Challah (Braided Jewish Egg Bread)

Challah and brioche are both enriched egg breads, but they differ in one fundamental ingredient: fat. Brioche is made with butter — a large quantity of it, typically 40 to 50% of the flour weight — which makes it extraordinarily rich, tender, and distinctly dairy. Challah is made with oil instead of butter (typically neutral oil, though olive oil is also used), making it pareve — neither meat nor dairy in the framework of Jewish dietary law (kashrut). This means challah can be served at the same meal as meat, which butter-based brioche cannot under kosher rules. The result is a bread that is rich and egg-flavoured but slightly less fatty and tender than brioche, with a slightly chewier crumb and a flavour that is more distinctly eggy.

Pareve (also spelled parve or parev) is a Yiddish term referring to foods that are neither meat nor dairy under Jewish dietary law (kashrut). Foods classified as pareve can be served at any meal — with meat dishes or with dairy dishes — without violating the prohibition against mixing meat and dairy. Eggs and oil are both pareve; butter and milk are dairy. Since challah is traditionally served at Shabbat dinner, which frequently includes meat, the bread must be pareve to be served at the same table. This is why authentic challah always uses oil rather than butter. A challah made with butter is still delicious, but technically it is a dairy bread and cannot be served at the same meal as meat under traditional kosher practice.

Three-strand braiding is the same technique used to braid hair. Lay three equal ropes of dough side by side and pinch firmly at the top. Working from the top down: bring the right strand over the centre strand (it becomes the new centre); bring the left strand over the new centre; continue alternating right over centre, left over centre, until the braid is complete. Pinch the bottom ends together and tuck under the loaf. The three-strand braid is said to symbolise the three qualities of the Shabbat: truth, peace, and justice. Six-strand braiding — with six ropes — produces a more elaborate and visually dramatic loaf that is the professional standard in Jewish bakeries.

The shape of challah changes with the occasion because shape carries symbolic meaning in Jewish tradition. The oblong braided loaf is served on Shabbat throughout the year — the braid represents the joining of the community, and the two loaves placed on the Shabbat table represent the double portion of manna said to have fallen on Friday during the Exodus so no work would be needed on the Sabbath. For Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), challah is baked in a round spiral, symbolising the cyclical and continuous nature of the year — a circle has no beginning and no end. Some communities also make challah in the shape of a ladder (for prayers ascending to heaven) or a bird (for the phrase in Isaiah about God's protection).

Challah's rich egg content makes it one of the finest breads for secondary uses. Day-old challah — when the crumb has firmed slightly — makes incomparably good French toast: it absorbs egg custard deeply without disintegrating and the egg-rich interior means minimal sogginess. It also makes exceptional bread pudding — both sweet and savoury. Challah grilled cheese uses the bread's slight sweetness and soft crumb to create a caramelised exterior and pillowy interior. Challah breadcrumbs (blitzed stale challah) are sweeter and more flavourful than standard breadcrumbs and are excellent for coating schnitzel or topping gratins. Do not refrigerate challah — cold air stales it rapidly. Store in a sealed bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze sliced for up to 2 months.