Want to hear a challah expert lay out the secrets to making challah from A-Z? Go from novice to pro faster than you thought possible! Mandy Silverman of @mandylicious shared it all on Kosher.com. Recipes, step by step photos on how to braid loaves and rolls, gluten free options, and troubleshooting tips, she’s got you covered!

Here’s an excerpt with her tips on solving two common problems new bakers encounter.

There are two areas where people struggle the most when creating their dough. The first is yeast, and the second is dough consistency. Let’s review each of these.

Yeast:

Yeast is probably the most important part of creating your dough! Without working yeast, your dough will not rise. However, there are many types of yeast out there, and that gets confusing.

The most common yeast used is called Active Dry Yeast. This yeast requires you activate (proof) it before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. This is done by adding your yeast and a pinch of sugar to water that is around 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Since water that is too hot will kill your yeast, and water that is too cold will not be able to activate your yeast, getting the temperature correct is imperative. Using a thermometer is a great way to be sure that your water is the proper temperature, but if you don’t have one, I always suggest getting to a temperature that feels right around the temperature you would like to take a bath in! Not too hot that you could not step in it, but not too cold that you would want to hop right out.

Once you have combined the yeast, warm water, and pinch of sugar, let it sit for a few minutes and you should see the mixture turn frothy and bubbly. Bubbles are the proof your yeast is alive and is ready to be added to the rest of the ingredients. If you do not see bubbles or any frothing, throw out the yeast mixture and start again.

The yeast I prefer using is called Instant Yeast (bread machine yeast also works). Instant yeast is magic because it does not need to be proofed, i.e. mixed with warm water, and it can be added in with your ingredients at any point. Indeed, it’s ready instantly! Using this type of yeast eliminates any stresses associated with yeast proofing and leads to higher success rates! In fact, you can use instant yeast measure for measure in any recipe calling for active dry yeast.

A note of caution, though – any yeast that is labeled “Quick Rise” or “Rapid Rise” etc, is not the same as traditional instant yeast. These types of yeasts are a style of instant yeast that is designed for single-rise recipes to create a rise extra quickly, and therefore will not work in recipes with long rise times and second rises – like challah. This means if you use quick rise yeast in a recipe that does not call for quick rise yeast, you may end up with your dough overrising and falling flat.

Dough Consistency:

I am about to say something a little controversial! Many recipes involving flour recommend using precise measurements when assembling your dough. In fact, using a scale is necessary, as you need to measure your ingredients down to the gram to be successful.

That may be the case for many recipes, but I find the opposite to be true when creating challah.

Dough consistency is sensitive to things like humidity in and out of the home, type of flour used, and even different brands of flour have varying protein levels, which all effect dough consistency. It is because of this variability that your challah will need slightly different amounts of flour and/or water every time it is prepared.

Your goal for challah is to get it to a tacky but not sticky consistency that is just soft enough to give a nice squish to, but not wet enough to stick to your hands. If your dough is too wet before that first rise, it will not be able to be shaped properly when it is time to braid it, and you will have to add so much flour to create the braids, that your dough will end up dense and floury tasting.

If your dough is too dry before going into that first rise, it will not rise properly, making the end result taste dense and floury.

The key is do whatever you have to do to get it to that Just Right (tacky but not sticky) consistency before that first rise. If you have to add flour, slowly add as much flour as you need to BEFORE that first rise. If you have to add water, slowly add as much water as you need to BEFORE that first rise.

The dough consistency will not improve as it sits, so be sure to take the time to get it just right before letting it rise.

If you are finding that you are always having to add a considerable amount of flour to a recipe because it is too sticky, go ahead and start with a little less water. If you are finding that you are always having to add more water to a recipe because it is too dry, go ahead and start with a little less flour.

To read more of Mandy’s challah advice and recipes and everything you need to know to become a challah pro, just click here!