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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Chocolate and walnut vegan challah

July 31, 2015 by Duncan - 31

baking, bread, chocolate, yeastgo to recipe

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chocolate walnut vegan challah cross section

When Duncan and I first started dating, I was very impressed that the boy can cook. He made me a lovely meal on one of our first dates and I don’t think I let him know just how food obsessed I was that early on. I was secretly pinching myself as I have never dated anyone with any sort of cooking skills before. When I told him that I’ve never had a guy cook an elaborate meal for me before, he was very matter of fact about it. ‘I’m from Melbourne…’ he said, ‘…and Melbourne guys can cook’. Why didn’t I know about this amazing city full of guys who like cooking before?

When we moved in together, I took on more cooking, especially now as it is my ‘sort of’ job – I’m lucky, aren’t I? There is one thing I am not even attempting to learn though and it’s bread baking. Bread (and any sort of yeast baking) is Duncan’s domain and I think he is keen to keep it this way so I stay away and enjoy being baked for now and again.

He is really good at it. His slight obsession with precision (a mild OCD between you and me) comes into its own as far as baking is concerned. He is completely self-taught and a proof that if you put your mind to it, you’ll eventually master any skill you set your sights on.

Today, Duncan made me an amazing vegan challah oozing deliciously rich dark chocolate and crunchy walnut filling. It is to die for and despite my best efforts, I was not able to stop at a single slice. It is so good I’ve had to be dragged away from it…

PS: If you make my chocolate and walnut vegan challah, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

chocolate walnut vegan challah whole

chocolate walnut vegan challah slicing

chocolate walnut vegan challah slice close up

chocolate walnut vegan challah with espresso

5.00 from 6 votes
Print
  • makes: 1 loaf
  • prep: 45 min
  • cooking: 25 min

Ingredients


CHALLAH

  • 220 g of strong flour
  • 250 g of all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 10 g salt
  • 7 g sachet fast-action dried yeast
  • 300 ml of almond milk + a little extra for bread glazing
  • 1 tbsp olive oil + a little extra for bread and pan glazing

CHALLAH FILLING

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 tbsp brown sugar
  • 150 g walnuts, chopped
  • 100 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Method

  1. Mix the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Pour in the lukewarm (not cold!) almond milk and stir everything together with a large wooden spoon. Then add the olive oil and combine.
  3. When the mixture has mostly stuck together turn the mixture out on to a work surface or bread board. Knead the mixture by holding one end of the dough in one hand and stretching it out with the other hand. Reform the dough, turn it 90 degrees and start again. Repeat this for 10 minutes. See this recipe for photos on how to knead if you’re unsure.
  4. When the dough is shiny and smooth, put it in a large mixing bowl, coat in a thin layer of olive oil and cover the bowl with a tea towel. Leave it in a warm place (but not too warm – ie not next to an open fire!) for between one and two hours (until it has doubled in size).
  5. Empty the dough out on to a work surface and push the air out with your fingertips.
  6. Split the dough into three equal parts – best to use kitchen scales here. Roll one part of the dough flat until it is 30 cm long and 8-10 cm wide. Next, follow these 5 steps:
    • STEP 1 Coat the dough with olive oil making sure you cover its entire surface (photo 1).
    • STEP 2 Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the dough (photo 2).
    • STEP 3 Sprinkle a layer of chopped chocolate on the dough (photo 3).
    • STEP 4 Sprinkle a layer of chopped walnuts on the dough (photo 4).
    • STEP 5 Starting from the bottom, roll the dough tightly it so that at the end you have one horizontal “dough snake” (photos 5 and 6). Make sure you seal it well.

filling challah strands step by step

  1. Repeat steps 1-5 for the remaining 2 dough parts.
  2. Plait the bread following these steps:
    • STEP 1 Arrange the 3 plaits as per photo 1.
    • STEP 2 Take the very leftmost plait and fold it over the middle plait (photo 2).
    • STEP 3 Take the very rightmost plait and fold it over the middle plait (photo 3).
    • STEP 4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you run out of space and the 3 plaits are knotted together.

Plaiting challah step by step

  1. Place the finished challah (covered with a kitchen towel) to prove again for another hour. Before the hour is up, preheat the oven to 180° C / 350° F.
  2. Coat the challah with olive oil (this gives it a golden colour). Place it in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
  3. Glaze the still warm challah with a mixture that is 50% almond milk and 50% olive oil. This gives it an extra shine.
If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Duncan. He is the "technical nerd" and baking department of Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about his journey into food blogging here, his other passion running here. You can also find him on Twitter.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Maikki // Maikin mokomin says

    August 1, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    Looks delicious! Thanks for the step-by-step photos – they are really helpful 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 1, 2015 at 10:28 pm

      Thanks Maikki, let us know how you liked it if you try making it. 🙂

      Reply
  2. kristen says

    August 2, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    What is strong flour? is it bread flour?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 2, 2015 at 5:15 pm

      Hi Kristen, yes, strong flour is the same as bread flour. Hope you like the result.

      Reply
  3. Melcakes says

    January 24, 2016 at 6:35 pm

    That’s more of a rugelach than challah. Looks good though!

    Reply
  4. Anastasia says

    February 22, 2016 at 7:00 pm

    Dear Ania and Duncan,
    Great site you’re running here! I just tried making your chocolate mousse with aquafaba. It turned out beautifully 🙂 I look forward to my husband’s reaction tomorrow when he tries it. He is a big chocoholic in love with chocolate mousse.
    I have a quick question regarding this recipe that I am planning on trying later this week. What is the difference between strong and all-purpose flour? Here in Denmark I can buy either white or whole wheat flour.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Duncan Edwards says

      February 22, 2016 at 7:11 pm

      Hi Anastasia,

      Great to hear that the chocolate mousse worked out so well! Strong flour (sometimes called bread flour) is flour with a higher protein content which helps to create more gluten and more rise in baked breads. It is a white flour but is different to all-purpose flour (which has a lower protein content)…You should be able to find it in a big supermarket. I hope that helps! Good luck!

      Cheers,

      Duncan (Baking Department)

      Reply
  5. Adia Taliaferro says

    March 4, 2016 at 7:28 pm

    Hi Ania. Look like a really great recipe. Have a question. Can I use a dough hook on on a mixer to combine the ingredients and knead? Or will it not have the same effect as hand kneading.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      March 4, 2016 at 8:55 pm

      Hi Adia,

      Glad to hear that you are thinking of trying this recipe out. We have never used a mixer as we don’t own such high-tech machinery, plus Duncan likes kneading by hand (very relaxing, apparently:), but I don’t see why not. We would love to hear how it turned out!

      Ania

      Reply
  6. Sofia says

    March 13, 2016 at 2:17 am

    I can’t wait to try it out, the ingredients seem pretty simple, My mouth is already watering just thinking about it!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      March 13, 2016 at 12:20 pm

      Thanks, Sofia. Yes, it’s all pretty straightforward. We hope you try it and if you do, it would be amazing to hear how you got on! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Chloe says

    August 19, 2016 at 10:38 am

    This recipe is amazing, I ate the whole challah to myself over the past 3 days. I had no walnuts available so I used raspberries instead and it worked fine. I can’t wait to make it again for my family. Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 19, 2016 at 10:54 am

      Hi Chloe,

      Ha ha, you ate the whole thing by yourself? That’s the biggest compliment ever and I feel like I’ve found a soul sister 🙂 We’re both (Duncan baked it) chuffed that the recipe was such a hit with you and raspberries and chocolate is such a dream combo too! Jealous and salivating as I write this 🙂

      Ania

      Reply
  8. Michelle says

    September 4, 2016 at 5:54 pm

    Can I use cocoa powder instead of chocolate bars?

    Reply
    • Duncan Edwards says

      September 5, 2016 at 12:50 pm

      Hi Michelle,

      I have to say I’m not sure! My guess is that it would probably need a bit of extra liquid and a bit of extra sugar but it isn’t something I’ve ever tried…

      If you do try it, let me know how you get on!

      Cheers,

      Reply
  9. Richard says

    November 12, 2017 at 11:53 pm

    Just watched the video on Facebook. This looks awesome!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 13, 2017 at 6:33 pm

      Thanks, Richard! Hope you’ll give it a go! Ania

      Reply
  10. Chikting says

    November 19, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    Thank you for the recipe ! It was my first time making bread and it did a little twist . I replaced walnuts with dried cranberries and pecan so it can balance out the sweetness of the dark chocolate and I can still have the crunchiness from the pecan 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 20, 2017 at 1:07 am

      That’s so nice to hear and your additions both sounds really delicious! 🙂 Ania

      Reply
  11. Jane says

    May 5, 2018 at 8:27 am

    This looks fab!
    BTW, I just joined your mailing list on the promise of a Sweets e-book, but none arrived. Can you tell me where I can get it?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Ania says

      May 7, 2018 at 10:57 pm

      Hi Jane,

      After you confirmed your email address, you should have received an email with a link to download the e-book from. Please check your inbox and let us know if you still haven’t got it. Ania

      Reply
  12. Charlotte says

    February 10, 2019 at 3:39 pm

    Thank you for the recipe, it was amazing! Quite a lot of work and time-consuming, but well worth it! I omitted the bread flour and doubled the amount of all-purpose flour, it worked just fine. I also used only 90g of walnuts (that was all I had in the kitchen) and it was the perfect amount for me. Will definitely make it again!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 11, 2019 at 2:19 pm

      I’m delighted to hear that, Charlotte! And thanks so much for taking the time to review and rate the recipe. Ania

      Reply
  13. Anett Santa says

    April 19, 2019 at 9:54 pm

    Sorry for the odd timing of the question…
    Is it okay to use normal /regular yeast (small block stored in the fridge) instead of the dried one?
    Thanks a lot for all the great recipes, always love them and best of luck with creating your new home together!!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      April 20, 2019 at 8:26 pm

      Thanks Anett, that’s so sweet of you! So glad you follow me and enjoy my recipes! As for the yeast, yes, I do not see why not. I have never used live yeast but I assume you’ll need to activate them first, which I am sure you know anyway. x Ania

      Reply
  14. Laana says

    June 2, 2019 at 11:39 am

    Made it yesterday and we managed to eat half of it at once (it was humongous)! Really delicious, fluffy and great texture. Chocolate and walnuts is such a great combo. I used a mixer with a kneading hook to make the dough and gave it a few ‘hand kneads’ at the end just to check if it was ready. I added ‘NO Egg’ egg replacer, cardamom and melted vegan butter to the dough. Didn’t have any strong flour and used all purpose instead. Also i used vegan Nutella for the filling. This is my best attempt with vegan sweet bread so far! I tried some recipes with pumpkin puree and whipped aquafaba but the texture wasn’t nearly as good. Even my partner who doesn’t care about food in general (unlucky me) was absolutely sold on this challah! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      June 2, 2019 at 3:30 pm

      I’m delighted to hear that, Laana! You’ve made me really want to have challah now! 🙂 Ania

      Reply
  15. Verena says

    December 31, 2019 at 11:29 am

    Hello,

    Do you think I could use the same base to make little buns or would I need to make some changes (apart from cooking time)? This is my favorite brioche recipe but I made it for Christmas morning so I wanted to change it up and make little chocolate and orange buns for tomorrow morning.

    Happy New Year to you both!

    Verena

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 1, 2020 at 8:46 pm

      Hi Verena,

      I don’t see why it would not work, great idea! Baking time will definitely need altering, but I don’t think anything else does (apart from the filling, of course). Hope they will come out as delicious as they sound! Ania

      Reply
  16. Sue says

    January 15, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    This was fun to make and delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe! Btw, I used white whole wheat flour plus vital wheat gluten.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 15, 2020 at 8:02 pm

      Great to hear, Sue! Thank you for letting me know! x Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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