About Me: I have more than 20 years of cooking experience & share my favorite recipes on this blog.
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Make the most adorable loaf of fluffy challah bread shaped like a bear! This Teddy Bear Challah recipe is an easy way to make my Honey Vanilla Challah into a cute shape that’s as fun to make as it is to eat.
Today I would like to share a different way to make one of the recipes I have already posted. My Honey Vanilla Challah Bread. I have been making challah with that recipe for almost 20 years. It’s fluffy, slightly sweet, and goes perfectly with just about any meal.
It also happens to be easy to make into all sorts of beautiful shapes, including animal shapes! Grown ups and kiddos alike go ga-ga for this Teddy Bear Challah, which some of you have cleverly suggested should really be called Koala Challah if only for the alliteration. 🙂
Why You’ll Love Teddy Bear Bread
- Easy. This recipe is incredibly simple. You don’t even need a stand mixer to make it.
- Adorable. The finished teddy bear is almost too cute to eat! Almost. 🙂
- Fluffy. No matter what shape I make this challah recipe always comes out so fluffy. The golden crust is perfectly crisp and compliments the soft interior of this bread.
- Perfectly sweet. This bread is just sweet enough to eat on its own. But you can also add your favorite jam, honey, or whatever you like.
Watch The Video
Want to see how to make this teddy bear bread? Watch this step-by-step video:
What Other Animal Shapes Can I Make?
Pictured here is, of course, Teddy Bear challah. But there are many other ways you can shape this bread. I’ve made it into a turkey, a giraffe, a tiger, a horse, flowers, even an alligator once. You can even do fun geometric patterns that represent a mandala. Your creativity is the only limit.
If you do something like a tiger that needs markings, you can use a simple glaze like this one from my pumpkin scones or this one from my blueberry scones. Just let the bread cool completely, then add your stripes by drizzling the glaze over the bread. Give it about an hour to set afterward.
To come up with the shapes all you need to do is take out a piece of blank paper, grab a pencil, and figure out how to form a bunch of circles into a shape. Each circle represents a ball of dough. Once you have your design, divide the dough into however many pieces you are going to need, then roll each piece into a ball and assemble your bread. You can rub a bit of water between each piece to help them stick together.
How to Make Teddy Bear Challah
Here’s how to shape challah dough into a Teddy Bear. No matter what shape you make, the process will be about the same. Note that if you are using small balls of dough your bake time will likely be shorter, so be sure to keep an eye on your bread.
- Make the challah dough. First, you are going to make a batch of my Honey Vanilla Challah. Then after the first rise, you’re going to assemble the bear.
- Prep your tools. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You are going to assemble the bear directly on the baking sheet.
- Deflate the dough. Gently deflate the dough by pressing your fingers into it, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Get a sharp knife. To assemble the bear you’ll need to cut the dough using a sharp knife (so divide the dough before working with a toddler or young child if that is what you are doing).
- Cut the dough in half.
- One half of the dough is going to be the teddy bear’s body. Shape it into a large ball and place it in the center of your lined baking sheet.
- Cut the remaining piece of dough in half. One half of this piece is going to be the teddy bear’s head. Shape it into a ball and place it just above the body, using a little bit of water to help the two pieces stick together if necessary.
- Cut off about 1/3 of the remaining piece of dough. Divide into two small balls (the ears) and one smaller ball (the nose).
- The last piece of dough will form the arms and legs. Cut it into four pieces, roll into balls, then attach to the teddy bear’s body. You can make the legs bigger if you want by using more of this portion of dough for the legs.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Let the dough do a second rise. Cover the bear loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Add the eyes and belly button. With a sharp knife cut small slits where the eyes and belly button will be, then insert raisins, dried cranberries, or dried blueberries. (Any kind of dried fruit will work.) Stick a raisin or blueberry on the nose. You can also make a series of little holes vertically down the belly and insert raisins or dried cranberries/blueberries like the teddy bear is wearing a sweater and these are the buttons.
- Add the egg glaze. Whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, this is going to be the glaze for your bread. Gently brush the dough with a thick layer of it. (This is the same process as if you were making a regular challah.)
- Place the dough in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the bread is a deep golden brown and sounds hollow when you thump it on the bottom.
- Transfer to a baking rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before slicing – or at least wait until it’s warm, not hot – then enjoy!
Ways to Enjoy Your Teddy Bear Bread
This challah bread is sweet enough to enjoy on its own. If you would like to add something extra here are my favorite ideas:
- Jam. Slater your favorite flavor of jam onto a fluffy piece of bread.
- Honey. I love drizzling whipped honey onto a piece of challah. So good!
- Maple cream. Another favorite. Maple cream can be hard to find though. I usually find it at the local farmer’s market during the summer months or at the apple orchard down the road. Check out the artisan food section of your local market.
- Butter. Sometimes a bit of melty butter is all you need.
You can also serve this challah with a fancy beverage of choice. I’m rather partial to a honey vanilla latte to go with this bread – the flavors complement each other perfectly. A caramel brulee latte is another delicious pairing!
More Bread Recipes
- Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead Bread)
- Mozzarella Stuffed Bavarian Pretzels
- Señorita Bread
- Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
Teddy Bear Challah
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon active dry yeast
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 ¼ to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of warm milk, whole is best, low-fat is ok too
- 2 large eggs + 1 for the glaze
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil + 1 teaspoon for greasing the bowl and another for the glaze
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 raisins, for the eyes and belly button
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Combine some of the dry ingredients. In a large bowl using a whisk combine the yeast, sugar, salt and 1 cup of the flour.
- Add wet ingredients. Add the warm milk, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, then the honey and vanilla. (Add the olive oil first, then use the same measuring spoon to add the honey – residual oil on the spoon will make the honey slide right out.)
- Vigorously mix the ingredients until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through, about 3 minutes.
- Add the rest of the flour. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, switching to a wooden spoon when the dough becomes too thick for the whisk. Continue mixing the dough until it is too stiff to stir.
- Knead. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and springy, about 4 minutes. If the dough is sticky, dust with flour 1 tablespoon at a time – just enough to prevent it from sticking to the surface. The dough is done when it’s smooth and small air bubbles show under the skin. If you press your thumb into it the impression should bounce back. This is a slightly firm dough, which is exactly what you want for easy braiding later on.
- First rise. Place the dough in a deep container greased with 1 tsp of olive oil. Turn the dough once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Prep your tools. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You are going to assemble the bear directly on the baking sheet.
- Deflate the dough. Gently deflate the dough by pressing your fingers into it, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Shape the Bear and Bake
- Get a sharp knife. To assemble the bear you’ll need to cut the dough using a sharp knife (so divide the dough before working with a toddler or young child if that is what you are doing).
- Cut the dough in half. One half of the dough is going to be the teddy bear’s body. Shape it into alarge ball and place it in the center of your lined baking sheet.
- Cut the remaining piece of dough in half. One half of this piece is going to be the teddy bear’s head. Shape it into a ball and place it just above the body, using a little bit of water to help the two pieces stick together if necessary.
- Cut off about 1/3 of the remaining piece of dough. Divide into two small balls (the ears) and one smaller ball (the nose).
- The last piece of dough will form the arms and legs. Cut it into four pieces, roll into balls, then attach to the teddy bear’s body. You can make the legs bigger if you want by using more of this portion of dough for the legs.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. By the time the bear finishes the second rise your oven will likely be ready for baking.
- Let the dough do a second rise. Cover the bear loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Add the eyes and belly button. With a sharp knife cut small slits where the eyes and belly button will be, then insert raisins, dried cranberries, or dried blueberries. (Any kind of dried fruit will work.) Stick a raisin or blueberry on the nose. You can also make a series of little holes vertically down the belly and insert raisins or dried cranberries/blueberries like the teddy bear is wearing a sweater and these are the buttons.
- Add the egg glaze. Whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, this is going to be the glaze for your bread. Gently brush the dough with a thick layer of it. (This is the same process as if you were making a regular challah.)
- Bake. Place the dough in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the bread is a deep golden brown and sounds hollow when you thump it on the bottom.
- Cool. Transfer to a baking rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before slicing – or at least wait until it’s warm, not hot – then enjoy!
How very cute but it looks like a koala to me and rhymes with challah. 😁
Ha! I never thought of that before! It does indeed also look like a koala and who doesn’t love a cute rhyme? May need to call this Koala Challah from now on. 🙂