Inspiration: Despite shaping bread dough nearly every single week of the year, apparently, my brain doesn’t consider the basic cylinder I place in a loaf pan a shape. (My little grey cells can be real jerks sometimes.) Due to this perception, I’ve shied away from challah’s braided form for years, despite finding this style of bread intriguing.

Enter Girl Meets Farm.

I really enjoy watching and listening to Molly Yeh’s enthusiasm for food on her aforementioned television show. So, upon locating one of Yeh’s cookbooks on the shelves of my local indie bookshop, I immediately flipped it open….And spied a recipe for Pimento Cheese Babka. (Yes, this too is a shaped loaf, but I’m willing to try A LOT if there’s melted cheese in my future.)

What I didn’t realize, until after the book came home with me, was this savory take on babka was based on Yeh’s Basic Challah recipe. Moreover, in Molly On The Range, Yeh’s included six other variants above and beyond the babka. 

Figuring: If that there are that many different things you can do with a single recipe — it seemed reasonable to assume Yeh’s challah was probably a pretty forgiving dough. So on a recent random Monday, I screwed up my courage and gave this Challah recipe a whirl. 

Upon rereading the instructions on that grey morning, I noticed a line I had skimmed past in previous perusals — Yeh’s instructions on how to make the dough one day and bake it the next. A feature I really appreciate in any recipe.

Look mom, I did a thing!

How did the braided loaves turn out? I think the dough was a touch overproofed, as the plaits on my first loaf tore slightly whilst baking. Though, in retrospect, that could’ve been due to panically pulling the loaf from the oven five minutes after it hit the heat to apply the forgotten egg wash. And I completely spaced sprinkling the flaky sea salt called for onto said wash on both loaves.

All that being said, for a first try, my challah turned out great! Especially when topped with melted cheese and dipped in tomato soup!

I would highly recommend Molly Yeh’s cookbook, Molly On The Range. Above and beyond being well laid out, Yeh’s instructions are straightforward, clear, and broken up into sensible steps. Moreover, Yeh’s introductions to each recipe are generally brief and contribute to the overall understanding of the dish (and are often funny). 

Although you can find many of Yeh’s recipes online, the book provides better context and is easier to follow (for me at least) than their Food Network website counterparts.

Another variation on Yeh’s Basic Challah recipe!

Agatha Christie’s Canon of Characters: I can easily imagine Miss Marple, Tuppence, or Lucy Eyelesbarrow whipping up this bread to serve at a fete or feast with friends — as not only does the plaits look impressive but, apparently, it’s easy to impart complex flavors via this loaf to complement other dishes being served as well!

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2025