Sugar-free Whole Wheat Challah
Nov
Place flour into mixer bowl, if you prefer to sift, go ahead and do that. Add all remaining ingredients in order.
Knead at lowest speed for 10 minutes. Remove from the mixer and place in a large bowl or on a plastic-covered work space.
Let the dough rest 10 Minutes.
Take challah. Divide and braid. This recipe will make 5 challahs approximately 10-11 inches long. Alternatively, it will be enough for 15 “balbatische” bilkelach. Make the challahs smaller than the pans as this recipe will rise well.
Let them rise about 35 Minutes in a warm area.
Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with your favorite toppings. I usually use both poppy and sesame seeds.
Put into a cold oven set to 350. Bake 40 Minutes to an hour depending on the size of the challahs or until lightly browned. Challah with no sugar will never get very dark.
Remove and cool.
If you would like to make one large key-shaped challah, use a disposable tube pan with the hole in the center. Make 2 cuts on one side of the pan about 2” apart. Cut from the top edge down to the bottom of the pan and flatten the cut strip of foil outward. Make the same type of cuts at one short end of a medium disposable rectangular loaf pan and flatten the cut edge outward as well. Fit the two pans together by tucking each open flap into the other pan. Using about half the recipe above, divide the dough in half, with one half larger than the other; about a 60/40 ratio. Make a simple 3 strand braid from each part. Place the larger braid in the tube pan and the smaller braid in the loaf pan. Allow the challah to rise until the braids meet. Brush with egg wash and bake as directed above.
The 2 egg yolks. Is that egg wash or its part of dough
Hi
Thanks for pointing that out. They’re for the egg wash. It’s been corrected.
why does this challah have to rise so little? does it taste good? i want to try it with spelt flour, should i follow the recipe the same?
Hi.
the rising time is very short because the recipe uses Instant Yeast. It activates much faster than other yeasts. and yes, it is very tasty challah!
We have not tried it with spelt; not sure what differences there may be.
Hi. I’ve been making this recipe for a few years and it came out super delicious. We moved to eretz yisroel. I even shipped white whole wheat flour from ny and it came out flopped. Its doughy and tastes raw. Any tips to try?
I would put an oven thermometer into your oven to make sure the temperature is accurate. if the temp is too low, the inside would not be baked through and taste doughy.
Can one use avocado oil instead of canola oil in this whole wheat/ no sugar recipe?
Hi
yes, avocado oil would be fine
Why is there no sweetener in the recipe? Shouldn’t there be sugar or honey?
This recipe has no sweetener at all. It’s more like bread and is quite delicious without any added sweetener.
Does it matter what type of yeast I use which one is instand yeast
Hi, yes the type of yeast used does affect the process. We like Fleischman’s Instant Yeast because it’s always ready to use and it helps dough rise in half the time. We keep it on hand, in the freezer and add it directly to the flour–no activation needed.
Can I use white flour instead of while wheat.
Hi
this recipe is specifically for whole wheat. Please check out our other challah recipes
Our favorite challah recipe–5lbs
6 Lb Challah recipe
Can this recipe be halved? How many cups of flour would that be?
Hi. 5 lbs is approximately 15 cups of flour. If you halve the recipe, use 7 cups to start and add a bit more if the dough seems sticky.
If you use regular yeast and not instant, how long should it rise?
Regular yeast will take about 50% more time to rise than instant yeast.
Can i substitute white whole wheat flour with oat flour to make an oat flour challah?
Since we have never tried it ourselves, we can’t comment on whether that will work but if you do try it please let us know the results.
Hi – Can this be adapted to use Oat Flour? Is there a sugar-free challah recipe with oats as opposed to wheat?
Since we have never tried it ourselves, we can’t comment on whether that will work but if you do try it please let us know the results.
Would you know how toadapt this recipe in eretz yisroel? I tried it and it flopped. Dough stayed rawish.
Was the dough a good texture before baking? Maybe you just need to bake longer. Every oven is different.