 Challah sprinkled withsesame seeds | |
| Alternative names | khala, khale, chałka, kitke, berkhes, barches, bukhte, dacher, koylatch, koilitsh, shtritsl, kozunak |
|---|---|
| Type | Bread |
| Main ingredients | Eggs, finewhite flour, water,yeast, sugar and salt |
Challah (/ˈxɑːlə,ˈhɑːlə/(K)HAH-lə;[1]Hebrew:חַלָּה,romanized: ḥallā,pronounced[χaˈla,ħalˈlaː];pl. [c]hallot, [c]halloth or [c]hallos, Hebrew:חַלּוֹת), also known asberches in Central Europe, is a specialbread inJewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such asShabbat and majorJewish holidays (other thanPassover andYom Kippur).
Ritually acceptable challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering. Challah may also refer to thedough offering. The word is biblical in origin, meaning "loaf".[2] Similar (usually braided) breads with mainly the same ingredients includingbrioche,kalach,kozunak,panettone,pulla,tsoureki,vánočka are found acrossEuropean cuisines.
The termchallah inBiblical Hebrew meant a kind of loaf or cake.[3] Thetargum isגריצא (pl.גריצן, var.Classical Syriac:ܓܪܝܨܐ / ܓܪܝܣܐ) which also means loaf.[4] The word derives from the rootchet-lamed-lamed (hallal), which means "pierced." According toLudwig Köhler [de],challah was a sort of bread with a central hole, designed to hang over a post.[5]
InRabbinic terminology,challah often refers to the portion of dough which must be separated before baking, and set aside as atithe for theKohen,[6] since the biblical verse which commands this practice refers to the separated dough as a "challah".[2] The practice of separating this dough sometimes became known asseparating challah (הפרשת חלה) ortaking challah.[7] The food made from the balance of the dough is also calledchallah.[8] The obligation applies to any loaf of bread, not only to the Shabbat bread, but it is traditional to intentionally bake bread for the Sabbath in such a manner as to obligate oneself, to dignify the Shabbat.[9] Bysynecdoche, the termchallah came to refer to the whole of the loaf from whichchallah is taken.
There is no consensus as to the source of challah’s braided form. Author of A Blessing of Bread, Maggie Glezer, writes that the braiding began in 15th century Austria and Southern Germany, "with Jewish housewives following their non-Jewish counterparts, who plaited the loaves they baked on Sundays".[10] The braids were meant to symbolize the Sabbath bride’s hair, according to Professor Hasia R. Diner. Another food historianHélène Jawhara Piñer, a scholar of medievalSephardic cuisine, has suggested that a recipe for a leavened and braided bread found in a 13th-century Arabic cookbook from Spain, theKitāb al-ṭabīẖ, may have been a precursor to challah.[11] However, while this bread closely resembles the preparation of challah, it was flavored withsaffron and fried, was described in the book as 'the making of braids,' translated into Spanish as'guedejas', and can be translated to Hebrew as'peot'.[12] According to Piñer's analysis, following theirexpulsion from Spain, Sephardic Jews brought this bread northward through Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries.[12]
Challah may also be referred to ascholla bread.[13][14] In Poland it is commonly known aschałka (pronounced[ˈxawka]ⓘ; diminutive ofchała[ˈxawa]), in Ukraine askolach orkhala andkhala (хала) in Belarus and Russia.[15][16]
Yiddish communities in different regions of Europe called the breadkhale,berkhes orbarches,bukhte,dacher,kitke,koylatch orkoilitsh, orshtritsl.[17][18] Some of these names are still in use today, such askitke in South Africa.[18]
The termkoylatch is cognate with the names of similarly braided breads consumed on special occasions by other cultures outside the Jewish tradition in severalEuropean cuisines. These are theRussiankalach, theSerbiankolač, theUkrainiankolach theHungariankalács (in Hungary, the Jewish variant is differentiated as Bárhesz), and theRomaniancolac. These names originated fromProto-Slavickolo meaning "circle", or "wheel", and refer to the circular form of the loaf.[19][20]
In the Middle East, regional Shabbat breads were referred to by the local word for bread, such asnoon in Farsi orkhubz in Arabic.[citation needed]
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Most traditional Ashkenazi challah recipes use numerouseggs, finewhite flour, water, sugar,yeast, oil (such as vegetable or canola), and salt, but "water challah" made without eggs and having a texture likeFrench baguette also exists, which is typically suitable for those following vegan diets. Modern recipes may replace white flour withwhole wheat,oat, orspelt flour or sugar withhoney ormolasses.
According toSephardic Jewish observance ofhalachah, a bread with too much sugar changes the status of the bread to cake. This would change the blessing used over the bread fromHamotzi (bread) toMezonot (cake, dessert breads, etc.) which would invalidate it for use during theKiddush for Shabbat.[21] While braided breads are sometimes found inSephardic cuisine, they are typically not challah but are variants of regional breads likeçörek, eaten by Jews and non-Jews alike.
Egg challah sometimes also containsraisins and/orsaffron. After the first rising, the dough is rolled into rope-shaped pieces which are braided, though local (hands inLithuania, fish or hands inTunisia) and seasonal (round, sometimes with a bird's head in the centre) varieties also exist.Poppy orsesame (Ashkenazi) andanise orsesame (Sephardi) seeds may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top. Both egg and water challah are usually brushed with an egg wash before baking to add a golden sheen.
Challah is alwayspareve (containing neither dairy nor meat—important in the laws ofKashrut), unlikebrioche and other enriched European breads, which contain butter or milk as it is typically eaten with a meat meal.
Israeli breads for shabbat are very diverse, reflecting the traditions of Persian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Russian, Polish, Yemeni, and other Jewish communities who live in theState of Israel. They may containeggs orolive oil in the dough as well as water, sugar,yeast, salt,honey, andraisins. It may be topped withsesame or other seeds according to variousminhagim.
According to Jewish tradition, the threeSabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturdaylate afternoon) and two holiday meals (one at night and lunch the following day) each begin with two complete loaves of bread.[22] This "double loaf" (in Hebrew:לחם משנה) commemorates themanna that fell from the heavens when theIsraelites wandered in the desert afterthe Exodus. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion would fall the day before the holiday or sabbath to last for both days.[23] While two loaves are set out and the blessing is recited over both, most communities only require one of them to be cut and eaten.[citation needed]
In some Ashkenazi customs, each loaf is woven with six strands of dough. Together, the loaves have twelve strands, alluding to the twelve loaves of theshowbread offering in the Temple. Other numbers of strands commonly used are three, five, and seven. Occasionally, twelve are used, referred to as a "Twelve Tribes" challah. Some individuals – mostlyHasidic rabbis – have twelve separate loaves on the table.[citation needed]
Challot - in these cases extremely large ones - are also sometimes eaten at other occasions, such as a wedding or aBrit milah, but without ritual.[citation needed]
It is customary to begin the evening and day Sabbath and holiday meals with the following sequence of rituals:
The specific practice varies. Some dip the bread into salt before blessing the bread.[25] Others say the blessing, cut or tear the challah into pieces, and only then dip the pieces in salt, or sprinkle them with salt before they are eaten.[26] Some communities may make a nick in the bread with a cutting knife.
Normally, the custom is not to talk between washing hands and eating bread. However, according to some, if salt is not placed on the table, it is permitted to ask for someone to bring salt before the blessing on bread is recited.[27]
Salting challah is considered a critical component of the meal. Customs vary whether the challah is dipped in salt, salt is sprinkled on it, or salt is merely present on the table. This requirement applies to any bread, though it is observed most strictly at Sabbath and holiday meals.[28]
The Torah requires thatTemple sacrifices to God be offered with salt.[29] Following thedestruction of the Second Temple,Rabbinic literature suggested that a table set for a meal symbolically replaces the Temple altar; therefore, the blessing over food should only be recited with salt present on the table.[24] Should one eat a meal without performing a commandment, the covenant of salt protects him.[30]
To the rabbis, a meal without salt was considered no meal.[31] Furthermore, in theTorah, salt symbolizes the eternal covenant between God and Israel.[32] As a preservative, salt never spoils or decays, signifying the immortality of this bond.[33]
OnRosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the challah may be rolled into a circular shape (sometimes referred to as a "turban challah"), symbolizing the cycle of the year, and is sometimes baked with raisins in the dough. Some have the custom of continuing to eat circular challah from Rosh Hashana through the holiday ofSukkot. In the Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) many Jews will simply bake their challah in the shape of "turban challah" year-round.[citation needed]
Sometimes the top is brushed with honey to symbolize the "sweet new year." According to some traditions, challah eaten on Rosh Hashanah is not dipped in or sprinkled with salt but instead is dipped in or sprinkled with honey. As above, some continue to use honey instead of salt through the Sukkot holiday.[citation needed]
For theShabbat Mevarchim precedingRosh ChodeshIyar (i.e., the firstShabbat after the end ofPassover), some Ashkenazi Jews have the custom of bakingshlissel[a] challah ("key challah") as asegula (propitious sign) forparnassa (livelihood). Some make an impression of a key on top of the challah before baking, some place a key-shaped piece of dough on top of the challah before baking, and some bake an actual key inside the challah.[34]
The earliest written source for this custom is theOhev Yisrael ofAvraham Yehoshua Heshel (1748–1825), published in 1863. He refers toschlissel challah as a preexisting custom and offers severalkabbalistic interpretations.[35][34]
The custom has been criticized for allegedly having its source in Christian or pagan practices.[36]
Challah rolls, known as abilkele orbulkele orbilkel orbulkel (plural:bilkelekh;Yiddish:בילקעלע) orbajgiel (Polish) is a bread roll made with eggs, similar to a challah bun. It is often used as the bread for Shabbat or holiday meals.[citation needed]
Similarbraided, egg-enriched breads are made in other traditions. TheRomaniancolac is a similar braided bread traditionally presented for holidays and celebrations such as Christmas carolingcolindat.[37] ThePolishchałka is similar, though sweeter than challah. TheCzechvánočka andSlovakvianočka is very similar and traditionally eaten at Christmas. InBulgarian andRomanian cuisine there is a similar bread calledcozonac (Bulgarian:козунак), whiletsoureki bread (also known aschoreg orçörek) is popular inArmenian,[38]Greek andTurkish cuisines. A sweet bread calledmilibrod (Macedonian:милиброд), similarly braided as the challah, is part of the dinner table during Orthodox Easter in Macedonia.Zopf is a similar bread from Germany,Austria andSwitzerland, with a sweeter variant known asHefezopf orHefekranz. InFinnish cuisine,pulla (also known as cardamom bread inEnglish) is a small braided pastry seasoned with cardamom that is very popular in Finnish cafés.Brioche is an egg-enriched bread, but it is not braided.[citation needed]
Unlike challah, which by convention is pareve, many of these breads also contain butter and milk.[citation needed]
What does it mean to take challah
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