History of the Challa Bread



Posted: Friday, March 12, 2010

by Jerry
http://www.m1arifles.com

The word "Challah" also popularly known as "Khale" is a Hebrew term for a unique bread which is braided and consumed mostly by Sephardic Jews and the Ashkenazi on the Sabbath and major holidays. The term Challah is also referred to a tiny piece of dough which is customarily divided from the original dough before the weaving process begins. A tenth of this dough is kept for the Jewish priesthood. In Hebrew, this sacrament is known as "Hafrashat Challah".

Relating to Jewish lore, the Challah loaf is eaten on the three Sabbath meals, on Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon, and also on two holiday feasts, in the morning and evening. Each meal commences with two whole loaves of Challah. These meals are eaten in honor of the "manna" (an aromatic gum originating from a tree and grounded into cakes, resulting in a honey-like confection) that descended from the skies when the Israelites roamed the deserts for four decades following the mass departure from Egypt. It is a long standing tradition to consume two loaves of Challah when commencing the Friday night feast and the two meals following during the Sabbath day.

The conventional Challah recipe consists of numerous eggs, water, sugar and white flour, up to 2 kilos at a time. Once mixed, the doughis shaped into individual rope-like pieces which are then intricately woven, or braided. After the customary egg wash, the rich Challah bread is then baked to a golden finish. More contemporary versions use less eggs and honey as a sugar replacement.

The prerequisite of extricating challah from the dough was demanded by the owner of the dough, and not the kneader according to the Talmud. (records of rabbinic deliberations concerning Jewish law, moral principles, way of life and history) This simply means that if the dough owner is not of Jewish faith but the kneader is, the hafrahat challah, or separating the dough from the batch does not apply.

Upon the destruction of the temple, resulting in the mass departure of the Israelites, not one individual can be deemed as pure ritually. Although the inspiration for a priestly descent still survives and the bestowment of "cohen" is conceded to sons, there are no rites equal to those experienced in the Holy Temple. The tradition of dividing challah is now more of an emblematic ritual; a blessing ("Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the Earth") is given before the dough is divided and consequently tossed into the fire or thrown away.

During the Jewish New Year, or known as "Rosh Hashana", the challah, baked with raisins imbedded in the dough is sometimes shaped like a circle to represent the year's cycle, and the golden honey glaze on top of the delicious bread represents a year filled with sweetness.

At the primary Shabbat after the conclusion of the Jewish holiday of Passover, there exists a tradition of baking "key challah", meant as a favorable sign for one's livelihood. The methods of baking include a symbol of a key carved at the top of the bread to placing a real key right into the insides of the challah.

There are many Challah recipes available on the Internet for those who might want to try bake this age-old, enduring and historical bread.

Stone Ground Bakery produces delicious all natural kosher friendly Challa loaf bread. Be sure to visit our online bakery for more information on our all natural challa bread.

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