I love the striated texture of this incredible bread and have made it for my girlfriends who also love it. I shared the recipe with one of my colleagues Arlene at ACS and think of my favorite friend Susan when I make it. Her true spirit and sharing of traditions are some of my favorite memories of my time in Boulder, CO.
This morning I decided it was time to bake it for my love – after we plowed the driveway of the fresh wet snow…. later snow men with Schuyler and a New Year’s eve party with our friends Alex, Betty & Harrison in Clifton Park.
CHALLAH
From Wikipedia: Challah, hallah (חלה), also known in different parts of the Jewish world as barches (German and western Yiddish), Berches (Swabian), barkis (Gothenburg), bergis (Stockholm), khale (eastern Yiddish) and kitke (South Africa), [1][2] is a special braided bread eaten by Jews on the Sabbath and holidays.
It is customary to begin the Friday night meal and meals eaten on Shabbat with a blessing over two loaves of bread. Challah (plural: challot), an enriched, braided bread is usually used. The loaves are covered with a cloth or napkin during the blessing.
The blessing, “Hamotzi,” is the same blessing recited over all bread: “Baruch atah adonai, eloheinu melech ha’olam, hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz” (translation: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth”.
My favorite of all recipes from the King Arthur Flour site is the challah bread.:
Rich with eggs and butter (or oil, to keep it kosher with a meat-based meal), shaped in various braids and coils, and often gilded with a sprinkle of poppy seeds, this bread is a Sabbath staple. Though not quite as rich, it’s similar to French brioche; and, like brioche, it makes wonderful toast and French toast.
It’s prepared for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah; for that occasion, challah is formed into a round coil, symbolizing the continuity of life.
