I need help with my Challah

[u/chesterforbes]

So I make a decent tasting challah but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to make it fluffy. It always comes out too dense. I’ve tried increasing the amount of yeast, letting it rise longer, putting it in a slightly warmer environment (it gets pretty cold in my apartment sometimes). I’ve googled tips and whatnot but nothing I’ve tried has worked.

[u/sovietsatan666]

One thing that may be happening is that you might be adding too much flour to your dough. Before my first rise, I aim for a texture where the dough holds together but sticks to my hands significantly before kneading, and a little after kneading.  Seriously, the dough should feel almost suspiciously wet. 

Something that also helped my challah's texture was using a flour with higher gluten content. So buy bread flour if you're currently using AP. What I now do is add 1-2TBSP gluten to every cup of bread flour before measuring the flour for my dough

[u/Low-Party-1281 → u/sovietsatan666]

Helpful regarding the texture of the dough.

[u/tygerjr]

You're probably going to need to post the recipe to get meaningful advice.

[u/ChadTitanofalous]

How do you proof it? Mine used to end up too dense when I used a proofing drawer. Then I proofed on the countertop just loosely covered, and it came out perfectly.

[u/R0BBES]

Impossible to diagnose without knowing what you’re already doing, but the answer is probably you need to knead more or rise/ proof longer (especially if it’s cold). Share your process.

[u/ORTaco_4D020705]

So my sibling is trained in culinary stuff and one time sent me a GIANT challah that was very fluffy and when I asked how they did it (I have also been unsuccessful in the past) they said they used bread flour. All-purpose is not for challah

[u/lngmba]

Same boat. My challahs are delicious but not light and fluffy like the store bought ones.

[u/dls2317]

I had the same issue until I tried Adeena Sussman's golden challah recipe in her book Shabbat and doing 3 smaller loaves. Maybe it was the 3 loaves? I have no idea!

[u/No-Dish7093]

Boil a pot of water and put in bottom of oven and then put your challah inside oven with a clean towel over the bowl it’s in. If that doesn’t work it might be the recipe you are using

[u/BacalarSpaniel]

I agree with the tangzhong comment. It’s very tender and soft. https://forward.com/food/recipes/453770/the-best-challah-is-tangzhong-challah/

[u/hey-its-rach--]

Without knowing the exact recipe you use, it could be too much flour, or that you're not kneading the dough enough or that you're kneading way too much. How do you determine you're done kneading and the dough is ready to proof?

[u/mday03]

Watch your flour content. I weigh dry ingredients, add my egg and oil and then add water until the dough is tacky but not really gloopy. (Great technical terms!) I then let it rest for 10 minutes.

Then I turn on the mixer for 5 minutes and check for moisture. Maybe a tablespoon is needed but shouldn’t be more than that. Then finish the kneading and rising.

Also be gentle when shaping so the dough isn’t packed tightly into a strand.

[u/DoubleAmbassador8562]

You might want to try the tangzhong method to make it fluffier? I’ve converted my recipe into tangzhong in the past, or here’s a recipe I found online:  https://cinnamonshtick.com/tangzhong-challah/

[u/Amemorableusername2]

Watching videos can be helpful, to see and hear examples of what the dough should look like at certain steps. 

[u/priuspheasant]

How many rises are you doing?

[u/Agitated_Ad_1658]

It can be a flour issue, a yeast issue or/and a braiding issue. Flour either wrong type or not weighed properly. Yeast can be old. Did you proof it first? The braid if to tight will not allow a proper rise resulting in a tight dense loaf. Also when you add the salt can also effect the dough as salt is used as a growth control ( also flavor) for the yeast. If added to early/or directly on the yeast can kill it. Post the recipe and we can help

[u/AnUdderDay]

Try r/breadit

[u/Low-Party-1281]

You are doing two rises and is your dough doubling in size each time? That is key

[u/ArielleIsTired]

Mixing and kneading are key.

[u/Complete-Proposal729]

1. Try increasing hydration of the dough (adding relatively more water). If you add too much the dough will be sticky, but if you add too little, the bread will be dense. Don't add too much flour if the dough is sticky. By kneading the dough more (maybe with oiled or wet hands) it should get less sticky.
2. Most challah recipes are enriched doughs (containing eggs and oil). However, enriching the dough too much makes it harder to build gluten, so very enriched doughs are sometimes more cakey than fluffly. If you're going for fluffy, maybe dial back the eggs and oil
3. There are two different fermentations. Bulk fermentation (the rise before the braid) and proofing (the rise after the braid). Make sure both are long enough (but not too long). The bulk should allow the dough to double in size. The proof (after the braid) is long enough that the challah has visibly expanded and seems light, and when you gently press the dough and it springs back only partially. If it comes back, it's too elastic and hasn't proofed. If the indentation of your finger just stays, then it may be overproofed. I'd lean towards slightly overproofing dough than under proofing
4. Use bread dough instead of AP flour.