Gluten Free Challah Bread

This is THE BEST gluten free challah bread you’ll ever try, and it’s super easy to make! It’s pillowy-soft and fluffy, with a deliciously rich, slightly sweet flavour. And the gluten free dough handles beautifully: you can easily braid your challah without having to worry about it tearing or cracking.

I’ve been promising you this recipe for at least three years – and now, it’s finally here: GLUTEN FREE CHALLAH!!! (Sorry it’s taken so long but I promise you, it was 1000% worth the wait.)

This has been one of the most requested recipes here on the blog. Lately, I’ve been getting almost daily emails and messages about it. But I really wanted to take the time to perfect and optimise the recipe as much as possible – and I think we’re finally there. This recipe gives you a pillowy-soft, fluffy gluten free challah bread that you can actually shape and braid, just like regular challah made from wheat flour.

The gluten free challah dough handles beautifully, so you can easily shape it into the individual ropes/strands and then braid them together without having to worry about them tearing or cracking.

You can, of course, play around with the number of strands/plaits in the braid as well: you can go with a simple three-strand braid or with a more complicated five-strand one. A four-strand braid is my favourite, and that’s the version you’ll see me making in the photos below.

The baked gluten free challah is deep golden brown, it looks absolutely gorgeous, and it has a deliciously rich flavour and a beautiful soft, fluffy open crumb.

Before we get to the bits and bobs of making this amazing gluten free challah – if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest recipes and tips!

Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.

What is challah?

Challah is a traditional Jewish bread served on the Sabbath and for holidays. It’s made from enriched dough (typically enriched with eggs, oil and sugar or honey) and shaped into a braid. Because of the added eggs and fat, challah has a deliciously rich flavour and a pillowy-soft, fluffy texture. However, unlike brioche, which often includes milk and butter, challah doesn’t contain any dairy to keep it kosher.

For a more in-depth look into what challah is and what it means in the Jewish culture, I recommend reading What Makes a Challah a Challah? by Andrew Janjigian and Rachel Mennies and this challah blog post by Tori Avey.

How to make THE BEST gluten free challah bread

This gluten free challah couldn’t be easier to make, and I’ll take you through the whole process step by step.

The ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this gluten free challah:

• Psyllium husk. This acts as a gluten substitute and it’s what gives you a gluten free dough that you can actually handle, knead and shape into the characteristic challah braid (be that a three-, four- or five-strand braid). It also gives the dough enough elasticity and extensibility so that it can expand, first during proofing and then as it enters the oven. You can’t substitute the psyllium husk with another ingredient. This recipe uses WHOLE psyllium husk, but you can also use psyllium husk powder – if you use the powder form, use only 85% of the amount listed in the recipe below. I also recommend using “blond” psyllium husk, as it won’t add any colour or flavour to your bread. You can read more about the role of psyllium husk in gluten free baking here!
• Lukewarm water. You’ll use the water to make a psyllium gel: just mix the psyllium husk and water together until evenly combined. The mixture will form a gel within about 30-45 seconds.
• Tapioca starch. (For substitution options, check out the Substitutions section or the recipe below.)
• Millet flour. (For substitution options, check out the Substitutions section or the recipe below.)
• Oat flour. (For substitution options, check out the Substitutions section or the recipe below.)
• Sugar. You can use either caster/superfine or granulated sugar for this recipe.
• Instant yeast. You can also use active dry yeast, but you need to activate it first – for more details, see the Substitutions section and the full recipe below.
• Baking powder. I like to use baking powder in all my gluten free enriched bread recipes, such as cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls and doughnuts. Here, it helps to make the gluten free challah even fluffier and softer, and therefore closer in texture to its “regular” equivalent made with wheat flour.
• Xanthan gum. I like to use a combination of both psyllium husk and xanthan gum as binders in all my gluten free enriched bread recipes. This combination will give you a softer, plusher, more delicate crumb. In comparison, using psyllium husk only gives a chewier crumb that’s better suited to bakes such as white bread, artisan loaves, baguettes and similar.
• Salt. It’s important to add salt to any bread recipe, as it brings out all the flavours.
• Eggs and egg yolks. The recipe uses a combination of one whole egg and two egg yolks. This gives the challah a wonderful rich flavour, while still giving you a gluten free dough that you can easily handle and braid.
• Sunflower oil. You can also use a different neutral-tasting oil, such as canola/rapeseed oil or vegetable oil.

You’ll also need an extra egg for egg wash and sesame seeds, if you wish to sprinkle your challah with them before baking.

Why oat flour?

I usually use a combination of tapioca starch, millet flour and sorghum flour in my gluten free bread recipes. However, I’ve been told by one of my lovely followers on Instagram that for the gluten free challah to be suitable for religious needs (when it’s made as part of the traditional Jewish Sabbath meal and blessed before dinner), it needs to contain one of five grains: wheat, spelt, rye, barley and oats.

Oat flour is therefore the only possible choice if you want to make your challah gluten free – that’s why I used a combination of tapioca starch, millet flour and oat flour for this recipe. However, if you’re sensitive to oats, you can replace the oat flour with an equal weight of sorghum, light buckwheat or white teff flour instead.

Making the gluten free challah dough

You can make the gluten free challah dough by hand, but I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. The dough will be on the stickier side, so the stand mixer definitely makes life easier. It’s also very important that you get the dough as smooth as possible, for the prettiest finish on your assembled challah.

The final dough will be slightly sticky to the touch, but after a quick knead on a lightly floured surface, it should handle beautifully without sticking. So, resist the temptation to add more flour to the dough, as that can make the final challah too dense and dry.

That said, if you find the dough too sticky to easily handle (even on a floured surface and with floured hands), you can chill it in the fridge for about 1 hour before proceeding to the next step. This will make the dough firmer, less sticky, and therefore easier to handle.

Braiding the gluten free challah: the four-strand version

Once you’ve made the dough, give it a knead on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Then, divide it into four equal portions, each should weigh about 250g.

You’ll now need to work with one portion at a time, and keep the others covered with a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film or a clean dish towel, to prevent them from drying out.

Take one portion of the dough and shape it into a ball. Then, roll it out into a rough rectangle – the exact dimensions don’t really matter, I usually aim for a size of about 8×5 inches (20x12cm). Working along the wider end, fold the dough over itself and press down gently to seal. Continue folding the dough over itself (and pressing down to seal), you’re essentially rolling it up into an approximately 8-inch (20cm) log. Pinch the seam together to seal it.

Use the palms of your hands to roll the dough back and forth until you reach a length of about 15-16 inches (38-40cm). While you’re rolling it, make sure that you also create a slightly tapered shape, with the ends of the rope/strand slightly narrower than the middle.

Repeat with the other three portions of dough, until you get four 15-16-inch (38-40cm) ropes or strands. Transfer them to a large sheet of parchment/baking paper – you’ll braid the challah on the paper, it’ll make it easier to transfer it to the baking sheet.

When it comes to braiding the challah, I’ll admit that I’m in no way an expert. I followed the braiding method outlined by Jenn Segal from Once Upon a Chef, and you can see the detailed step-by-step braiding process in the photos below.

In short, you always start with the rope/strand farthest to the right and weave it towards the left through the other strands using the pattern: over-under-over.

Gluten free dough is a bit more fragile than regular dough made from wheat flour, so you do have to be a bit more gentle with it. I usually start braiding at the top third of the braid, braid towards the bottom, then rotate the challah by 180 degrees and finish off the other end – this tends to give me the prettiest end result.

However, feel free to braid your challah in whatever way you’re used to or you find easiest.

Once you’ve finished your braid, tuck the ends underneath the braided loaf for a more polished final look.

Proofing

Use the parchment/baking paper underneath to transfer the challah onto a large baking sheet (trim the paper as needed).

Lightly cover the challah with a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film (to prevent it from drying out) and proof in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. If your kitchen is on the cold side, put a cup of boiling hot water into your (turned-off) oven – that will create the perfect warm, slightly humid proofing environment.

Egg wash & baking

While your challah is proofing, adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat your oven to 375ºF (190ºC). It’s better to bake your challah on the lower middle oven rack – baking it in the middle will make it brown too much, too quickly.

Once your challah has doubled it size, brush it generously with a whisked egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if you wish.

Then, bake it at 375ºF (190ºC) for 28-30 minutes until it’s deep golden brown. I like to check the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the centre of the loaf, much like you would with a cake: if your toothpick comes out with raw dough on it, the challah needs a bit longer in the oven.

Can I double the recipe to make two challah loaves at once?

Yes, absolutely! So long as your oven and baking sheet comfortably fit two loaves side by side, you can easily double the recipe – just double all the ingredient quantities.

How long does this gluten free challah last?

This gluten free challah is definitely at its best fresh, on the day of baking, but it also keeps really well for 3-4 days at room temperature in a closed container or well-wrapped (to prevent it from drying out). I recommend toasting or reheating it on days 3 and 4.

Possible substitutions

Although all the ingredients in the recipe should be easily accessible either in your local grocery store or online, I still wanted to include a list of substitutions you can make. (NOTE: all substitutions should be made by weight and not by volume.)

• Instant yeast: You can use active dry yeast instead, in which case you’ll have to activate it first. Mix it together with a tablespoon of the sugar and 120g (½ cup) of the water listed in the recipe and allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes or until it starts frothing and bubbling. Then, add it to the dry ingredients along with the rest of the wet ingredients.
• Psyllium husk: YOU CAN’T SUBSTITUTE IT WITH A DIFFERENT INGREDIENT. But if you use psyllium husk powder as opposed to the whole psyllium husk, use only 85% of the weight listed in the recipe.
• Tapioca starch: You can use an equal weight of cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK), potato starch or arrowroot starch instead.
• Millet flour: You can use an equal weight of finely ground/milled brown rice flour instead.
• Oat flour: You can use an equal weight of sorghum flour, white teff flour or light buckwheat flour instead.
• Sunflower oil: You can use an equal weight of vegetable, canola/rapeseed or your favourite baking oil instead. I haven’t tested this with coconut oil, so I can’t guarantee how well it will work.

A note on measurements (tl;dr: if possible, use a scale)

While I’ve included the volume measurements (cups and spoons) in the recipe card below, if at all possible (and I really cannot overemphasise this): USE METRIC GRAM MEASUREMENTS IF YOU CAN.

They’re much more precise and produce more reliably delicious results. This is true for pretty much all of baking – a kitchen scale will invariably give better results than cups and tablespoons.

And that’s it! This covers everything you need to know in order to make truly FABULOUS gluten free challah bread. And you can, of course, play around with different numbers of strands in your braid, different braiding patterns and designs, as well as other toppings such as poppy seeds.

And don’t worry if your braids aren’t perfect straight away. Even if you’re an expert at braiding regular challah made from wheat flour, you’ll find that working with gluten free dough will always be a bit different.

I’ve made so many loaves of gluten free challah I’ve honestly lost count at this point, and I’m still not 100% happy with my braiding. It’s all a question of practice – and even if your braid is a bit wonky, it’s all a part of its charm and it’ll still taste amazing… and that’s all that really matters anyway.

Happy baking!!

More gluten free bread recipes

If you’re looking for more amazing gluten free bread recipes (that are nearly indistinguishable from their “regular” equivalents made from wheat flour), you’re definitely in the right place!

• Gluten Free Soft White Bread
• Gluten Free Cheesy Garlic Dinner Rolls
• The Best Gluten Free Baguettes
• The Softest Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
• Easy Gluten Free Pita Bread
• Easy 5-Ingredient Gluten Free Flour Tortillas
• The Ultimate Gluten Free Bread (Artisan Style Loaf)

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