A few weeks ago I was invited to participate in the National Festival of Breads baking contest that’s put on by the Kansas Wheat association and sponsored by King Arthur Flour and Red Star Yeast. I’ve never been invited to one of these things before so I was a little apprehensive about entering, but decided to give it a go.

After thinking long and hard about what type of bread I should make as my entry in to this contest, I decided to keep things simple but creative at the same time. I thought about the kinds of breads my family and friends enjoy, I thought about the foods that inspire me. My conclusion was that breakfast is my favorite meal to share with the kids, so taking some encouragement from them and inspiration from one of my favorite instagram superheroes (she has super challah powers!), I’m entering what is a blend of classic cinnamon roll and challah bread, which results in what I think is a delicious treat the whole family can enjoy.

Using King Arthur All-Purpose flour and Red Star Yeast for this recipe were no brainers. King Arthur’s flours produce the soft dough you want in a recipe like this and the Red Star Yeast provides an amazing rise for a super pillowy chew that you want in a cinnamon roll.

So, without further ado here is my entry in to this Festival. Making it is a very straight forward process and I’m sure you’ll have wonderful results at home! If you are new to baking, don’t be intimidated. This bread is simple to make, the dough is very forgiving, and you’ll enjoy making this for sure. I have listed all of the tools you may need to make this bread below the recipe too.

Print Pin Cinnamon Roll Challah Bread Prep Time 2 hours 40 minutes Cook Time 40 minutes Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes Servings 10 people Ingredients Dough 500 g King Arthur All Purpose FLour

200 ml Warm (80˚F) water

1 packet Red Star Yeast

3 tbsp Softened Butter

2 whole Eggs Medium

1 tbsp Salt

1 tbsp Salt Filling 3 tbsp Melted butter

2 tbs Cinnamon

1/2 cup Brown Sugar Instructions Making the dough In the bowl of a stand mixer, measure out the dry ingredients. Briefly mix them with a fork or whisk.



To the dry ingredients, add all the warm water, butter, and eggs.



Turn on the mixer on its slowest setting. On mine it’s called “Stir” but yours might be different. You want to start incorporating all of the ingredients while not making a mess!



Once everything is starting to come together, turn up the mixer to 1st speed and mix for approximately 5 minutes or until the dough is all together, pulling away from the sides of the dough, and looks uniform and smooth.

If your eggs were too big, add a little bit of flour at a time until the dough is no longer sloshing around your bowl.

If your eggs were too small, add a little bit of milk to your mixture until the dough is softer.



Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover. Set in a warm place and let the dough rise for about an hour.

Making the filling Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix to combine, easy peasy!

Making the Cinnamon Roll Challah Roll out your dough to a rectangular shape, approximately 18 inches long and 12 inches wide. If it’s bigger than that it’s ok!



Cut your rectangle in to 3 equal width strips.



Spread the cinnamon filling on each of the 3 braids.



Roll the strips to seal. You want to have 3 logs to braid.



Put the 3 braids next to each other and pinch one ends of the braids in order to join them, then braid your bread.



Move your challah in to a bread loaf pan and cover with a slightly moist towel (I take a kitchen towel and spritz it with a water mister), then put it in a warm place for about an hour.



In the meantime, preheat your oven to 425˚F.



When the hour has passed or your bread has doubled in size, spritz your bread with a water mister and load it in to the oven and lower the oven temperature to 375˚F.



Bake the challah for approximatley 35 minutes or until it’s nicely browned.



Remove from the oven and remove from the baking pan, let cool before eating!



Helpful tools for making this bread