Festive challah

What is challah bread?

Challah bread is traditional Jewish bread, often eaten at holiday times. The bread has a lovely sweetness with the added raisins and honey. This is a simple challah bread recipe, as it uses a bread maker to create the dough.

What makes challah bread different to normal bread?

Challah is unique to other breads, as it doesn't contain any dairy to keep it kosher. It is also braided which gives it its interesting appearance. Challah is a sweet bread rather than savoury, usually containing raisins and honey.

How is challah bread different to brioche?

Challah is a yeast bread that is enriched with eggs, similar to brioche. The biggest difference between challah bread dough and brioche dough is that brioche contains a lot of butter and sugar, while challah is made with oil. Even though challah bread is made without sugar, it is still delicious and sweet due to the sweetness of added raisins and honey.

How should I eat challah bread?

Challah bread is often enjoyed on major Jewish holidays. As it is drizzled with honey, it can be eaten on its own an enjoyed as a sweet snack. You can also try toasting it, using it to make French toast, or even a bread pudding.