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What is Challah?

Challah is a loaf of (typically) braided bread of Jewish origin made from simple ingredients. From what I understand, it is enjoyed on the Sabbath and festival occasions and holds a lot of symbolism. I’m not well versed enough on the subject to expound upon it here. In case you are wondering, I am not Jewish – I just really love and appreciate Challah!

Why Einkorn Challah?

The reason I chose to develop a recipe for Einkorn Challah Bread was out of necessity: I have a sensitivity to modern wheat and cannot tolerate dairy well. I also wanted a recipe that used a healthy oil and sweetener as opposed to canola oil and refined sugar. I’m hoping this recipe will serve you well if you have similar wishes and needs!

About Einkorn Flour

You can buy milled einkorn flour or whole berries that you mill yourself. I purchase my milled all-purpose einkorn flour, by Jovial Foods, from several places: Thrive Market, Amazon, and my local grocery store (I’m so pleased they carry it!). Please note this recipe is for the all-purpose einkorn, not the whole wheat.

You may be wondering why I chose einkorn for this recipe – what is einkorn, even? Einkorn is considered to be the “original wheat.” Modern wheat and flour we use today has been greatly altered and bred over the centuries and is a different product than wheat used to be. Einkorn is generally considered more nutritious, lower in gluten, and it’s incredibly delicious too! That being said, you can’t always just substitute it one-for-one in place of modern all-purpose flour as it handles a little differently.

Measuring Ingredients for Einkorn Challah

I’ve included both imperial (e.g. teaspoon) measurements as well as metric (e.g. grams) measurements for your convenience. I fully recommend weighing your ingredients on a food scale such as the one I have, as it will give you the most consistent outcome.

How to Make Einkorn Challah Bread

Ingredients

530 grams all-purpose einkorn flour (4 cups)
13 grams salt (2 teaspoons)
14 grams active dry yeast (1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
200 mL warm water, plus extra for brushing (¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons)
55 grams coconut oil, melted, plus extra for prepping bowl (¼ cup)
75 grams honey (3 Tablespoons)
2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save the white for brushing the bread!)
poppy seeds, optional

How to Make Einkorn Challah

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the einkorn flour, salt, and yeast.
2. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the warm (not hot!) water, melted coconut oil, honey, eggs, and yolk. Be sure to set aside the extra egg white in a bowl in the refrigerator for later.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. With dough hook attached, knead on low speed for several minutes until a wet and sticky dough forms. You will want to pause once or twice to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Be sure to check under the dough for unincorporated flour.
4. Once the ingredients are fully combined, let the dough rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. This gives the einkorn a chance to absorb more of the liquid.
5. While the dough is resting, grease a medium-large bowl with coconut oil. This will be the bowl for your dough’s first rise.
6. Once the dough has rested, lightly flour a clean surface with einkorn flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface using a spatula to scrape it out of the bowl. Don’t worry that it’s so sticky – it will be okay!
7. Lightly flour the top of the dough as well. Gently form the dough into a round and place it in the greased bowl. Flip it over once so that both the top and bottom of the dough are now greased. Cover with a cotton tea towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm (not hot!) location. Let rest 1.5-2 hours. It should double in size.
8. Once the dough is finished resting, turn it back out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper (dough scraper), divide the dough into 3 even portions.
9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently pull each section of dough into a long strip (no longer than the baking sheet) and place on the parchment lined baking sheet parallel to one another.
10. Braid the 3 sections. I find it helpful to start in the middle and work my way toward the ends. When finished braiding, tuck the ends under.
11. Cover with a cotton tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour in a warm location.
12. When 1 hour is nearly finished preheat oven to 350 °F.
13. Take the saved egg white out of the refrigerator and whisk it together with 1 Tablespoon of water. Gently brush the mixture all over the top of the dough using a pastry brush. Sprinkle the dough with poppy seeds, if desired.
14. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until bread is golden. Internal temperature should be about 180 °F
15. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Get the recipe!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Einkorn Challah Bread (Egg Bread)

A fresh take on a classic Jewish egg bread using delicious and healthy einkorn flour! Enjoy it fresh out of the oven, toasted with jam, as a sandwich, or as French toast!

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Rising Time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish

Keyword: bread, challah, dairy free, egg, einkorn, jewish

Author: Melissa Kalbfleisch – Hymns & Home

Equipment

• Stand Mixer with Dough Hook (Can mix by hand, but it will increase prep time.)

Ingredients

• 530 grams all-purpose einkorn flour (4 cups)
• 13 grams salt (2 teaspoons)
• 14 grams active dry yeast (1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
• 200 mL warm water, plus extra for brushing (¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons)
• 55 grams coconut oil, melted, plus extra for prepping bowl (¼ cup)
• 75 grams honey (3 Tablespoons)
• 2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save the white for brushing the bread!)
• poppy seeds, optional

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the einkorn flour, salt, and yeast.
• In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the warm (not hot!) water, melted coconut oil, honey, eggs, and yolk. Be sure to set aside the extra egg white in a bowl in the refrigerator for later.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. With dough hook attached, knead on low speed for several minutes until a wet and sticky dough forms. You will want to pause once or twice to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Be sure to check under the dough for unincorporated flour.
• Once the ingredients are fully combined, let the dough rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. This gives the einkorn a chance to absorb more of the liquid.
• While the dough is resting, grease a medium-large bowl with coconut oil. This will be the bowl for your dough's first rise.
• Once the dough has rested, lightly flour a clean surface with einkorn flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface using a spatula to scrape it out of the bowl. Don't worry that it's so sticky – it will be okay!
• Lightly flour the top of the dough as well. Gently form the dough into a round and place it in the greased bowl. Flip it over once so that both the top and bottom of the dough are now greased. Cover with a cotton tea towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm (not hot!) location. Let rest 1.5-2 hours. It should double in size.
• Once the dough is finished resting, turn it back out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper (dough scraper), divide the dough into 3 even portions.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently pull each section of dough into a long strip (no longer than the baking sheet) and place on the parchment lined baking sheet parallel to one another.
• Braid the 3 sections. I find it helpful to start in the middle and work my way toward the ends. When finished braiding, tuck the ends under.
• Cover with a cotton tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour in a warm location.
• When 1 hour is nearly finished preheat oven to 350 °F.
• Take the saved egg white out of the refrigerator and whisk it together with 1 Tablespoon of water. Gently brush the mixture all over the top of the dough using a pastry brush. Sprinkle the dough with poppy seeds, if desired.
• Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until bread is golden. Internal temperature should be about 180 °F
• Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes

This challah is excellent in so many forms! Eat it with honey, butter and jam, toast it, use it for a sandwich (turkey and avocado is fantastic with it), and when it starts to get a little stale it makes wonderful French toast!

Did you enjoy this recipe? Try these other einkorn recipes!

• 
  Einkorn Challah Bread Recipe (Egg Bread – Dairy Free)
• 
  Banana Chocolate Chip Einkorn Muffins (Naturally Dairy Free!)
• 
  Almond Einkorn Cake With Vanilla Almond Buttercream Frosting

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