Aquafabulous Vegan Challah: Smarter than Your Average Water Challah

What if you could bake an egg-free vegan challah with the texture of the eggy kind? Thanks to the wonders of aquafaba challah, now you can!

A few years back, aquafaba—a rather pretentious name for the oh-so-humble substance of leftover chickpea cooking water—took the vegan food world by storm. Turns out the chemical properties of this gooey liquid has some remarkable similarities to those of egg whites, meaning aquafaba is perfect for making vegan meringues, mayo, cocktails—and baked goods of all stripes.

Naturally, that includes challah. As a connoisseur of recipes of all stripes, from the egg-free to the positively brioche-like, I can vouch for this aquafaba challah as the best vegan version I’ve baked yet. The texture is just fantastic: it’s soft and fluffy, stretchy rather than crumbly—just the way I like my challah. This aquafaba challah isn’t very sweet, which is all to the good as far as I’m concerned, but I’m sure there are some cake-challah lovers among you!

For the aquafaba, you can use the liquid from cooking up chickpeas from scratch, or, if you like, from a can of chickpeas. Either way, the liquid will keep in the fridge for three days or so, and though I haven’t tried it myself I hear it freezes well too. Whipping up aquafaba really requires a stand or hand mixer; doing it the old-fashioned way tends to yield underwhelming results.

There’s an optional aquafaba wash you can apply at the end like an egg wash, to give your aquafaba challah that glossy sheen. I kind of like the crustier crust that develops minus the wash, so I tend to skip it, but this aquafaba challah is delish either way.

I used some of the challah hacks I picked up from Shannon Sarna in shaping these loaves—rolling the strands out with your palms rather than fingers, in particular, is a game changer—and if you’re thinking of baking this aquafaba challah or any other challah, you should check them out.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Zsu Dever’s Aquafaba cookbook.

Aquafaba Challah

Makes 2 loaves

Dough

¾ cup warm water (not hotter than 110°F)

6 tablespoons sugar or maple syrup, divided

1 tablespoon dry active yeast

6 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

5 ¾ cups bread flour

2 teaspoons sea salt

½ cup aquafaba

Aquafaba Wash (Optional)

¼ cup aquafaba

½ teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch

Combine the water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar or maple syrup in a medium bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to proof. Add the remaining 5 tablespoons of sugar or maple syrup and all of the oil.

Combine the flour and salt in a separate medium bowl and set aside.

Add the aquafaba to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and use a whisk to beat the aquafaba until light and frothy, about 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and about 4 cups of the flour mixture. Knead the dough in the stand mixer or using a large wooden spoon. Mix well and add the rest of the flour mixture as needed to create a firm dough; try adding most, or all, of the flour mixture. Knead the dough for 10 minutes to develop the gluten. The dough should be smooth and push back when poked.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Deflate the dough and let it rise again until doubled, about another hour. Divide the dough in two and divide each half into three, four, or six pieces, depending on how you would like to braid the dough. Keep the pieces covered until ready to use.

Roll each portion of dough into a 12-inch long, tapered rope. Braid half the ropes into a challah loaf. Set the braided dough on a baking sheet, repeat the process with the other half of the ropes, and cover each loaf with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 40 minutes.

Aquafaba wash: Combine the aquafaba and arrowroot or cornstarch in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat just until thickened. Cool slightly before use.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brush the aquafaba wash over the bread and bake for 10 minutes. Brush the bread with the wash again, continue to bake for 20 to 25 more minutes, and check the bread for doneness. If the bread is browning too quickly, tent it with foil or continue to bake it upside down. Tap on the bottom of the bread; if it sounds hollow, it is probably ready. Cool before serving.

Source: Aquafaba (Zsu Dever, 2016)

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