Holla for Challah

(Trust me, I am working on originality.)

This friday I attempted to make challah for the first time. In the Jewish mind, challah-making for girls is equivalent to wrapping tefillin for boys (see image.) It is a rite of passage, an ancient tradition that is transferred from one generation to the next. Also, both rituals (challah-making and wrapping tefillin) are sometimes used as a "recruiting" mechanisms for jews on the fringes. This phenomenon can be explained in one word: Chabad (the Starbucks of Orthodox Judaism- a topic to be discussed in an upcoming blog.)

The internet served as the surrogate jewish-mother-i-never-had (let it be known, that my mother is an absolutely wonderful and fabulous woman.) I used a recipe online and consulted youtube when it was time to braid the challah. I feel as though I am channeling some Julie & Julia vibes, and for that I am sorry. I am strictly a from-the-box-or-can girl (cereal, golden curry and pasta is my domain.) It was the first time I attempted to conjure an edible item from scratch. The challah making process began Thursday afternoon when embarked on a search for yeast. I have never bought yeast before, so can someone out there in cyber space please tell me the difference between rapid rise and active dry yeast? Aren't those terms synonymous? I mistakenly used self-rising flour instead of all-purpose flour (whoops.) For this reason, I was nervous to let the dough sit for an hour and a half, fearing that it would rise beyond the confines of the bowl, make its way onto the table, and eventually engulf my entire apartment. I would return to an apartment full of dough (which is one of my secret dreams, which I have now made public.) I think I've seen patch adams one too many times. All in all, challah making was relatively problem free. I'm looking forward to baking more challah. Next time I will experiment with craisins and herbs/spices.


These are my loaves after they came out of the oven. On the left is the three braided loaf, and on the right is the six-braided loaf. Each time I make challah, I am going to braid them in the next multiple of three i.e. next time 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 ... until finally it takes over the world.




And for all those who ask why the spheres of prayer and domestic obligation are separated according to gender, I give you this. Look out conservative movement for Rosie the Tefillin Wearer, coming to a synagogue near you!