Jeremy and I have been consuming all of the baking shows over the past year. My personal favorite is The Great British Baking Show (no surprise there) and it’s really inspired me to stretch my baking and cooking skills!
If you know me, you know I have plenty of practice baking up all the sweets, but I haven’t spent a whole lot of time trying my hand at bread. Most of what I’ve done has been quick and easy, requiring little to no attention to detail.
This fall, I started experimenting a little more and now, bread-making is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen! Especially when it comes to making it look as good as it tastes.
Enter, challah. Challah is a traditional Jewish bread served during special occasions, and is sometimes known as “egg bread” as it relies on eggs to make. So, I initially thought myself crazy when I pondered whether it could be made vegan. But friends, what can’t be made vegan these days? All thanks to the thousands of bakers and chefs (both pro and hobbyists) who spend hours in their kitchens experimenting and tweaking recipes until they discover how to make whatever it is work without eggs or dairy, or meat, of course!
And so, I came across this recipe from The Spruce Eats for vegan challah, which uses a maple syrup and non-dairy glaze to give the bread that shiny, golden-brown finish and a great flavor, and got straight to work.
Friends, this is seriously so easy. The hardest part is the waiting time between kneading, but even then, this bread is still done in just a few hours! Put on your aprons and break out the flour… you’re going to want to make this right now.
Sweet & Savory Vegan Challah
Recipe via The Spruce Eats
Ingredients
For the Challah:
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
For the Glaze & Topping:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons non-dairy milk
- Handful of everything seasoning
Directions
- Place the warm water in a large bowl or stand mixer. Add a pinch of the sugar to the bowl, and sprinkle with the yeast. Set aside in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is foamy. Note: If your yeast doesn’t proof properly, discard the mixture and start again with fresh yeast.
- With a hand whisk or the mixer’s whisk attachment, mix in the sugar, oil, 2 cups of flour, and salt. Switch to a sturdy wooden spoon or the mixer’s dough hook and add the remaining flour, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition until a shaggy dough forms and begins to pull into a ball. Note: You might or might not need the last 1/2 cup of flour. If the dough is very wet or sticky, add it. If not, use some of it to dust your work surface.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. With clean, floured hands, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, 5-10 minutes. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes while you clean and dry the large mixing bowl. Grease the inside of the bowl with a bit of oil. Place the challah dough in the bowl and turn to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the dough has risen to at least double its bulk, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Punch the dough down. Lightly grease one or two baking sheets, or line with parchment paper. Shape or braid the dough as desired. Here are some great bread braiding tips! Note: The recipe will make one large challah, two medium challahs, one medium challah plus 6 challah rolls, or 12 challah rolls.
- Place the shaped challah and/or rolls on the baking sheet(s) and cover with clean, dry tea towels. Allow to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. While the oven is heating, make the maple wash by whisking together the maple syrup and non-dairy milk. Brush over the challah with a pastry brush. If using everything seasoning, sprinkle on now! Bake the challah until the crust is a deep golden brown, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 30-40 minutes for a large challah, 25-30 minutes for a medium challah, and 15-20 minutes for rolls. Cool on a wire rack.
For the savory version, I just sprinkled a healthy amount of Trader Joe’s “Everything But the Bagel Seasoning” on top (see how to make your own here). With the everything seasoning on top, you’ll get a really savory flavor, even with the maple syrup coating. Without the seasoning, you’ll get a lightly sweet flavor.
I found this video from Molly Yeh to be really helpful when braiding the rounded loaf.
Even though this recipe results in some pretty large loaves, I can guarantee the bread will go FAST. You might consider making a second batch, just to be safe – especially if you’re taking it to a family dinner or holiday gathering.
Both versions are good enough to eat on their own (we rarely ever use butter or olive oil for dipping), but I imagine the regular version (the loaf without the everything seasoning) would be absolutely delicious with a dollop of jam or a spread of nut butter for breakfast or a pick-me-up treat!
Happy bread-making, friends!
xo, Aly