Challah
Form: Braided bread
Country of origin: Israel Jewish Diaspora
What distinguishes it from other methods of bread making: The dough is rather like that of brioche
Category of bread: (8 and 10) Similar to Turkish çorek and Greek tsoureki, both braided brioche-like breads
Particularity: Made on the Jewish Sabbath and for different religious holidays, with the exclusion of Pessa’h
Ingredients: Fine wheat flour; baker’s yeast; eggs, oil; sugar (optional)
Israel Jewish Diaspora
Challah, made for the Sabbath, is similar to braided brioche but without the butter. The word challah refers to the Mitzvah of separating a portion of the dough before braiding, which may or may not contain hamets (leavening), and intended for the Kohens, the members of the clergy. Since the disappearance of the Temple, this portion taken from the dough is traditionally thrown into the fire.
Even though there is no set recipe for challah, it always revolves around a few basic principles: wheat flour dough sprinkled with yeast and containing eggs, oil, and, more rarely, sugar. The dough is left to rise, and is then shaped into long strips which are braided, three by three and sometimes even more. The halltohs, or white breads, are made just before putting them into the oven. They can also be coated with egg yellows to make them turn golden brown during baking.
The making of halloth is one of the duties that fall on women. The abundant literature defining the dictates for each and every day explains that this braiding of the halloth makes reference to the manner in which God prepared the first woman before presenting her to Adam. Before there were bakeries in Israel, halloth was taken to the neighborhood oven, where the women were most often obliged to wait their turn before being able to put it in the oven. A return to the old traditions is taking place today, and some very religious families are starting to make the Sabbath bread at home like in the old days.