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The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for your bread.
- Portuguese Proverb

Click on the logo to see previous posts in the series.

Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space. ~ Orson Scott Card

‘Bread‘ is a gentle, unimposing word. It is also an incredibly powerful metaphor.

To us, ‘bread‘ stands for warmth, comfort and sustenance. Depending on the context, it could also denote nutrition, bare necessity, and/or kinship. Over the centuries, the term has acquired layers of meaning - like a rich patina on a copper urn. Think phrases like ‘give us our daily bread’, ‘bread-winner’, ‘bread basket’, ‘the greatest thing since sliced bread’, ‘putting bread on the table’, ‘breaking bread’.

Each language has such a word - ‘roti’ in Hindi, ‘pain’ in French, ‘pane’ in Italian.

It’s interesting how in areas where rice in predominant (China, south India and southeast Asia), ‘bread’ has a different set of connotations. It is something you eat when you’re unwell or simply as a snack. It’s something you buy, never make at home. A friend of ours (originally from south India, but living in California) asked what we were cooking for dinner, and we said, “bread”. The next day we visited her home for a party, and she insisted on packing a huge bag of leftovers for us. “Poor things. You’ve only been eating bread,” she said. In India, growing up, bread usually meant the cottony Wonder bread kind of thing. Now, in the big cities at least, artisan breads are not difficult to find.

Mercifully, bread is not associated with a sick person’s diet in Israel. The Hebrew word for bread is ‘lekhem‘ and a common slogan in workers’ demonstrations is “Lekhem, Avoda” (bread, work).

And there’s Challah, (pronounced ‘hallah’), which has great symbolic significance in Jewish culture. It is a rich bread which incorporates eggs and is best known in its braided form (though not always the case). It is often sprinkled with poppy seeds or sesame seeds - to signify prosperity.

Challah is a religious offering - a biblical tithe or tax to be donated to a priest or kohen.

Challah is 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), is a special braided bread eaten by Jews on the Sabbath and holidays.

The word challah does not mean bread or dough. The root of the word is chol which means ordinary or secular.

It is customary to begin the Friday night meal and the two meals eaten during the Sabbath day with a blessing over two loaves of bread. Challah (plural: challot), an enriched, braided bread is usually used…

The term challah also refers to a small piece of dough — about the size of an egg — that is traditionally separated from the rest of the dough before braiding. In biblical times, this portion of dough was set aside as a tithe for the Jewish priesthood. In Hebrew, the ritual is called “hafrashat challah.”

Today, this commandment applies more to professional bakers than the home cook, as it involves batches of challah using more than 2 kilos of flour.

The Bible does not specify how much dough is required for challah, but this issue is discussed in the Talmud. The rabbis said that 1 part in 24 was allocated to the priest in the case of private individuals, and 1 part in 48 in the case of a baker. If the baker forgets to set aside challah, it is permissible to set aside the same portion of bread.

According to the Talmud, the requirement to separate challah from the dough was imposed on the owner of the dough, not on the person who kneaded it; hence if the owner was not Jewish, even if the kneader was, hafrashat challah was not mandatory. (Source)

To us, challah simply denotes “pretty, braided, eggy bread.” It’s a lot of fun to make, and can be done in 3, 4, 5 or 6 braids The six-braid version (which we made) gets the most ‘height’. Or you can simply make a coil. (Check out some fun challah shapes HERE and HERE.).

A challah loaf has lots of eggs, plus added yolks. We usually use just egg whites in our recipes, and feed the yolks to the plants. This time, we had four egg yolks waiting to be taken to the yard, when we came across this recipe in Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads.

He has two versions - a 100% Whole Wheat Challah, and a transitional one using 50% whole wheat flour. We tried the latter. If you like the flavour of egg yolks, you will love this bread. If not, try Vaishali’s fantastic vegan version with flaxseeds. Either way, you will be proud of your beautiful creation.

WHOLE WHEAT CHALLAH

from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads.

Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves or 16 dinner rolls

Soaker:
8 oz. whole wheat flour (1.75 cups)
**preferably fine grind. atta (chapati flour) works fine
0.5 tsp salt
6 oz. filtered or spring water (0.75 cups)

Mix everything for about 1 minute and form a ball of dough. Adjust liquid if necessary. Cover with a plastic wrap and leave to ferment at room temperature for between 12 to 24 hours.

Biga (Starter):
8 oz. unbleached bread flour (1.75 cups)
**or all purpose flour
0.25 tsp instant yeast
3.5 oz. filtered or spring water (7 tbsp)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 egg yolks

Mix everything for about 1 minute and form a ball of dough. Adjust liquid if necessary. Knead for about 3 more minutes. The dough will be smooth, but a bit tacky. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for between 8 hours to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

Final dough:
all the soaker (chopped into a dozen pieces)
all the biga (chopped into a dozen pieces)
2 oz. whole wheat flour (7 tbsp)
2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter
0.5 tsp salt
2 tablespoons sugar or 1.5 tbsp honey
2.25 tsp instant yeast

Knead everything together (add water if necessary) into a cohesive dough. Then dust some flour on the work surface and knead until the gluten is well developed. If you stretch the dough, it should be fairly elastic and stretch into a thin membrane.

Place the dough back in a greased bowl, cover and ferment for 45 to 60 minutes until the dough is 1.5 times its original size.

Gently transfer to a floured board and fold. Spread it out a little on the board, fold it in thirds like a letter, rotate it 90 degrees and fold it up again, return the dough to the bowl and cover it again. Folding degases the dough without damaging the gluten.

Shape in to a loaf or dinner rolls. Rest the dough for five minutes. You can make a simple strand and coil it, or use braids - three, four, five or six. Whenever you have difficulty shaping the dough ‘cos it springs back, let it rest for a few minutes, covered with a tea towel.

We divided the dough into six balls, made strands out of them, and made this six-braid version, as demonstrated in this video by Maya @ Chai Time.

Place the loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone.

Beat 1 egg and brush it all over the loaf. (Keep aside the remaining egg wash. We need it.)

Cover loosely with plastic wrap or place the whole pan in a large plastic bag.

Set aside for a final rise, approximately 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F with a rack in the middle. Brush with the remaining egg wash. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325F, bake fo 20 minutes.

Rotate loaf 180 degrees and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes. It should be a rich dark brown and register 195F if you insert a thermometer in the center.

Cool on a wire rack for at least one hour before slicing.

Whole Wheat Challah is our entry for A.W.E.D Middle Eastern Cuisine at Siri’s Corner.

Related posts

• Whole-Wheat Pita Bread (14)
• Whole Wheat Pudina Naan (24)
• Tia Maria Cake (50)
• Sprouted wheat flour (Diastatic malt substitute) (32)
• Spinach and Spring Onion Scones (11)

SPEAK YOUR MIND

30 Comments so far

1. Uma on June 3, 2008 7:07 pm

   Wow, challah bread made easy. Thanks for the useful video too. Wonderful pics.

2. rachel on June 3, 2008 8:06 pm

   Just an egg wash gave you that lovely brown on the crust….wow!!

3. Rashmi on June 3, 2008 9:45 pm

   Looks so beautiful, I would hardly want to slice it up..you braid bread better than I braid my hair (hey, its almost a tongue twister!)

4. Raaga on June 3, 2008 10:38 pm

   Looks so tempting :-)

5. Raaga on June 3, 2008 10:40 pm

   And, oh yeah… when my dad was in the US, he took a sandwich for lunch everyday and his mother would say, “Ayyo paavam - dinom bread a saapidarey?” (So sad, are you eating bread everyday!)

6. Arundathi on June 3, 2008 10:53 pm

   I was all set to make this - copied down the recipe and realized we don’t get bread flour in chennai it looks beautiful, bee.
   with the influx of the “foreign returns” to chennai, we’re hoping the mind-set will change, and you will be able to get different kinds of freshly baked breads here and not just the Wonderbread variety…

   a.p. flour works.

7. Nirmala on June 3, 2008 11:00 pm

   Lovely Challah! As usual I am jealous of you both for baking such wonderful breads. Breads are still not into my reach

8. Pelicano on June 3, 2008 11:19 pm

   Wow…beautiful job!

9. shibani on June 4, 2008 12:42 am

   Thank yor dear Bee for once again a great and awesome recipe.I always wanted to try challah, here it goes with a fantastic presentation.

   Thanks Dear.

10. Jayashree on June 4, 2008 12:54 am

    Perfect braids…..and your crust is just the right shade of brown….

11. Srivalli on June 4, 2008 1:30 am

    how beautiful!

12. sushma on June 4, 2008 1:40 am

    hey Bee nice write up challah luks so yummy..nice video njoyed it

13. sunita on June 4, 2008 1:50 am

    Challah has been on my ‘to be tried’ list for quite some time now…yours looks so beautiful.

14. Susan/Wild Yeast on June 4, 2008 3:35 am

    That’s a lovely challah. I haven’t tried PR’s WW versions yet. Your comment about the connotation of “bread” in some Asian regions reminds me of the last time we went to an Indian restaurant — my husband, feeling a bit lazy, asked for “any kind of bread.” He was thinking they would bring him an Indian flatbread, all kinds of which he is very fond of. Instead he got a basket of wonder bread.

15. Happy Cook on June 4, 2008 4:38 am

    Looks so delicious.
    Till now I have not made them. I have bookmarked them to give it a go.
    I can imagine the wonderful baking smell comming from yo kitchen.

16. Asha on June 4, 2008 4:50 am

    I always wanted to bake Challah, love to shape in that tricky way. May be I will in August. Looks great, cooking classes are great prize too.

17. sagari on June 4, 2008 5:56 am

    bread looks veryyyyyy beautifull

18. Siri on June 4, 2008 6:27 am

    OMG!.. the bread looks beauuutiifulll.. Thanks Bee&Jai for such an amazing entry..:D

    Siri

19. Vaishali on June 4, 2008 8:10 am

    Such a beautiful challah! I’ve never dared to make the six-braid version, but this is inspiring.

20. Kalai on June 4, 2008 9:05 am

    Beautiful challah! I love the addition of whole wheat and that braid is really amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!

21. Cham on June 4, 2008 9:09 am

    Useful video ur bread seems to have a nice shine and perfect

22. TheCooker on June 4, 2008 10:14 am

    Beautiful! I’ve been wanting to make such a bread for a long time.
    Thanks for a version that uses WWF.

23. Pooja V on June 4, 2008 11:36 am

    Great Looking Bread!

24. Suganya on June 4, 2008 11:52 am

    I have been procrastinating forever to make this bread. I recently acquired this book. Do you think ‘Whole grain breads’ is better than ‘Bread baker’s apprentice’?

    if you like whole grain breads, yes.

25. Hetal on June 5, 2008 12:31 pm

    The bread looks awesome….braids look lovely!!

26. YeastSpotting | Wild Yeast on June 6, 2008 12:00 am

    […] Whole Wheat Challah at Jugalbandi […]

27. Dee on June 6, 2008 9:15 am

    Very true that bread stand warmth , comfort and sustenance . many a times it has been a rescuer for us . I have eaten the challah bread only once bee, I dont quite remember the taste. I will surely try this !

28. Namratha on June 6, 2008 3:34 pm

    My, that’s a perfect loaf there Bee..I admire anyone who can bake such beautiful loaves at home

29. FJK on June 8, 2008 4:40 pm

    Leftover challah makes the best french toast, by the way, that is if you have any leftovers from your beautiful loaf.

30. Miri on June 9, 2008 9:00 am

    What a beautiful creation!!! Simply marvellous!

    Miri