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Braided Challah with Lemon Cream Cheese Swirl
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Brightly Braided Challah

This Braided Bread is perfect for a snack, breakfast, or brunch - not to mention makes delicious french toast. With a slightly sweet lemon cream cheese swirl, it will brighten up any meal.

Ingredients

Challah Bread

  • 2 tsps yeast either active dry or instant
  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk reserve egg white for egg wash
  • ½ cup vegetable oil

Lemon Cream Cheese Spread

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Lemon rind from 1 lemon
  • ¼ tsp vanilla

Equipment

  • Standing mixer with dough attachment optional if hand kneading
  • Mixing bowl
  • Mixing spoon
  • Sharp knife
  • Baking sheet
  • Small bowls same number as colors
  • Food coloring
  • Spatula

Instructions

  • Warm 1 cup of water for about 5-10 second in the microwave. You want it to be lukewarm. The, sprinkle yeast and ½ tsp sugar top, stirring until it dissolves.
  • Let stand about 10 minutes. It should be very bubbly and frothy on top. If this doesn’t happen, that means the yeast has gone bad and the recipe will not work.
  • Using a mixing spoon or wooden spoon, mix the eggs into the flour until just combined. Then, add the yeast water mix and continue mixing until everything is combined. It will be thick and hard to mix.
  • Using the dough attachment of your standing mixer knead for about 8 minutes. You can also knead by hand on a floured surface. If the dough is sticky add more flour one teaspoon or tablespoon at a time (depending on how sticky your dough is) until it is somewhat tacky to the touch but not so sticky that it stays all over your finger if you touch it.
  • Once it is fully combined, place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and/or a towel. Set it in the sun or someplace warm and let it rise one and half to two hours, until it has just about doubled in size.
  • While it’s rising, you can make the lemon cream cheese spread. Add the cream cheese, sugar, egg, lemon, and vanilla to a standing mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium until fully and combined, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Divide the cream cheese spread into small bowls based on the number of colors you plan on using. Add food coloring to each bowl and mix. Cover and set aside, or keep in fridge until ready to use. If making ahead of time and placing in the fridge, let come to room temperature and restir before using on the dough.
  • Once the dough has risen, remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a 12 by 9 inch rectangle.
  • Once it’s rolled out, lightly line the dough creating the same number of sections as colors you plan on using.
  • Using a spatula or knife, spread the cream cheese mixture by color into the sections of the dough.
  • Rolling the long side, roll the dough tightly.
  • Transfer the rolled dough to a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and let rest another 30 minutes.
  • While the dough is resting, Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • After the dough has rested again, take a sharp knife and starting about an inch from the top, cut the roll down the middle.
  • Braid the two pieces, keeping the swirl on top if possible.
  • Make an egg white wash by mix an egg white and 1 Tbps water. Using a pastry brush or spoon, cover the dough in the egg white wash.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a thermometer reads 190 degrees when placed in the middle of the loaf.
  • Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest until barely warm. Slice and enjoy!