Before I continue my look at challah, I must address the families of all the bubbies, grandmothers and savtas out there. If you have been passing a cherished challah recipe from generation to generation, nothing online could ever come close. However, if you aren’t one of the fortunate ones, there is a treasure trove of recipes out there. And who knows, you may stumble across a recipe that one day your grandchildren will thank you for.
For Carol Ungar, getting her grandmother’s treasured recipe posed a challenge because her bubbie had perished in the Holocaust long before Carol was born. And all Carol’s mother knew was one detail: her own mother “used to save a piece from the dough and put it into the next week’s dough.” Through a fair bit of sleuthing, it dawned on Carol that her bubbie was probably baking a (relatively uncommon) sourdough challah which requires that a starter be preserved and included in the following week’s batch.
Now that she had discovered the secret, Carol was faced with a bigger challenge: creating a loaf that would honour her grandmother’s memory.
“Throughout the baking, I kept opening the oven door to check that my rolls were rising. When they finally puffed up, I could hardly wait to taste them. I hoped they’d be good; I didn’t want to think that my grandmother, in whose memory I was doing this, baked lousy bread. I wasn’t disappointed. Savoury and strongly flavoured, the rolls were wonderfully hearty, like good country bread. … They say that the dead know the affairs of the living. Could it be that my grandmother watches me as I try to copy her? If she is, I hope she’s smiling.”
Finding a great recipe need not be a challenge. The Jewish-food Challah Archives has 56 variations including Always Successful, Chocolate, and Almost Like Aunt Leah’s. Over at the rec.food.cuisine.jewish archives, there are 25 more, including Venetian Challah, Apple Challah and Sweet Potato Challah. But hands-down, the most mouth-watering challah site belongs to tastespotting.com, which includes an incredible photo with each recipe. Saffron and Orange Marmalade Challah, anyone?
Some people’s choice in challahs is limited by their ability to digest wheat gluten. But that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a golden loaf. Here’s how the author of the I am Gluten-Free blog describes her find. “At last, a respectable gluten-free challah! How can I even express my delight, my joy, my excitement! And it not only looks good, but it tastes good too.”
No challah is complete without the intricate braiding. There are plenty of sites which describe how to do it, but I recommend you watch videos of experts navigating the twists and turns. Once you’ve mastered a three-strand loaf, you’re ready to try your hand at the more challenging six-strand variety.
One of the great mysteries of Judaism is that there actually could be challah left over after the holy day has finished. But if you happen to find yourself with some challah on Sunday morning, there is no shortage of ideas and recipes for what to do with it. Of course, the standard is Challah French Toast. Not decadent enough? Try a White-Chocolate Challah Pudding. Who would ever dream of combining challah with yet more eggs, vanilla extract, heavy cream, milk, sugar and two cups of white chocolate?
Baking a challah can be time-consuming but there are recipes to help speed up the process. Others hasten things by using bread machines to knead the dough.
But when Shoshanah Zakar bakes a challah, she doesn’t focus on speed. Zakar has conducted challah workshops, and hers is one of the best sites for delivering the basics. But Zakar goes much further as she suggests that baking challahs can inspire and move you, if you let it.
“There is a recipe that tells you the ingredients and mixing instructions for making challah. If you follow it you will likely come up with a good loaf of challah, but that is not the real point… If you prepare the loaves with the intention of doing it for the sake of God, of doing it as a mitzvah that will help make the Shabbat meal a blessing, you will end up with Shabbat Challot. You will find yourself bound up in the twists of their meaning, and a greater sense of the power and holiness of Shabbat. The time you spend making challah is a good time to pray, to allow yourself to explore the ‘deeper meanings’ hidden within the process, and to become more aware of G-d’s presence.” n