I’ve worked in a range of bakeries over the years, everything from Whole Foods to fine dinning. Although the experiences and menus of each bakery were incredibly different, there was one thing I made in every single one: Challah, the egg bread. The aroma that filled the bakery as these slightly sweet and decadent loafs baked tantalized me as a vegan. Once those golden beauties came out of the oven and the sweetness filled the air, it was hard not to feel a little sorry for myself.
So I did what I know how to do best. I veganized it.
Challah
makes one 16” loaf
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp + 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup chickpea flour + 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
poppy seeds for sprinkling
In a stand up mixer or medium bowl stir together yeast, 2 tsp sugar, and 1 cup lukewarm. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow yeast and sugar to dissolve. Meanwhile in a food processor or blender, mix chick pea flour and 1/2 cup water until thick and foamy. Set aside.
Slowly whisk oil into yeast mixture, followed by chickpea mix, whisking while adding. Add remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and salt. Whisk together. Gradually add flour until dough begins to come together, but is still soft. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes). Alternatively, if you are using a stand alone mixer, with your dough hook gradually add flour until a dough forms. Turn speed on medium-high for 5 minutes until dough begins clearing the sides and forms a smooth ball. You want the dough to feel soft, but not sticky. In order to get the right texture you may find that you are adding extra water or flour during this process.
Remove dough and grease the bowl. Place dough back inside, cover, and let rise in a warm place for one hour (until doubled in size).
Punch dough down, re-cover, and let rise an additional 30 minutes.
Place dough on a floured surface and cut into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into long strands (about 18 inches) and let set for 5 minutes. Braid Challah. Here is a very good tutorial for braiding Challah, complete with pictures.
Brush with soy milk or creamer and set aside to rise for about 45 more minutes, until dough slowly pushes back when an indentation is created with your finger.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush loaf with soy milk on final time, sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake 30-35 minutes, until top is golden brown and a firm crust has formed.
Let cool completely before slicing.
There are so many great recipes that use Challah. My favorite: French Toast. Check back on Friday when I turn this beautiful loaf into a devine breakfast.
Thanks for stopping by! The Sweet Life is a vegan food blog combining my love for good food, beautiful pictures, and compassionate eating. I am a long time vegan, trained in both photography and French Patisserie, excited to share my passions. Take a look around and enjoy The Sweet Life
I want to make this less sweet – can I reduce the sugar without losing texture?
sugar creates tenderness and therefore the texture will be slightly tougher, but hardly noticeable. If you cut just a little of the flour as well and keep the dough softer, it should balance it out. Getting the dough to the right consistency before baking is really the key to great texture.You want it to kind of feel like a marshmallow after it’s kneaded, before it’s first rise. (much softer than other breads)
As it is it doesn’t taste like a sweet bread, there is just a sweet aftertaste.
Hope this helps!
what can I use instead of chickpea flour, I have all other kinds, brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat. would any of these work?
I have had no experiences using these other flours as egg replacers, but your best bet would be quinoa flour. The chickpea flour works well because the high protein content of the flour replaces the eggs as a binder. Since quinoa flour is also high in protein, I am GUESSING it would work too.
Or if you have commercial egg replacer, you could use that in replace of the chickpea flour.
Good luck. If you go for it, let me know how it turns out!
Any advice making this but using a bread machine for kneading and the first rise before shaping? We use the instant yeast (” bread machine yeast”).
I think that would work fine. As long as you take it out right after the first rise I don’t see why there would be any problem. Let me know how it turns out!
Have you tried adding other ingredients or flavors? I was looking for a recipe to make a vegan version of my family’s Italian egg bread for Easter, which is flavored with orange peel and anise, and also includes chopped almonds. Do you think this recipe would hold up? It otherwise looks wonderfully simple, actually easier than the egg/dairy version.
It would hold up as long as you didn’t add too many heavy ingredients. Orange peel and anise should be fine and I think chopped almonds would work if you added a small amount. Let me know how it turns out!
Thanks!
This is such a wonderful recipe. So exactly Challah-y! Thank you!