Traditional challah from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

  • instant yeast
    Instant yeast appears similar to active dry yeast, but has smaller granules with substantially higher percentages of live cells per comparable unit volumes. It is more perishable than active dry yeast, but also does not require rehydration, and can usually be added directly to all but the driest doughs. Instant yeast generally has a small amount of ascorbic acid added as a preservative. (Wikipedia) Buy Now
  • apple cider vinegar
  • Show all ingredients...

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Notes about this recipe

  • anya_sf on November 15, 2025

    My sponge fermented overnight. The sticky dough never pulled away from the mixer or got visibly smooth despite mixing much longer. Worked fine in the end though. I thought the shaped loaf rose until doubled but there was still a lot of oven spring. It was enormous! Checked at the earliest time, it was already done. I neglected to tent with foil. The top was dark but fine, but the bottom was a little too dark; would skip the baking steel. Texture and flavor were great.

  • Zosia on January 23, 2021

    This is a gorgeous bread, both in flavour and texture: it’s light and airy with the perfect level of sweetness for my family’s tastes.

  • ashallen on June 14, 2020

    From the author's website: In the CHALLAH on page 517, when making the sponge add the yeast listed in the ingredients. In all breads, when making a starter that you plan to have sit for more than 4 hours, refrigerate it after the first hour at room temperature.

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