Once upon a time there was a Chicago Girl who had a LOT of friends who were gluten intolerant. She really liked having them over for Shabbat meals, so she developed a recipe for Gluten Free Oat Challah. Everyone LOVED the challah, in fact it was SO popular that it was even published in Mishpacha Magazine, and then in the Kosher Scoop cookbook!! Cool right?
Then, the unthinkable happened. The Chicago Girl became gluten intolerant herself!!! Gasp! She ended up spending a lot of time making gluten free oat challah for herself, her family, and her gluten intolerant friends.
One day, the Chicago Girl thought “I bet there is a way to make this most excellent gluten free challah even better! So she thought, and she thought, and she tried different recipe changes and finally came up with a super moist, super delicious gluten free oat challah upgrade: The Gluten Free Honey Oat Challah. By substituting about half of the processed sugar (Oh no! Not processed sugar!) with some all natural honey (oh yes!) the challah was moister, with a natural sweetness that was extremely tasty!
All of the Chicago Girl’s friends and family were extremely excited about the new and improved challah! In fact, the Chicago Girl made a super large Gluten Free Honey Oat Challah for sheva brachot for a GFE (Gluten Free Eater) kallah (bride). As it turns out, the guests all ate the gluten free challah instead of the glutenous one – and they didn’t even realize it was gluten free!!!!! Hooray!
And so this story has a happy ending after all. The End.
(Videos to follow…)
And now for the rest of the story:
So…if you haven’t figured it out already…I’m the Chicago girl! I know you are all shocked by that revelation!
Here is a really important GFE challah making tip that I discovered the hard way. Accurately measure all the ingredients. One erev Shabbat I didn’t…adding way too much of the dry ingredients. The challah literally sucked every ounce of moisture from our bodies leaving us dry, skin covered skeletons, without a drop of liquid in our dehydrated bodies. Ok, so it wasn’t quite that bad…but trust me…ACCURATELY measure the ingredients! Also, it really pays to use a brand new bottle or can of carbonated seltzer water with all of it’s fizz intact. I once had only raspberry seltzer in the house and the challah came out surprisingly delicious.
Final challah point – if you double this recipe you will be making more than 5 pounds of challah dough and you can actually take challah with a bracha! Bonus!
Ok – one more thing…really! The amazing Gluten Free Expo is coming to the Chicago area this weekend!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! I’m going with my handy dandy media pass and will be doing all the fabulous social media stuff to keep you posted about the exciting new and improved GFE Kosher Products…so stay tuned throughout the day on Sunday, April 23rd!!!
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Honey Oat Challah – Gluten Free
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
An updated version of my famous Gluten Free Oat Challah
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons yeast
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 9 cups (1150g) certified gluten free oat flour (whisk to remove lumps)
- 1 1/3 cup (195g) tapioca flour (starch)
- 2 2/3 cup (450g) potato starch
- 2 tablespoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup honey
- 2 teaspsoons salt
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2 cups seltzer
- 2 large egg
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a small bowl combine the yeast, tablespoons of sugar, and warm water. Allow the yeast to proof for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together 9 cups oat flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, sugar and salt. Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, honey, canola oil, seltzer and proofed yeast into the well in the dry ingredients. Mix until the ingredients are just smooth and combined. Allow the dough to rest for 2-5 minutes. If the dough is particularly sticky or loose add an additional ½ cup of oat flour and mix until the dough is smooth. Spoon into braided loaf pan, or form small dough balls and place into standard loaf pan to form braids. Cover the loaves or rolls and let rise for one hour. If baking in a standard loaf or muffin pans, combine the large egg and warm water and brush over the risen loaf. Top with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- Make sure the water is “baby bottle warm” not hot when you proof the yeast.
- You can roll small pieces of dough into challah knots to be baked in muffin tins. Sprinkle your rolling surface with a little oat flour first.
- My absolute favorite challah topping is the “everything” mix!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
What kind of yeast do you use wet dry fast rising?
I use the bulk active dry yeast you get at Costco or Sam’s club. You can use any yeast just make sure it’s not old and that the water you proof it in is warm, not hot or you will kill the yeast. Please let me know how yours turns out!
Find the first one Amazing so can’t wait to try this recipe!!
In the ingredients list it’s written 9 cups oat flour. In your explainations it’s written 4. How many oat four cups please ??
Thanks for catching that…it’s a typo! 9 cups…the original is 4…I’ll fix it in the text. SO glad you liked the original! Please let me know how this one works for you!!!!!
EIGHT eggs?
Yup. Eight. It makes a LOT of challah. I freeze most and warm them when I need/want them. It’s a way to leaven the challah. You can halve the recipe then there are only 4!!
I dont see that you edited it yet.
Is this recipe for 4 cups or 9 cups of flour?
This recipe is approximately 9 cups of flour.
Can I substitute the sugar for honey?
Thanks for your question Baily! I think that doing a complete substitution would make it very dense. You can try and let me know how it turns out!
Ummmm I need to try this challah next time I come for Shabbos!
Yes! Yes you do!!!! Can’t wait!
Given how important it is to be accurate about measuring ingredients in GF recipes, how about providing the weights of the ingredients?
That is an EXCELLENT idea! I’ll try to do that in the future. I actually have a measuring bowl that is a dual measuring bowl/scale. I think if I use that it should make the task super easy. Please keep sending me your excellent ideas – that’s a really good one!
Can you use almond flour instead of tapioca?
I haven’t tried it – I would wonder if it would make the dough more dense. I also tend not to use almond flour in challah so that if someone has a gluten and nut intolerance they can still eat the challah. Try it and please let me know how it turns out! Thanks!
I’d like to try the siicone braided loaf pans. How many would I need for this amount of dough? Do you suggest the smaller braided loaf pan or the larger ones? Thank you!
If you would like to make large challahs then you would need at least 2 of the larger sized ones. There is a metal pan that I like to use for large Challot. Here is a link to it: http://amzn.to/2qYV03U on amazon. The challahs come out easily and look beautiful. As for silicone: I’ve used the smaller, large roll version which makes 4 larger challah rolls at a time. I would probably get at least 4 of those. This new version of the dough does a decent job of actually braiding. The key is to use vinyl gloves, so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands, and to hand the dough gently. I have made challah knots which I place either on a baking tray independently or in a large muffin tin. That would remove the need to buy additional pans. Finally Wilton makes a Twisted Long John pan which makes really beautiful long small challot. Here is a link on amazon: http://amzn.to/2rjLwkM and on wilton.com:http://www.wilton.com/6-cavity-donut-twist-pan/2105-0627.html . Hope this helps. When I made this recipe I got a few “larger” braided challot (I actually braided them rather than using the moulded pan), a pan or long twisted ones, muffin sized challah knots, and one “small” silicone mould challah pan with 4 challahs. It’s nice to make some smaller ones that you can just pull out and reheat and eat. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions. Sharon
Can the xanthan gum be replaced with arrowroot and can flax eggs be used in place of eggs?
I don’t know about the arrowroot – I can check, but you often can use flax eggs instead of regular eggs. You would have to try it to find out I think. Good luck and please let me know how it turns out!
Made them today! Worked out great. Would love to send you a photo.
Recommend the recipe 🙂
Made cinnamon ones also which are amazing!
Fabulous!!! Please post pictures!!
What did you do to make the cinnamon ones?
OMG! I can’t get over this challah! This is by far the best gluten-free challah I’ve ever made!! Thank you! I also wanted to let you know that I used regular water instead of seltzer and it worked well.
I’m SO happy to hear that!!! Please post pictures the next time you make it! Have a Happy & Healthy New Year!!! All The Best, Sharon
Can the yeast be substituted with anything?
Sorry…not that I know of. Readers?
How well does this freeze? I’d like to make enough to take challah with a bracha, but I also don’t want to eat stale bread for the few weeks after, like I’ve had to with other GF bread recipes I’ve made.
I always freeze this challah! I’ve found you can freeze it for 4-6 weeks after you make it, and it’s best to warm it before serving. After that amount of time the challah tends to dry out a little, but warming it helps a lot. I also couldn’t make a challah recipe that I couldn’t freeze because I usually make challah rolls or mini challahs and I couldn’t possibly eat them all at once!!! Please let me know how yours turns out!
I don’t eat white sugar. Can I substitute with all honey? How much honey would I use instead of the sugar?
On the “Kosher Me & Gluten Free” Facebook page, Shayna just recommended that you might consider substituting Stevia (1 1/2 cups stevia for 1 cup sugar, and let the challahs rise a little longer once shaped). I also think you might be able to substitute brown sugar, or possibly maple syrup – but I’d be concerned that the dough would be a little too dense with the syrup given that there is already honey in the recipe. I hope this helps..please let me know how yours turns out. All the best, Sharon
Is the dough sharable at all??
After it’s baked!
is this recipe enough to take challah? how many medium challahs does it yield? and about how many small?
thanks
It’s not enough to take challah…close but not quite. It makes 24-48 small (depending upon how small) and the medium size is relative… Please send pictures when you’re done!
Hi Sharon,
I would like to make onlyhalf the recipe. Will it work by just halving all the ingredients? Thx!
Yes Harlene – it would totally work!! Send me pictures please!
Hi Sharon,
My daughter and I just got around to trying your oat challah recipe. IT IS FABULOUS!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s the first time my daughter has had gluten free challah in nearly 5 years of being gluten free. She’s had other kinds of bread but no challah. This is a game changer. Thanks again!!!
WAHOO!!!! Thanks so much for letting me know!!!!
Is there any way to braid this?
Yes. After letting the dough rest for a few minutes it becomes a little thicker. If you wear disposable gloves (I like vinyl/plastic for this) and moisten them slightly, you can gently roll the dough into long strands then braid. I’m very careful not to “smush” the dough too much. Also, it’s important to let the dough rise AFTER the braiding, not necessarily before. My friend Margo recommends using the “proof” mode on your oven if you have one. I haven’t tried it yet, but she says it really makes the challah especially light and fluffy. Please let me know how yours turns out!
Hi, I see your recipe lists 8 eggs and the later on the list 2more eggs. What did I miss? 10 eggs. I must have missed something
Thanks for your comment Nancy. The first 8 eggs are for the recipe – it makes a LOT of challah. The last 2 are for “egging” the challahs to give them their shiny top. Trust me, if the recipe didn’t need them I wouldn’t have added them. You can try a half batch and see what you think. I just found out from my friend Margo, that if you have a proof setting on your oven and allow the challahs to rise in the oven, it makes the challah’s even better. Id’ love to hear how yours turn out! Sharon
I made this and found it somewhat dry. Any suggestions how to make it less dry?
Thanks for your question Ellen. Please make sure you are measuring the ingredients accurately. If you over measure the ingredients it will be dry as the desert.
Do other oils work instead of canola?
Thanks for your question Liz. Sure! I like to use a mild oil. What did you have in mind?
I have made your challah three times. The first time my 6’4″ son was here and he could mix the challah by hand to get it to take all of the flour. It was delicious. The second time I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and it finally went together. The third time it caused my mixer to overheat and stop. I don’t know where you’re getting the idea you could spoon this into anything or add any more oat flour. It is stiff and dry. I use a measuring cup that is two cup size. Is it off size maybe? It works on other recipes.
I used to work in a biochemistry lab, so believe me my measurement with the tools I have are precise. Today I’m going to try extra large eggs to see if that is any better. I’ve been baking for 62 years and I’ve never had a problem following a recipe before. I wondered if there was a misprint or something.
Thanks for you comments Mona. I’m so glad it worked out the first time. I generally weigh the ingredients to make sure that they are the correct measurements. I’m sure that you measured correctly, however different oat flours can have different weights/densities. I’m sure that as a scientist you have a food scale. Maybe try weighing the flours. Additionally, I’ve never tried to mix the dough in a mixer, but I have mixed dough in my 6 quart Kitchenaid. I’ve also burned out the motor of my 6 quart kitchenaid ;). What I was told was that when kneading dough it’s important to start the mixer before lowering the dough hook into the dough. It takes a lot of the stress off of the mixer that way and I’m less inclined to burn out my motor.
I’ve done many tutorials making this challah. My latest is on my Facebook page Kosher Everyday and there is a video on my YouTube channel (Sharon Matten) as well. Please let me know if you continue to have a problem.
Shana Tova!
Hi. I’m going to try the recipe for mishloach manot for my gluten free friend. So excited. A challah question if you know, to make hamotzei, I think the amount of water has to be greater than the other liquids combined… I counted the seltzer as water, and because of the amount of eggs, the other liquids are greater.. I was thinking of taking out a few eggs and using 1/ 4 cup of water for each egg that I remove to keep the water amount higher… Iyh I’ll let you know… If you have any other ideas, would love to know. Thanks again..
Ps..we don’t have gluten free oat flour.. So grinding my own.
Thanks for the question Rivka! You can also try my Gluten Free Water Oat Challah…there are no eggs at all in the recipe. Here is a link:
https://koshereveryday.com/gluten-free-oat-water-challah-vegan/
Hi. I cannot tolerate oats. Can I use Bob’s 1-1 gluten free flour and add quinoa flakes?
Thanks for your help.
Leah
Hi Leah! Thanks for your question. According to my LOR (Local Orthodox Rabbi) in order to wash for hamotzi and say birkat hamazon after the meal, there needs to be at least 51% oat flour in the recipe. I don’t know how this recipe will turn out with other ingredients, but if oats are substituted for quinoa or rice flour then that would change the properties of the challah. If you try it please let me know how it turns out. Shabbat Shalom!
Hi!
I’d love to make this recipe- i was wondering is the 9 cups of oat flour the doubled recipe you describe above for it to be hamotzi?
Or is it 18 cups of oat flour to be hamotzi
18 cups just sounds a lot in my head 😂
Thanks for your question Sara. Generally it’s 5 pounds of flour for Hamotzi – I really strongly recommend asking your Rabbi as I’m not one and don’t play one on TV 😉 Sorry I couldn’t be more help! All the best & Happy Sweet New Year. Sharon