Challah bread is a Jewish classic and today we are making a vegan challah bread that is just as delicious! Perfect for making french toast.
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Before we went vegan we used to get challah or brioche and make french toast often. The time has come to perfect some vegan challah bread recipe and you are going to fall in love.
Now, you don’t have to make french toast with it. In fact, it’s delicious no matter if you are eating it plain or you are making something out of it like a sandwich or french toast.
Challah Bread pronunciation
If you are wondering how you say challah – it’s pronounced “hal-la”. The ch doesn’t not make a “chuh” sound but rather the C is silent.
So what is vegan challah bread?
Oh I’m so glad you asked. First let’s taste a look at what challah is.
What is Challah?
Challah is a speciality bread in Jewish culture. It is braided and eaten on Shabbat and some major Jewish holidays. It does not contain dairy typically, but does contain eggs.
The end result is this stunning masterpiece of soft, light, airy, and fluffy bread that is simply incredible. Eat it in slices.
What does Challah Bread taste like?
Challah, whether vegan or not, tastes similar to brioche if you are familiar. It’s rich and spongy with a little sweetness. Soft, sweet, and delicious are great ways to describe it.
Challah Bread ingredients
- Flour – we prefer bread flour for this recipe because it helps improve the texture of the bread
- Vegan Cane Sugar – this bread does have some sweetness to it, but the sugar also helps to form the gluten strands and get our yeast to rise.
- Instant Yeast – we like using instant yeast in our recipe because it is easier to work with, especially for those baking for the first time.
- Salt – not only enhances the flavor, but helps with the structure of the bread and improving color
- Mashed Sweet Potato – our sweet potato is adding the classic yellow color you see in an enriched bread like this as well as acting as the egg that is traditionally in this recipe
- Vegan Butter – adds moisture, richness, flavor, and helps the structure of the bread
- Maple Syrup and Non-Dairy Milk
Substitutions
- Flour – you can also use all-purpose flour if you need too. We do not recommend using gluten free flours or blends to make gluten free with this recipe at this time.
- Vegan Cane Sugar – you could also use ½ cane and ½ brown sugar or granulated coconut or date sugar as well
- Instant Yeast – you can also use active dry yeast as well, just note that it may take a little longer to rise
- Mashed Sweet Potato – white or yellow potatoes or mashed pumpkin will also work in this recipe
- Vegan Butter – it will not be as rich in flavor, but a neutral oil will also work here
- Maple Syrup and Non-Dairy Milk – this is a vegan egg wash, you can omit the syrup and just do the milk if desired
How to make Challah
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set bowl aside. In a second bowl (preferably a stand mixer bowl if you have one), add the mashed potato, vegan butter and water. Whisk together until combined.
- With the paddle attachment, add dry mix in two separate batches. Then, switch to the dough hook and add the remaining dry mix into the bowl. Combining just until mixed. Let knead for 8-10 minutes or until it doesn’t stick to the bowl. It will pull away from the bowl – still slightly sticky but not sticking to your hands.
- Spray bowl, form into a ball and place ball inside. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 60-90 minutes in a warm, draft free place until doubled. Punch it down. Let rise again for 40-60 minutes until doubled again.
- Uncover, punch down again and take out. Cut dough into 6 equal pieces – using a scale if possible. Roll each section into a 16 inch log, tappering the ends (making them smaller).
*See notes if you would rather do a 3 strand braid instead of 6. - Lay all 6 logs in front of you vertically.
- At the top pinch 3 logs together and then pinch together the remaining 3 together. Then pinch the two sections together (see video for visual)
- Think of each strand as a number. Far left will be 1 and far right will be 6. Cross the two outer strands (1 and 6).
- Move strand 1 to the middle, crossing over strands 2 and 3. Cross strand 5 over 4, 3, 2, 1 to be on the far left.
- Then cross strand 6 over 5 and 4 to be in the middle. Finally cross strand 2, over 3, 4, 5, and 6 to be on the far right. Repeat the above steps until you reach the bottom of your bread. Pinch the ends, and tuck them underneath the bread (on both ends).
- Lay braided bread on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover for 35-40 or until it’s risen more. 15 minutes before done, preheat oven to 375˚F. Make the simple syrup by adding the maple syrup and dairy free milk to a bowl and whisk. Once ready, brush the dough with half the simple syrup mixture.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remaining simple syrup mixture and let cool completely before slicing.
Can I prep vegan challah bread ahead of time?
This bread can be made and stored in an air tight container for 5-7 days.
Also — when making the dough, once you put cover the bowl to rise, Instead of leaving in a warm place, you can place the bowl in the fridge up to 2 days before you plan to use it.
Just make the recipe as written, cover and place in fridge until ready to use.
How to eat Challah Bread
If you are making vegan challah bread for the Sabbath, then Jewish culture says to say a blessing over it and eat it plain.
Others times, you can use as you wish. Toast it with vegan butter and jelly, make a french toast with it, bread pudding, to make sandwiches and more.
How do I make vegan french toast challah bread?
We love turning this into vegan french toast. If you desire to make french toast out of it, then you can follow the instructions that we have for our vegan babka french toast. Just scroll down to the french toast sections once you have your challah bread made.
We do not recommend letting challah get stale first like we do with the babka. We prefer to be able to use right away once it has cooled.
Challah Bread FAQs
Do I have to use a stand mixer?
No, not at all. We prefer it, but it’s not a requirement. You can make this recipe with a bowl and a silicone spatula.
Can you make this a Top 8 Allergen Free Challah Bread?
We do not currently have a gluten free dough recipe to recommend, although we are working to create one.
For the remaining ingredients, yes you can.
And ensure that you are using a soy free, dairy free butter. We use Earth Balance Soy free that comes in a red tub.
Nothing else included in the recipe contains a Top 8 allergen.
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant to make vegan challah bread?
Instant yeast rises faster and less of an issue. However, you can still use active dry. It typically will take longer to rise, so just follow the instructions for letting is rise until doubled in size.
Babka vs Challah
Challah and Babka are both Jewish bread recipes; however, they are very different.
Challah is a braided bread that is often served during each week’s Sabbath meal, as well as holidays.
Babka. however, is typically a treat as it’s a very sweet bread that often made with chocolate or cinnamon.
Can I replace the sweet potato with something else?
Yes! Regular white potatoes or even pumpkin can be used. Pumpkin will help give it that orange-yellow color that you see with the pumpkin. The potato will not be at orange.
This purpose of using this is both for color and to be the “egg” in the recipe. So you can use any of these in a similar manor.
Can I make this vegan challah bread oil free?
You can! We recommend that you follow our recipe for our vegan everything dough which is an oil free bread recipe. Then just follow the steps for the rising and braiding.
It won’t have the richness that you get from the vegan butter; however, it will still be great.
What other savory bread recipes can I make?
If you love bread, you will love this challah. However, you may be wondering what other vegan bread options you can make. Here’s some of our favorites:
- The Best Vegan Dinner Rolls
- Vegan Chimichurri Monkey Bread
- Easy Vegan Garlic Knots
- Vegan Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Vegan Italian Cheesy Bread Rolls
- Tuscan Mushroom Rolls
- Vegan Ham Broccoli and Cheese Rolls
- Vegan Sausage Egg and Cheese Rolls
- Easy Vegan Soft Pretzel Bites
- Vegan Bread Bowls
- Vegan Pesto Rolls
- Easy Vegan Focaccia
- Vegan Hawaiian Rolls
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Challah Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups flour (we prefer bread, can use all-purpose)
- ¼ cup vegan cane sugar
- 1 package instant yeast (1 package = 2 ¼ tsp)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup mashed sweet potato, cooled (sub with white potato or pumpkin)
- ¼ cup vegan butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups water
For the simple syrup
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons plant based milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together 4 ½ cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoon yeast, and 1 ¼ teaspoon salt. Set bowl aside. In a second bowl (preferably a stand mixer bowl if you have one), add ½ cup mashed sweet potato, ¼ cup melted vegan butter and 1 ½ cups water. Whisk together until combined.
- With the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a wooden spatula, add about a quarter of the dry mixture into the wet mixture until no dry mixture remains. Then, add another quarter of the mixture and stir again. Next, switch to a dough hook and add half the remaining dry mix in until you see no dry mixture remaining and then add the remaining dry mix. Let knead for 8-10 minutes or until it doesn't stick to the bowl. The dough will pull away from the bowl. Still slightly sticky but not sticking to your hands.
- Spray bowl, form into a ball and place ball inside. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 60-90 minutes in a warm, draft free place until doubled. Punch it down. Let rise again for 40-60 minutes until doubled in size again.
- Uncover, punch down again and take dough out of the bowl. Cut dough into 6 equal pieces – using a scale if possible. *See notes if you would rather do a 3 strand braid instead of 6.
For the braiding:
- Roll each section into a 16 inch log, tappering the ends (making them smaller). Lay all 6 logs in front of you vertically.
- At the top, pinch 3 logs together and then pinch together the remaining 3 together. Then pinch the two sections together (see video for visual)
- Think of each strand as a number. Far left will be 1 and far right will be 6. Cross the two outer strands (1 and 6). Move strand 1 to the middle, crossing over strands 2 and 3. Cross strand 5 over 4, 3, 2, 1 to be on the far left. Then cross strand 6 over 5 and 4 to be in the middle. Finally cross strand 2, over 3, 4, 5, and 6 to be on the far right. Repeat the above pattern until you reach the bottom of your bread.
- Pinch the ends, and tuck them underneath the bread on both ends. Lay braided bread on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover for 35-40 to allow to rise.
- 15 minutes before done, preheat oven to 375˚F. Make the simple syrup by adding 2 tablespoon each: maple syrup and dairy free milk to a bowl and whisk. Once ready, brush the dough with half the simple syrup mixture.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remaining simple syrup mixture and let cool completely before slicing.
Delicious! Made this last week. Easy to follow recipe. I appreciated that you showed braiding the challah in real time. It helped!
So glad you found that helpful and enjoyed the recipe! We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day!
Beautiful!
Thanks!
I made this recipe following along with the video and the website! It was super simple and came out AMAZING! This is my first attempt making bread, so if total newbie like me can do it, so can you!
We absolutely love it and so happy you had a great first experience. We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day!
I have been looking for a vegan version for long time, but is it possible to use my hands instead of the mixer? Do you think I will have the same result, I used to do that with the regular non vegan challah.
Thank you!
Absolutely! You just want to knead it by hand.
I love your site and the work you do! If I refrigerate the dough over night. Can i go straight to step 7 and start the braiding or do I have to punch down and let rise again before? Thanks so much
We would punch down and rise again! Thank you for your kind words
Challah IS VEGAN by design. Saying “vegan challah” is like saying “vegan spinach” or “vegan corn”. It must be vegan to perform its function. If it isn’t vegan, it ISN’T CHALLAH (it’s probably brioche).
Almost all challah is made with eggs and often honey. The only exception is when water challah is made and even then traditionally it is brushed with an egg wash. Neither of which would be vegan. Not only that, but if you search google for challah, every popular recipe on the first page contains eggs. None are egg free. We distinguish ours as VEGAN for that reason.
That’s not true Robert. I’m Jewish I grew up making Challah. It is NOT vegan by design because it it is generally a very rich egg yolk bread. That’s what usually gives it that rich yellow color. The recipe passed down from my bubbe has 7 egg yolks lol it’s very rich. Anyway, perhaps you meant kosher by design. And that it is. We make it Parve so that it would go with either a meat or dairy meal Peace and love!
This is such a beautiful dough and so simple to make! I decided to try it out, just in time to make some french toast tomorrow. The instructions were simple, both the Youtube video and the written recipe were extremely helpful when it came to braiding the dough. The small changes that I made was adding a tablespoon of Vital Wheat Gluten to the all purpose flour to make it more like bread dough, and using active dry yeast. I love this recipe so much, I’m looking forward to making more in the future! Thank y’all!
We’re so excited to hear that it was a hit! Thanks for taking time to leave a review, we really appreciate that. Have a great week!