Delicious, soft and fluffy challah rolls with added wholewheat and a sprinkling of crunchy seeds for extra flavour and nutrition.
Challah love affair
I love challah. I mean, who doesn’t?! Soft, fluffy, delicious bread. It’s terrific slathered with butter, or dipped into humous, or made into French toast, or…
Or, to be honest, just torn apart and eaten, like we do at Friday night dinner. Nothing says that the work week is over and Shabbat is here than that first bite of warm pillowy-soft challah.
Bread overload
Unfortunately for us though, we are not really a majorly bread-eating household.
DH is intolerant to bread, so he usually just has a tiny nibble of challah. My daughter Kipper and I have a slice each, but there’s the whole rest of the meal to leave room for. And then a new loaf at Shabbat lunch… It all ends up as stale bread, and there’s only so many croutons and breadcrumbs one family can use.
Challah rolls to the rescue!
In an attempt to deal with this problem and prevent waste, a while ago I started to make challah rolls, rather than big challah loaves. I make a batch and freeze them, and then we can take them out one or two at a time, as we need them. It’s much easier for us to finish a roll between us!
And as an added bonus, I don’t need to bake challah every week as I have a stash of rolls in the freezer. This recipe makes 8 challah rolls, which lasts us a month. (We add a matza cracker at Shabbat lunch so we have 2 ‘loaves’ for the blessing.) However it’s easily doubled if you really want to get ahead.
Nutritional bonuses
If you’ve visited my blog before you’ll know that I like everything to have maximum nutritional value, so it shouldn’t surprise you that I’ve added some wholewheat flour to these yummy challah rolls.
I’ve played about with the proportions of wholewheat to white flour, and I think that 1:2 is the perfect ratio. More wholewheat tends to make the challah rolls too dense and solid, while any less and you can’t really taste it! The wholewheat flour adds a lovely flavour, which is enhanced by the brown sugar in the dough. Yum!
As a final blast of nutrition – and a lovely decoration – I’ve sprinkled the challah rolls with all sorts of seeds.
Super seeds
Seeds are nutritional powerhouses, packed with healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. They also add crunch, flavour, and of course look beautiful. You can see in the pictures that I added different seedy toppings to each pair of rolls. They are:
- poppy seeds (classic!)
- sesame seeds
- mixed seeds – pumpkin, sunflower, linseed and sesame
- fennel seeds and black onion (nigella) seeds
The last of these is my favourite because it’s SO tasty. If you haven’t tried these seeds before, give them a go. You’ll find you’re sprinkling them on everything!
Ingredients for making tasty challah rolls
These delicious challah rolls require only basic bread-making ingredients. To make them you will need:
- dry instant yeast
- hand-hot water – to get your yeast going
- white bread flour
- wholewheat bread flour
- salt – just a little bit
- dark brown sugar
- egg – or a little extra oil and water if you’re vegan
- olive oil
- plant-based milk and seeds for topping (optional)
How to make delicious challah rolls
The dough is very simple to make. Start off your yeast in some warm water, then prepare the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and the yeast, mix and knead for about 10 minutes. Then take an hour off while the dough rises to about double its original size.
The dough can now be knocked back, divided, and shaped into rolls. After another 20-30 minutes it’s time to brush them with a little plant milk (I use oat) and sprinkle with plenty of seeds. Then bake to golden perfection!
You’ll find the full recipe with ingredients, notes and all the details below.
Whether you like your challah with butter, humous, or just as it comes, I’m sure you’ll enjoy these fabulous challah rolls!
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📖 Recipe
Challah rolls with wholewheat and seed topping
Ingredients
- 7 g dry instant yeast (usually 1 sachet – see notes)
- 125 ml hand-hot water
- 200 g strong white bread flour
- 100 g wholewheat bread flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 egg (for vegan option see notes)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the topping
- 2 tablespoon plant milk
- 3-4 tablespoon seeds of your choice – I used poppy, sesame, fennel, black onion seeds (nigella), and seed mixture containing pumpkin, sunflower, linseed and sesame
Instructions
- Mix the yeast with the water, and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook fitted, mix the flours, salt and brown sugar. Add the egg and olive oil.
- By now, you should see tiny bubbles forming on the surface of your yeast mixture. Add this to the bowl, and set the mixer running at low speed. (Alternatively, you can mix the dough by hand in a large mixing bowl.)
- Once the dough has come together, knead for 8-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. The dough will be a little bit 'bumpy' because of the particles of wheatbran. It may also be slightly sticky at this stage, but don't worry.
- Form the dough into a ball, place in a mixing bowl, and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour, until doubled in size. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a non-stick liner.
- Knock back the dough and knead briefly. If your dough is still too sticky, knead it on a floured surface for a few minutes, but try not to add too much extra flour as this can make the bread dense and doughy when baked.
- Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces, and shape them into rolls. I do this by rolling each piece into a sausage about 25cm (10 inches) long, then tying it in a knot and tucking the ends underneath. But you can shape them however you like!
- Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Leave room between them so they can rise! Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise again for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly brush the rolls all over with the plant milk, then sprinkle on the seeds of your choice. Bake the challah rolls for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and cool on wire racks. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
More delicious challah recipes
Other delicious challah recipes to try include this sweet and delicious fruity challah, this terrific pull-apart jam doughnut challah (perfect for Chanukah!), and this quick and easy 1-hour vegan challah.
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Chloe Edges
You know I don’t think I’ve ever actually had Challah. I need to rectify that asap because fresh soft bread is my thing!
Helen
You certainly do! What are you waiting for? Soft, fresh, fluffy challah is the BEST.
Kat (The Baking Explorer)
They look so good, I love the shape of them!
Helen
Thanks Kat! The shape is super-easy to make – just make a long sausage, tie it in a knot, and tuck the ends underneath. Ta da!
Magdalena M
These look great and it’s such a practical tip to make a rolls rather than a whole loaf (and then freeze them). It’s like having a fresh roll every day (when you defrost it!) without having to bake every day!
Helen
Thanks Magdalena – you’re exactly right! I wrap them in foil and defrost/warm them in the oven and it really is like having a freshly baked roll.
Angela
Great rolls! I love the suggestion of freezing them. A time saving tip!
Helen
Thanks Angela – it certainly is. Now I only have to bake challah every few weeks instead of once a week. Hooray!
Shelley
You’re totally right – who doesn’t love challah bread?! But, I rarely eat it, since we always try to opt for whole grains. This terrific recipe solves that! And – I love the option of making rolls instead – because I 100% feel ya on not being able to finish off an entire loaf of bread quickly enough. So awesome that I can freeze individual rolls instead. Brilliant post all around!
Helen
Thanks Shelley! Good to hear from a kindred spirit! I love being able to take out one roll at a time and enjoy it fully, without any waste. Perfect!
Ty
These cute challah rolls will make great deli sandwiches. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Helen
Great idea Ty! I’m sure they will.
Courtney
These were great! I’m also a fan of rolls because you can keep them fresh in the freezer until needed.
Helen
Thanks Courtney. I agree – so good to keep them handy without worrying that they will be stale.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
Love how easy this recipe is. It’s perfect for our family!
Helen
Thanks Shadi! So glad your family like it 🙂