6 Braided Challah Bread Recipe
There is no more beautiful way to fancy up your dinner table than displaying a 6 braided challah bread, especially during the holidays. You can't go wrong making this 6 braided challah bread even if it is your very first time. This post is full of step-by-step instructions including photos and a video clip showing how to braid a 6 strand bread.
Ingredients
For the Yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tsp dry active yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
For the Dough
- 4 to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
For Brushing the Dough Before Baking
- 1 small egg
Instructions
For the Yeast
- Dissolve the dry active yeast and sugar in the warm water and let rest for 10 minutes until foamy and the yeast is activated.
For the Dough
- Add flour, sugar, and salt into the activated yeast mixture and mix well until a shaggy dough forms.
- Make a well in the center of the shaggy dough and add in the eggs and oil and mix well.
Kneading the Dough
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes adding small amounts of flour while kneading until the dough forms a smooth dough ball.
Rising Time
- Place the dough ball in a greased dish and cover it with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
Braiding the 6 Braided Challah Bread
- Start by dividing your dough into six equal parts and roll them out into equally lengthening ropes. Pinch all top ends together at the top and fold underneath to secure the braid.
- Start with the first strand on the left and bring it over top toward the right.
- Take the last rope on the right and bring it over toward the left.
- Throughout the braiding process, you will always have two strands out to the sides at the top and four strands down at the bottom. You will braid from between the four strands on the bottom.
- Take the right top strand and bring it in between the four bottom strands.
- Grab the first strand from the four strands at the bottom and bring it toward the right at the top.
- Then take the top left strand and bring it down in between the four bottom strands.
- Bring the last bottom strand toward the top left side.
- Continue this braiding pattern all the way to the end of the strands and tuck the last parts underneath to seal the end of the braid.
Second Rise
- Fluff your 6 braided challah bread gently like a pillow to secure the braids together. Fluff and squish all the sides together in a very gentle way. Start fluffing the sides and gently squish them together and then do the same to the top and bottom ends.
- Lightly place a sprayed plastic wrap over the braided dough. Allow the dough to rise for thirty minutes until it is poofed up nicely and doubled in size.
For the Egg Wash
- Crack your egg into a bowl and whisk it until smooth and brush it over the bread with a pastry brush. Be sure to give it a good egg wash all over because this is how you will achieve a gorgeous golden color during the baking process.
Baking the Bread
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow to cooling completely before slicing into the bread with a serrated bread knife.