more with & I turned out a beautiful, shiny, delicious work of art. Thank You for the recipe, I will be sure to share with friends!"

13

Momo-milk

Jul. 1, 2010

"I gave this recipe to my 10 year old daughter so she could bake challah for the family every Shabbat and have a recipe to call her own. This is the best tasting challah. She has followed the recipe ..." See moreexactly and it comes out great every time. She recently made this challah for another family and they were asking for the recipe. Thanks for sharing!"