Learn how to make gluten free challah with an easy and effortless recipe! Challah bread is slightly sweet with a golden, shiny crust and soft, tender crumb. This make-ahead, overnight recipe makes the perfect addition to your holiday table!
Gluten free Challah recipe
If you are Jewish, or simply love the taste of an egg-enriched sweet bread, than this easy gluten free challah recipe is for you!
Traditionally challah represents a shiny braided loaf, similar tasting to brioche or Hawaiian bread, but baked to celebrate the Jewish sabbath and major holidays. It also works well for french toast, bread pudding, breakfast casseroles, grilled cheese, or to dunk in spinach artichoke dip.
braiding challah
Typically challah is braided to represent significance in the Torah. However, as you can see from the pictures, this recipe for gluten free challah is not braided.
Through developing this recipe I did give a valiant effort to shape and braid it like traditional challah. However, to compensate for the lack of elasticity in gluten free flour, so much more had to be added to make a pliable dough. Even then it was very frustrating to work with, had inconsistent results, and made for a very dense, heavy crumb.
I am not Jewish, and was more concerned about replicating the sweet, airy taste and texture than following tradition. This gluten free challah recipe is pretty straightforward and simple to make, but if you want to streamline your effort even more, simply dump the dough in two 8X4 loaf pans to rise and bake.
If you would like to give a more decorative top, spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut through in a star pattern before the second rise. This will mimic the humps without having to roll and shape the dough.
Ingredients needed
The only speciality item needed for gluten free challah bread is psyllium husk powder, which helps maintain moisture and prevents the bread from becoming crumbly. It’s pretty affordable to buy and really helps mimic regular bread’s structure. I also use it in my soft, white gluten free sandwich bread recipe or can be added to gluten free biscuits.
- Gluten-free all purpose flour – I use and recommend Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour
- Sugar
- Instant yeast (rapid rise)
- Psyllium Husk Powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Water
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
How to make Gluten-free challah
Make-ahead challah requires an overnight rise in the refrigerator so be sure to prepare the dough the day before you need to bake it. Rising overnight in the fridge, makes a softer texture with a more enriched flavor.
(Note: This is a step-by-step tutorial with pictures. For more specific instructions, along with ingredient amounts, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the gluten-free flour, sugar, yeast, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed.
- Add the water, oil, eggs, and egg yolk and mix to combine. Then, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 4 minutes.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough into the center of the bowl. Cover securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake, line baking sheets with parchment or spray two 8X4 loaf pans. Divide the dough between the loaf pans or into two loosely shaped balls on the baking sheets. Spray your hands with cooking spray, and shape the dough into smooth balls or smooth the top of loaves evenly.
- If you would like to give a more decorative top, spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut through in a star pattern. This will mimic the humps without having to roll and shape the dough.
- Spray two large pieces of plastic wrap with cooking spray and then cover the loaves. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Use a pastry brush to brush the loaves thoroughly with the egg wash. Reserve the remaining egg wash for later use.
- Place the bread in the hot oven and immediately turn down the heat to 325ºF. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and rebrush with the egg wash. Return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes. If the top of the bread becomes too brown, loosely cover with foil for the last 10 minutes. The interior temperature of the bread should be at 205ºF.
- Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. For best results, serve the same day and freeze any leftovers.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No. To make this recipe extremely easy, simply divide the dough between loaf pans. If you would like to give a more decorative top, spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut through in a star pattern before the second rise.
Generally a low, slow rise makes for a richer, better tasting end result. With gluten free bread it is even more helpful because it gives a softer texture with a more enhanced flavor.
Brushing the bread with an egg wash gives an ultra shiny crust. To make it really stand out, I brush the bread twice – once before baking and once halfway through.
Usually I test baking recipes with a couple different gluten free flours to see how they compare. However, for this one I went straight for Cup 4 Cup since I had done a thorough testing in my white gluten free bread recipe.
I do want to point out that Cup 4 Cup does contain a small amount of milk powder in it, since traditional challah recipes are dairy free. Check out this helpful article on gluten free flours to see how they compare and which allergens they contain.
Like other gluten free breads, this challah recipe has a short shelf life. I recommend enjoying it the same day it is baked and freezing any leftovers.
Challah may be frozen whole or sliced. Either way, make sure the bread is protected, wrapped securely, and freeze up to 3 months.
This challah recipe makes two loaves, which is about 24 servings. Since challah has a short shelf life, either freeze leftovers immediately or use for gluten free bread pudding.
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Gluten-Free Challah
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cup gluten free all purpose flour, I recommend using Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour (455g)
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (19g) instant (rapid rise) yeast
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) psyllium husk powder,
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt or kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cup (300ml) water
- ½ cup (120ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs + 1 yolk
- egg wash: 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the gluten-free flour, sugar, yeast, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, and salt. Use a paddle beater attachment to blend on low speed.
- Add the water, oil, eggs, and egg yolk. Mix the liquids in on low speed. Scrape the bowl and beater down, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 4 minutes.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough into the center of the bowl. Cover securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake, line two baking sheets with parchment or spray two 8X4 loaf pans. Divide the dough between the loaf pans or into two loosely shaped balls on the baking sheets. Spray your hands with cooking spray, and shape the dough into smooth balls or smooth the top of loaves evenly.
- If you would like to give a more decorative top, spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut through in a star pattern. You might have to wipe the blade several times and respray.
- Spray two large pieces of plastic wrap with cooking spray and then cover the loaves. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Use a pastry brush to brush the loaves thoroughly with the egg wash. Reserve the remaining egg wash for later use.
- Place the bread in the hot oven and immediately turn down the heat to 325ºF. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and rebrush with the egg wash. Return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes. If the top of the bread becomes too brown, loosely cover with foil for the last 10 minutes. The interior temperature of the bread should be at 205ºF.
- Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. For best results, serve the same day and freeze any leftovers.
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