Challah Dinner Rolls

Published Nov 14, 2024

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These Challah Dinner Rolls are sweeter than your usual dinner rolls. They are pillowy inside and have a beautiful golden brown crust on the outside.

Be sure to enjoy them when still warm with some butter smeared on top. So good!

A baking dish of baked Challah Dinner Rolls.

These mini challah rolls are the ideal side dish for dinner, whether for a family meal or a fancy dinner during Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Adapted from the Challah bread recipe I have been making for years, these challah knots are impressive and easy to recreate. Your home will smell like a bakery as you bake them!

Challah roll cut in half to show texture.

If you love making homemade bread, try my Easy Homemade French Bread, Milk Bread, and Sweet Dinner Rolls recipes.

Why You’ll Love Challah Dinner Rolls

They’re super easy to make. See the step-by-step photos below.
Simple ingredients.
No special tools are needed.
Versatile! These homemade rolls can be filled with anything from Healthy Strawberry Jam to good-quality butter. They make great sandwiches or even French toast.

Braided Challah Buns

I always bake Challah bread around Thanksgiving. There’s something about the braided look and the rich bread that spells feast! This is one reason why they are so popular at Jewish holidays.

These mini challah rolls are a fun version of the classic challah bread, a delicious type of yeast bread. They’re perfect for your Thanksgiving bread basket; everyone could have a cute mini challah! The leftovers make great sandwiches the following day.

Challah knot rolls are made from traditional challah dough, but the bread is formed into small round braided rolls. While the process may seem quite complicated, it is relatively straightforward if you take the time to plan correctly.

Whether you are planning a big holiday dinner where you intend to prepare challah dinner rolls or just for a weeknight meal to add more items to the table, this is a recipe you will come back to again and again because it is delicious, impressive, and quite versatile.

Ingredients Needed

Like all the best breads, challah dinner rolls are made from essential ingredients mixed to create something really good and irresistible. Here is what you need:

Flour—I used all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you can also use bread flour.
Yeast—For this recipe, I used active dry yeast. Always check the expiry date of your yeast, as using fresh yeast is crucial for a well-risen challah dough.
Eggs—Ensure you are using room-temperature eggs. This recipe requires two large eggs.
Vegetable oil—Vegetable oil was used for this particular recipe. However, other neutral oils like canola oil or light olive oil will be perfect.
Honey— Honey is the traditional sweetener used in Challah bread. But you could also use brown sugar.
Salt—Salt balances the sweetness in the rolls.
Milk—It is best to use whole milk for this recipe. I have also used warm evaporated milk with great success.

For the full list of ingredients with measurements, check out the recipe card below.

Challah Dinner Rolls Recipe Variations

Sweeter Rolls: Add one tablespoon of cinnamon and a handful of raisins to sweeten and spice the challah dough.
Savory Rolls: You can add dried herbs, garlic powder or cheese for a savory variation.
Cardamom Rolls: Add a small amount (about half a teaspoon) of cardamom to the dough for flavorful challah rolls.
Poppy Seeds: Top the rolls with poppy seeds instead of sesame seeds before baking.

Landscape image of challah dinner rolls.

Substitutions

Whole Wheat: If you wish to make this with whole-wheat flour, you can replace half of the flour with whole-wheat flour. I advise against using 100% whole-wheat flour for these, as this will result in heavy, non-fluffy rolls. Bread flour can be used to give it a slightly chewier texture.
Vegetable Oil: Canola oil, olive, or melted butter can be used for these rolls.
Maple Syrup: Instead of honey, try maple syrup or agave nectar.

P.S. The photos show 6 rolls being made instead of 12, as the recipe states. The images only show half of the dough being divided and shaped. If you make the complete recipe, you’ll have more rolls than these.

How to Make Challah Rolls

Step 1: Warm Milk and Proof Yeast

Warm the milk until it’s just slightly warm (about 110°F). Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and a pinch of sugar. Stir to combine. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

Do not use expired yeast, as this will not give the best result during the rising process. You can confirm if it is expired or not by taking a teaspoon of dry yeast and adding ¼ cup of lukewarm water. If it is active, it will bubble for 10 minutes after stirring and become slightly puffy; this indicates that the yeast is active. If this is not the case, your yeast has probably expired.

Step 2: Add Wet Ingredients and Mix

When the yeast mixture is foamy, add the eggs, vegetable oil and honey and mix well to combine.

Adding eggs and wet ingredients to yeast mixture.

Step 3: Add Flour and Salt

Add the flour and salt and mix with clean hands until the dough comes together. Knead until smooth.

Step 4: First Rise

Cover the challah dough with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to rise. Let it rise for 1.5-2 hours or until doubled in size.

Step 5: Punch, Transfer and Shape

Punch down the risen dough to deflate it, and turn it out on a lightly floured, clean work surface. Shape the challah dough into a long log and cut it into 12 equal portions. If you want the portions to be precise, weigh each piece of dough on a kitchen scale.

Cutting challah dough into equal portions.

Step 6: Make Braids

Take each challah dough part and cut it into three equal pieces. Then, shape each portion into a long rope. Place the logs side by side, squeeze them on top, and braid them like hair. Then, pinch together the tip and pinch both edges of the braid tightly. Arrange the challah rolls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 7: Second Rise

Cover the rolls in the prepared baking sheet with a towel, and leave them to rise until they have become twice as big, for at least 30 minutes.

Step 8: Brush With Egg Wash

Brush the tops of the rolls with beaten egg yolk or an egg wash (whole egg) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Mini Challah bread brushed with egg wash and topped with sesame seeds.

Step 9: Bake Until Golden Brown

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the rolls turn golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

That’s how you make delicious challah rolls! To make them ahead for Thanksgiving, shape the rolls and freeze them on a baking sheet. Transfer them to a ziploc bag and freeze for up to a month.

Place the rolls on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet to thaw overnight in the fridge. Brush the unbaked rolls with egg wash using a pastry brush before baking the next morning.

Love dinner rolls? Also, check out my amazing Garlic Butter Rolls.

Be patient! Allow the challah dough to rise, preferably to a point where it becomes double in size. This makes for the best texture!

Expert Tips

Use bread flour! I prefer to work with all-purpose flour or bread flour for the challah dough. Bread flour has more gluten, which makes the dough elastic and easy to handle when making bread and rolls.
Sprinkle some flour when shaping the rolls, but avoid adding too much flour so it doesn’t make the dough tough.
For a more decadent bread, add two egg yolks to the dough. This will yield super soft rolls.

One challah roll pulled away to show texture.

Serving

You can serve these Challah Dinner Rolls alongside the following:

How to Store Leftovers

These challah dinner rolls should preferably be served immediately on the day they are prepared or within 24 hours. These will keep up to 3 days but will not be as soft as the days pass. You can store them at room temperature in an airtight container.

Challah rolls freeze very well, too! First, freeze them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then transfer them into a container or freezer bag once they have become fully frozen. They can be defrosted at room temperature or in the toaster.