Buttery Epi Challah

Labels: { Bread }

Traditional Challah, a classic and well-loved egg bread, does not contain milk, and it is usually enriched with eggs and oil. I used milk and butter for the recipe because of personal preference and because butter gives the bread a superior, airy texture and a delicate, creamy flavour. You definitely can use just water and oil of your choice. Challah bread can be done with 3-6 strands and I find this 3-strand challah with a Pain d'epi (French wheat stalk) twist creates a beautiful, fun and festive loaf that’s perfect for holidays or for any occasion really!


120 ml Lukewarm water 7 g Active dry yeast 120 ml Whole milk 50 g Granulated sugar 500 g All-purpose flour 1/3 tsp Sea salt 2 Large eggs 1 Large egg yolk (reserve the white for the egg wash) 50 g Unsalted butter, melted 1 tbsp Sesame seeds 1 tbsp Poppy seeds

Place the lukewarm water in a bowl. Sprinkle with dry yeast and 1 pinch of the granulated sugar, and stir to combine. Let sit until you see a thin frothy layer across the top, 5 to 10 minutes.
In the bowl of your stand mixer with a dough hook, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk, eggs, yolk, and melted butter to the well. Pour the yeast mixture over the mixture. Mix on low speed until a soft, smooth, and tacky dough has formed, 6 to 8 minutes.
Turn out the dough on a clean work surface and shape the dough into a ball. Lightly grease the mixing bowl with a little oil. Place the dough ball in the bowl and turn to coat in the oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volumn, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Divide the dough into 3 even portions. Divide each dough into 4 even portions. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece of dough into a 22-25cm long rope.
Place 3 ropes vertically and squeeze them together at the top. Braid the ropes together like braiding hair and squeeze the other end together when complete. Brush with remaining egg white. Lightly brush the 4th rope with some water and roll in the mixture of seeds. Place the seedy rope on the top of braided challah. Take a pair of kitchen scissors and make vertical cuts at a steep angle into the seedy rope, leaving a little dough attached. Gently move the little piece of dough to one side. Make another cut, and move it to the opposite side. Repeat with the remaining two dough portions.
Place the braided and shaped challah on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until puffed and pillowy, about 1 hour. About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Bake the challah for 25-28 minutes until nicely golden. Cool the loaves slightly on a wire rack, then serve warm with butter or jam. The loaves are best served same day. They freeze well too.

25 comments:

Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 7/5/26 04:49: I have never had the pleasure of trying some but now I want to
Tandy (Lavender and Lime) 7/5/26 05:50: The braiding is beautiful!
Margaret D 7/5/26 09:08: They look very nice, Angie.
MELODY JACOB 7/5/26 09:28: The recipe itself looks very approachable too, which is something I appreciate in bread posts. Sometimes beautiful bread recipes online become intimidatingly technical, but your instructions are clear and practical. The note about the dough becoming soft, smooth, and tacky is especially useful because texture cues are often more important than exact timing when working with yeast doughs.
DEZMOND 7/5/26 09:49: It looks like love on the plate!
Tom 7/5/26 14:19: ...Angie, your breads are works of art!
Modrina Neba 7/5/26 15:43: WoW, i am hungry:)))
Best wishes Andreja from Slovenija - Ljubljana
Lori 7/5/26 16:19: You have really outdone yourself with this one. It is beautiful and I can almost smell it. Wonderful job Angie.
speedy70 7/5/26 17:08: Meravigloso, bravissima!!!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 7/5/26 20:34: Such a beautiful bake, Angie! I love that buttery challah texture and the epi shape & so rustic, elegant, and perfect for sharing.
David Scott Allen 7/5/26 20:43: I love challah, and your epi Version is absolutely beautiful!
Lowcarb team member 7/5/26 23:06: Looks good ... thank you for sharing this recipe.

All the best Jan
Brian's Home Blog 8/5/26 01:00: That is so darn pretty and I bet it's delicious!
Raymund | angsarap.net 8/5/26 01:02: This epi challah is absolutely stunning, so golden, glossy, and sculptural that it looks like it came straight out of a bakery window.
Lola Martínez 8/5/26 10:09: Por favor! Que aspecto tienen esos bollos, me los comería de dos en dos, son una ricura total.
David M. Gascoigne, 8/5/26 11:57: This reminds me that I haven’t eaten challah in a long time, any kind of challah. Time for a visit to the kosher baker.
eileeninmd 8/5/26 12:32: Angie, your bread looks delicious! Take care, have a great day and a happy weekend.
My name is Erika. 8/5/26 13:40: Challah is a favorite of mine. How can you not like it? Yours looks amazing Angie. I like the poppy seed addition too.
Emma Loabez 8/5/26 16:49: Hi Angie! Your bread looks fantastic.
Depending on how I'm going to use it, I'll choose oil or butter.
Have a great weekend! 😘
Christine 8/5/26 18:34: yummy
Ananka 8/5/26 20:30: Looks good :-D
Linda's Relaxing Lair 8/5/26 23:44: This looks very good!!!
Federica Simoni 9/5/26 11:32: wow bellissimo!!
claire 10/5/26 16:22: It looks awesome! I really love it, Angie:-) . I make Challah bread quite often and for long long time but I have never heard about the recipe with no milk but only oil.
Céline 12/5/26 12:19: It's beatiful ! I would like to eat some