A Jewish holiday table is incomplete without golden challah bread nestled among the candlesticks, wine goblets, matzo ball soup and lovingly stained lace tablecloth.
On Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown Oct. 1, this festival bread takes on a round shape and is often studded with raisins or sweetened with honey.
“The idea is that you should have a never-ending year of good health and happiness,” says Tina Wasserman, who has been teaching cooking for 26 years in the Dallas area.
For Wasserman, making challah begins with more than yeast and warm water. It’s bound up in family tradition.
“Making challah for me is very fulfilling, not only in that it’s a wonderful taste and symbolizes the Sabbath, but it’s fulfilling because my daughter, since she’s been very young, has made it with me,” she says.
“My husband’s grandmother, when she was 90 years old, sat in the kitchen with six pieces of string and taught me how to braid the traditional way.”
The challah that is eaten weekly on Friday night, the eve of the Jewish Sabbath, is braided. At Rosh Hashanah, it can be braided into a round shape. Challah bakers also fashion an upward spiral from the dough, or a crown of dough, so that Jews’ prayers can ascend to heaven.
“Braiding is literally a dying art. Every time I teach it in my classes, I feel like I’m contributing to the passing on of tradition,” Wasserman says.
Heralded by a “shofar,” or ram’s horn, Rosh Hashanah symbolizes the creation of the world and is not tied to the seasons of the year. Rosh Hashanah begins an intensely spiritual, reflective period of prayer and repentance on the Jewish calendar.
Challah is an important part of the holiday table throughout the year.
“If you go back to shtetl (Jewish communities in Eastern Europe) life, what distinguishes the bread for yontif (a holiday) and the Sabbath from the rest of the week is that our ancestors didn’t have a lot, and white flour was extremely expensive,” Wasserman says. “It was used only on special occasions.”
If you’re the type who loves challah, but doesn’t want to invest half a day making it, relax. Many supermarkets, bakeries and restaurants make challahs that are appropriate for either meat or dairy meals, according to kosher dietary guidelines. Not all of these kitchens, however, are kosher. It’s best to check with the individual business to determine whether its practices conform to your level of kosher practice.
CHALLAH
Preparation time: 40 minutes total
Cooking time: 25-35 minutes
Rising time: 8-24 hours, plus 1-2 hours
Yield: 2 loaves, 10 servings each
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 packages ( 1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
5 to 5 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup each: vegetable oil, honey
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons plus a pinch salt
1 cup golden raisins
1. Place water, yeast, sugar and 1 cup bread flour in mixer bowl. Stir to combine ingredients and allow to become foamy, about 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add oil, honey, two of the eggs, yolk, salt and 4 cups of the flour. Using dough hook or by hand, knead mixture until dough leaves the sides of bowl. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, adding more flour if desired, until dough is no longer sticky and feels smooth.
3. Turn dough onto lightly floured board and knead in raisins. Place in large oiled bowl, turning dough once to coat with oil. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours. The dough will rise slowly, giving it optimum flavor. It will double or triple in bulk.
4. Remove from refrigerator, turn onto lightly floured board and cut dough into 2 halves. Form each into a rope about 24 inches long. Do this by pulling rope gently, occasionally shaking it to lengthen. If dough seems resistant, let it relax for 3 or 4 minutes and try again.
5. Starting on outside, lay rope on lightly greased cookie sheet in a spiral, working from the outside toward the middle. The spiral should be higher in the center than at the outside. Tuck end piece down in the center. Repeat with second piece of dough on second cookie sheet.
6. Beat remaining egg with pinch of salt. Brush lightly over each loaf. Cover each with large bowl and allow to rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
7. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush loaves again with egg glaze. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until loaves are browned and sound hollow when tapped. Cool on racks.
Note: Dough may be refrigerated after both risings. It may also be frozen. Allow time to thaw and rise. Loaves baked from frozen bread will not rise as high. Baked loaves may be wrapped in foil and frozen. To thaw, loosen foil; remove after thawing.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 205 Fat …………. 4 g Cholesterol .. 40 mg
Sodium ….. 250 mg Carbohydrates .. 35 g Protein …….. 6 g
