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    Home » Blogging Marathon » Braided Eggless Challah Bread

    Braided Eggless Challah Bread

    Posted on April 4, 2017 · Last Updated on June 7, 2022 · By Srividhya G · 31 Comments

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    Eggless Challah Bread collage with text overlay

    This Braided Eggless Challah Bread is an eggless version of the famous Jewish braided Shabbat challah bread.

    Braided Eggless Challah Bread ready and served with a big colorful towel to the right

    Braided Eggless Challah Bread

    The third recipe that I am going to share today is Braided Eggless Challah Bread. Its classic version is popularly known as Shabbat challah. It’s a Hebrew word, and it pronounced as Hallah. The braided bread is famous in Israel and pretty much among all the Jewish communities worldwide. There are different names for this bread, and it is known by various names in different countries.

    This Challah bread is a part of the traditional Sabbath meal. Today I am presenting the Eggless version of this challah bread with a single braid, and so with this recipe, the yeast bread series begins too. :-)

    I have posted yeast based no knead whole wheat bread during 2015 bakethon. And here is my second bread recipe after two years. :-) I am not sure what kept me away from baking these breads. After preparing few types of bread for this marathon, here is my thought about bread baking. In my opinion, bread baking is not difficult but its time consuming, especially when the recipe calls for double, triple rise.

    Holding one Braided Eggless Challah Bread in the right hand with another one blurred in the background

    Bread Baking

    Before starting my bread baking, I read quite a few articles about yeast and dough kneading and how long we can keep the dough after the rise, refrigerating the raised dough, etc., etc. There is a stack exchange forum for bread baking too. :-) But as always practical knowledge helps a lot, and the same thing happened with breads too. I understood a lot about yeast and dough rose when I tried on my own.

    There is a lot to learn and master but here is my first braided bread attempt, and honestly, I was quite happy with the result. Vaandu and M enjoyed this bread, and I baked two loaves of bread(Challah and one more) back to back, and this one was the first one to get over. PS – 

    Challah Bread Planning

    As I mentioned, baking bread consumes time, but if you plan well ahead it’s very easy to prepare, and as we are dealing with yeast, temperature plays a significant role in the dough rise which in turn affects the time too. For this bread, it took me about 2.5 hours for the dough to rise, and I let it sit for half an hour as I had to run out for an errand. For other bread, it took me 2 hours and in some case the dough raised nicely within 1.5 hours. So the temperature plays a significant role. I baked all the bread during day time.

    What I also read was that you could leave the dough for up to 1.5 to 2 hours after the rise. Beyond that, even though the dough might be edible, you might lose the structure, and dough would collapse. Hence planning is the key while baking these bread.

    Recap Before the Recipe

    • 2015 | Day 3 – Strawberry Dates Loops
    • 2016 | Day 3 – Cauliflower Kurma Kuzhambu
    • 2017 | Day 3 – C | Challah

    I followed the recipe from here and went with the same measurements but made a single straight braid instead. But you can join the ends and make it into a circular braided bread, or even add multiple twists. Without any further ado, here is the Braided Eggless Challah Bread that I’ve prepared.

    Perfect texture of the Braided Eggless Challah Bread ready to be served

    Eggless Braided Challah Bread Recipe

    Ingredients:

    For yeast proofing:

    • Lukewarm water – ¼ cup
    • Sugar – ¼ tsp
    • Active dry yeast – 1 packet  or 2 ¼ tsp
    • Canola oil – ¼ cup

    For the bread:

    • All purpose flour – 3 cups + as required
    • Sugar – ¼ cup
    • Salt – ½ tsp
    • Water – ¾ cup

    For Brushing:

    • Maple Syrup – 3 tbsps
    • Poppy Seeds – 2 tbsps

    Steps:

    Yeast Proofing:

    Adding sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water to start the process of making an eggless challah bread

    • Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes.
    • After 10 minutes, the water will be bubbly and frothy. (In parallel sieve the dough as mentioned below)
    • To this add the canola oil and mix with a wood spoon or with the back of the wooden ladle.
    • The yeast mixture is ready.

    Preparing the dough:

    Sieve the flour, sugar, salt in a wide mixing bowl

    • While the yeast doing its magic, in a wide mixing bowl sieve the flour, sugar, salt.
    • Add the yeast mixture and mix the dough gently.
    • Now slowly add water (2 tbsps. at a time) and start mixing the dough to form a ball.
    • If the dough is sticky, add more flour or if it’s too dry add more water.
    • Grease a big vessel with sufficient room for the dough to rise with oil.
    • Spread some oil on top of the dough too. Keep this dough in the greased vessel and wrap it with cling film and set aside.
    • I kept it inside my oven. It took me 2.5 hours for the dough rise.

    Kneading:

    Removing the cling film and punching the dough down

    • Once the dough has raised, remove the cling film and punch it down.
    • Knead it on lightly floured surface for 10 minutes to build the gluten content and to remove all the air pockets. This also helps in the bread texture.

    Braiding:

    Rolling the dough into a single log and dividing it into three equal portions

    • Roll the dough into a single log and divide it into three equal portions.
    • Now roll the individual sized portions into a log like below and set them all in parallel.

    Rolling individual sized portions into logs and setting them all in parallel

    • I went with single braid and started from the middle like below.

    Bringing the three logs together and sealing them

    • Once you reach the edge, bring the three logs together and seal them and follow the same on the other side too.

    Sealing the logs on the other side, too

    • You can now bring the edges together and make into a circle, but I left it in this way.

    The log ready to bring the edges to make a circle

    Second Rise & Maple Syrup Brushing:

    Placing the braided bread on a baking tray lined with parchment paper

    • Now carefully place this braided bread on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
    • Let it sit for 30 minutes allowing the dough to rise again.
    • When it is past 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 deg C.
    • After 30 minutes, brush the bread with maple syrup and drizzle some poppy seeds. Your eggless challah bread is reaady for baking!

    Brushing the eggless challah bread with maple syrup

    Baking:

    • Bake this bread for 25 minutes and after 25 minutes, brush it with maple syrup one more time and bake again for 5 minutes at 350 deg F.

    That’s it. :-) Allow your braided eggless challah bread to cool and enjoy! The bread stayed fresh for up to 4 days. I did not refrigerate it for the first two days, but I did later. Just warm the bread up before serving.

    Braided Eggless Challah Bread looking delicious and inviting - straight out of the oven

    Notes:

    • Temperature plays a significant role in dough rise so wait patiently but during warm weather check the dough after an hour.
    • Kneading for at least 10 minutes is important after the raise.
    • The original challah bread recipe calls for 1 cup of water, but I used only about a ¾ cup. The quality of the flour plays a role here, so add water little by little while forming the dough.
    • If you are using instant yeast, no proofing is required. You can directly add it to the flour. In that case, add more water.
    • You can replace maple syrup with honey.

    Enjoying Braided Eggless Challah Bread? You will love these, too:

    • Vanocka Bread | Czech Braided Christmas Bread | Eggless Vánočka
    • Mandelbrot | Mandel Bread | Eggless Almond Biscotti
    • Ellu Urundai | Nut Free Sesame Seed Balls | 2 in 1 recipe
    • All Breads

    PS – I have few easy bread recipe too. Check out how to make zaatar bread, simple white bread, focaccia.

    📖 Recipe

    Overhead shot of the Braided Eggless Challah Bread on a wooden table
    Pin Recipe Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Challah Bread | Eggless Braided Challah

    This Braided Eggless Challah Bread is an eggless version of the famous Jewish braided Shabbat challah bread.
    Prep Time5 hours hrs
    Cook Time30 minutes mins
    Total Time5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Course: Breads
    Cuisine: Jewish
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 584kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Ingredients

    For yeast proofing

    • ¼ cup Lukewarm water
    • ¼ tsp Sugar
    • 1 packet Active dry yeast or 2 ¼ tsp
    • ¼ cup Canola oil

    For the bread

    • 3 cups All purpose flour + as required
    • ¼ cup Sugar -
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • ¾ cup Water

    For Brushing

    • 3 tbsps Maple Syrup
    • 2 tbsps Poppy Seeds

    Instructions

    Yeast Proofing

    • Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes.
    • After 10 minutes, the water will be bubbly and frothy. (In parallel sieve the dough as mentioned below)
    • To this add the canola oil and mix with a wood spoon or with the back of the wooden ladle.
    • The yeast mixture is ready.

    Preparing the dough

    • While the yeast doing its magic, in a wide mixing bowl sieve the flour, sugar, salt.
    • Add the yeast mixture and mix the dough gently.
    • Now slowly add water (2 tbsps. at a time) and start mixing the dough to form a ball.
    • If the dough is sticky, add more flour or if it’s too dry add more water.
    • Grease a big vessel with sufficient room for the dough to rise with oil.
    • Spread some oil on top of the dough too. Keep this dough in the greased vessel and wrap it with cling film and set aside.
    • I kept it inside my oven. It took me 2.5 hours for the dough rise.

    Kneading

    • Once the dough has raised, remove the cling film and punch it down.
    • Knead it on lightly floured surface for 10 minutes to build the gluten content and to remove all the air pockets. This also helps in the bread texture.

    Braiding

    • Roll the dough into a single log and divide it into three equal portions.
    • Now roll the individual sized portions into a log like below and set them all in parallel.
    • I went with single braid and started from the middle like below.
    • Once you reach the edge, bring the three logs together and seal them and follow the same on the other side too.
    • You can now bring the edges together and make into a circle, but I left it in this way.

    Second Rise & Maple Syrup Brushing

    • Now carefully place this braided bread on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
    • Let it sit for 30 minutes allowing the dough to rise again.
    • When it is past 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 deg C.
    • After 30 minutes, brush the bread with maple syrup and drizzle some poppy seeds.

    Baking

    • Bake this bread for 25 minutes and after 25 minutes, brush it with maple syrup one more time and bake again for 5 minutes at 350 deg F.
    • That’s it. :-) Allow it cool and enjoy! The bread stayed fresh for up to 4 days. I did not refrigerate for the first two days, but later I did. Just warm it up before serving.

    Notes

    • Temperature plays a significant role in dough rise so wait patiently but during warm weather check the dough after an hour.
    • Kneading for at least 10 minutes is important after the raise.
    • The original recipe calls for 1 cup of water, but I used only about a ¾ cup. The quality of the flour plays a role here, so add water little by little while forming the dough.
    • If you are using instant yeast, no proofing is required. You can directly add it to the flour. In that case, add more water.
    • You can replace maple syrup with honey.
    • Adapted from The Challah Blog

    Nutrition

    Calories: 584kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 299mg | Potassium: 183mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 22g | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 5mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel

    Bake around the world banner

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 75.

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    Filed Under: Blogging Marathon, Breads Tagged With: Blogging Marathon, braided challah bread, bread, bread recipes, challah bread, eggless bakes, eggless challah, eggless challah bread recipe, eggless challah bread with maple syrup glazing and poppy seeds, how to prepare eggless challah, jewish bread, shabbat challah, shabbat challah bread

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sapana says

      May 17, 2017 at 1:39 pm

      Again this bread scares me totally. Looking at yours I should try this.Bookmarked

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 18, 2017 at 7:58 am

        You rocked with your Vanocka.. This should be easy for you… Try it out Sapana.

        Reply
    2. Jackie says

      May 09, 2017 at 6:13 pm

      This loaf looks beautiful!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 11, 2017 at 7:58 am

        Thanks

        Reply
    3. Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says

      May 09, 2017 at 8:46 am

      Yum!! Ive never made challah bread before but this looks great!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 11, 2017 at 7:57 am

        Thank you Liz.

        Reply
    4. ruchi indu says

      April 24, 2017 at 3:15 am

      another C for challah. Your braide has come out perfectly.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 24, 2017 at 8:14 am

        Thanks a lot Ruchi.

        Reply
    5. Pavani says

      April 06, 2017 at 12:23 pm

      Gorgeous loaf of bread Vidhya. Beautifully braided and lovely crumb.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 06, 2017 at 7:25 pm

        Thanks much Pavani.

        Reply
    6. Veena Krishnakumar says

      April 05, 2017 at 11:17 am

      That is a beautiful braid and a lovely colour. Looks perfectly baked.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 05, 2017 at 2:37 pm

        Thanks a lot Veena.

        Reply
    7. pumpkinfarmfood says

      April 05, 2017 at 10:18 am

      so neatly done Vidhya, you got a nice color for the bread too..

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 05, 2017 at 2:38 pm

        Thanks Pradnya

        Reply
    8. Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner says

      April 05, 2017 at 9:07 am

      Looks awesome,I so love that golden crust!!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 05, 2017 at 2:39 pm

        Thanks Sharmila

        Reply
    9. Srivalli Jetti says

      April 04, 2017 at 11:34 pm

      Oh that Challah looks stunning Srividhya, very good attempt. Hopefully after this success you will be more regular in bread baking..:)

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 05, 2017 at 2:45 pm

        Oh yeah hoping so Valli. Thanks a lot.

        Reply
    10. Traditionally Modern Food says

      April 04, 2017 at 9:41 pm

      I have never used yeast, for some reason i m kind of scared to give it a try. bread turned out wel Sri

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 05, 2017 at 2:47 pm

        Thanks ma. When it comes to yeast, I was like that too.. Give it try da..

        Reply
    11. Harini-Jaya R says

      April 04, 2017 at 11:09 am

      Beautiful braided bread. I wanted to bake this as well for the letter C. But went ahead with Ciabatta!!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 04, 2017 at 2:35 pm

        Ohh ok.. Thanks Harini.

        Reply
    12. Priya Suresh says

      April 04, 2017 at 10:17 am

      How wonderful those challah breads looks. Wish to slice those beauties and enjoy with some nutella spread. Challah rocks Vidhya.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 04, 2017 at 2:36 pm

        oh wow.. yum with nutella.

        Reply
    13. Sowmya:) says

      April 04, 2017 at 10:03 am

      Same pinch to you too Srividhya. Your challah looks gorgeous with a beautiful braid and a lovely colour. Kudos! Do bake bread more frequently

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 04, 2017 at 2:37 pm

        he he.. Thanks Sowmya. Yes, got to bake more breads.

        Reply
    14. Namratha says

      April 04, 2017 at 8:15 am

      Gorgeous braid on the challah! Beautiful clicks.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 04, 2017 at 8:54 am

        Thanks Namratha.

        Reply
    15. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      April 04, 2017 at 7:19 am

      That is a great braided challah and love how perfect the braids look. I agree that we need to plan well for bread baking. I find that on the days I am baking breads, I end up staying home all day. The challah has a great texture despite being eggless. Bookmarking to try this soon.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 04, 2017 at 8:54 am

        Thanks a lot Sandhya… That’s what I did for my other breads. Ended up staying home.

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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    Hello all, I am Srividhya, the person behind this blog. I firmly believe that the mouth is the way to the heart. My blog is all about vegetarian and vegan food with unique and exciting recipes from all over the world. From traditional, authentic recipes to fusion and eggless bakes, you can find it all here! Read more →

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