A Blessing of Bread

It is early Friday morning and I am happily and comfortably (in my PJs) downstairs in the kitchen preparing to make Challah - the bread deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. My green countertop can hardly be seen underneath the thin layer of white flour. Anyone who knows me well can attest that I am a messy cook and baker. The eggs are patiently sitting in a pink bowl, waiting to be cracked once they reach room temperature. I am sipping my first cup of coffee while I watch the sunlight shine on the Gulf of Mexico outside my living room window. All seems good with the world. It is too early for music, but later as the dough is rising, I will put on my favorite Jewish music CD – Shabbat Unplugged, sung and produced by a good friend of mine. This will help me further get in the mood to bring in the Sabbath. Shabbat (the Hebrew word for the Sabbath) is a wonderful time to relax, unwind and reflect on the prior week. It is also the premier opportunity to celebrate family. This Shabbat will be an especially sweet one, as my son, Jake is coming home for spring break. I miss him and it will be just wonderful to have his smiling face around for the next week.

I haul out my heavy (but sleek looking) Kitchen Aid which will do most of the work for me. Certainly my ancestors did not have the benefit of modern appliances and had to knead the dough by hand. In fact, some purists swear by the knead-by-hand method. But I have found that taste is not sacrificed and precious time is saved, if a Kitchen Aid mixer or food processor is used. As you will see from the recipe below, the initial part of the process is quite simple and within 10 minutes or so, a beautiful, slightly shiny and large round ball is ready to be placed in a bowl for its first rising.

Making challah on Fridays has become a labor of love for me. It gives me the opportunity to set the mood for Shabbat, continue the tradition that my ancestors started thousands of years ago and provide my family with a nourishing and nurturing environment. And besides it tastes great! I always make two loaves and I try to give one of them to a friend or a member of the community who is in need of a little love. Or if all of the family is home, we keep both loaves and use one for Challah French Toast on Saturday morning. You have never tasted anything so good!

My mother and grandmothers never tried to make challah from scratch and I am not sure why. They were all phenomenal bakers but on Friday afternoons, my brother or I would make the weekly run to Webber’s bakery in Port Washington to get a rye bread and a challah. The recipe below was given to me a few years ago by a friend of mine at one of our informal cooking club sessions and I have now made it my own. I love the idea that it is becoming a Weston family tradition and it is extremely gratifying to know that I am introducing this to the grandkids at a very early age. When they came for a visit, they loved baking challah with me and once back in Boston, they pleaded with their mom to call Mimi so she would come over and make challah for them. Could life be any sweeter?

Challah

Yields: 2 large challahs

1 heaping tablespoon Perfect Rise Dry Yeast (or 1 ¾ packages of Fleischmanns yeast)
1 ¾ cup warm water
¾ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
5 large eggs
3 ½ - 4 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
5 cups King Arthur bread flour
sesame or poppy seeds (optional)

Mix the yeast in warm water until dissolved. Mix sugar and oil in bowl of mixer and add yeast once dissolved. Beat in 4 of the eggs, one at a time. Add salt. Mix in two cups of the all-purpose flour. Switch to the dough hook. Add the bread flour gradually, kneading and continue as the mixture gets thicker. Add the remaining all-purpose flour as needed to make a thick, round ball.

Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and cover with saran wrap. Let rise until twice the size. Remove from bowl, punch it down and then cover and let rise again.

Take half the dough and divide into six strands about 14 inches long. Braid. Place on oiled baking sheet. Repeat with other half. Let the loaves rise, uncovered, another hour.
Beat the remaining egg and brush the egg on the loaves. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

To braid:
Pinch six strands together at the top.
•Outside right strand over 2 toward the middle
•2nd from left to far right
•Outside left over 2 toward middle
•Second from right to far left
Repeat until done and pinch ends together well.

Note: For someone who only raised boys, these braiding instructions come in handy!

Comments

[christine (myplateoryours)]

I love the reminder that food traditions aren't just the ones handed down to us, but the ones we hand down as well. Someday the grandkids will be blogging about Mimi's challah, and how important it is that they continue making it for their kids.

[Ronnie]

Christi:
Thanks for the positive reinforcement. Kids live in such a hassled and harried world today, filled with new stimuli and often without regard for the old and familiar. One of my goals is definitely to get them to slow down a bit and stop and smell the roses.
Ronnie

[Stan]

Looking at the Challah made my mouth water; alas I have tasted and devoured my share of your marvelous loaf. My grandparents came from Austria except for my paternal grandfather who was Russian. So I am three quarters Austrian and a common background with you.
My father's mom was a professional cook in the Catskill Mts. in New York State so I can relate to the marvelous homemade wonders that came out of her kitchen.
Food is my hobby and I truly enjoy homemade goodies which fortunately like you come out of our kitchen daily.
Looking very forward to sharing Passover again with you and your family. Last year was the most beautiful Seder I have had the pleasure of attending.

[Freya]

What a wonderful blog! I have always wanted to make challah (it's not easy to buy over here in the UK) but have never gotten around to it. You might just have inspired me!

[Ronnie]

Freya, thanks for your compliment and it's almost Friday-bite the bullet and bake the challah this week!

[Deb]

This website is such a blessing to all of us. My grandmother used to make babka and I was supposed to go make it with her to get the recipe when I broke my arm and never got the chance. Now her recipe is lost and I will have to try to recreate it from various recipes and memories. Your website ensures that our recipes and traditions will be shared across time. Thank you for providing a forum for those of us with a love of food and family.

[Brilynn]

Your challah looks perfect, I'd love some!

[Chanit]

I was excited to visit your site today, thank you and greetings from Israel :-)

[Debra]

Thanks for sharing the challah recipe! I look forward to testing it out on the Jewish boyfriend at our next Shabbat dinner. The blog is brilliant and I can't wait to try other recipes as I continue to test my cooking skills.
:)

[Randi]

I made my first challah a couple months ago. I froze it and brought them to my mom and sister when I came back to Florida for a visit. I enjoyed making it so much, I bought the book " a blessing of bread". Its all about different jewish breads. Anyway, my family lives in a very jewish area of S. Florida and they thought my bread was better than the local deli's.

[Ronnie]

Deb,
Go for it! Make the challah this week!
Randi,
Thanks for visiting the blog. I have never frozen challah but I should as I make two every Friday.