Cover Story; The Challah Maven

THE CHALLAH MAVEN

By Mitzi Saul, Marketing and Communications Manager, Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida

As I walked into Sylvia and Andrew Jaff a’s home, I could smell the amazing aroma of fresh baked bread. Sylvia, our cover model, had just brought out two beautiful, round, sugar-crumb topped challahs. Sylvia has earned the reputation as one of Jacksonville's challah mavens. This is in spite of the fact that when she moved here over 20 years ago, she didn’t know how to make challah. Why would she when she lived in Miami Beach with easy access to many kosher bakeries? After years of practice and experimenting with diff erent recipes, Sylvia credits her challah mastery to mentorship from family, friends, and local rebetzins. Throughout the years, her husband Andrew and her children Martin J. Gottlieb Day School alumni Eliana, Moe and Micah have been discerning critics who rate her Friday night creations on a scale of one to ten.

“I love celebrating the Jewish holidays and Sabbath with family and friends. We’re walking distance to Andrew’s parents, Irene and Jimmy, and only seven minutes away from my mother, Betty Lustig. We are truly blessed to be able to raise a family in such a tight-knit and welcoming Jewish community.” Like their parents, Sylvia and Andrew have volunteered with Federation over the years. They even met at a Young Leadership conference in Washington, D.C. in 2000. Andrew is a past board member of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida, and several years ago they hosted an Israeli teen with the Israel Partnership Program. They have also chaired Federation's Young Leadership Division and even traveled on several missions to overseas communities and Israel.

SUGAR CRUMB TOPPED CHALLAH

1 cup water -- warmed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oil

4 cups all-purpose fl our or bread fl our

1/2 cup generous sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 large egg -- lightly beaten

Place fl our in a large bowl, gently pour the sugar and salt on top of the fl our around the rim of the bowl.

In a 2-cup measure, pour the hot water, 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside for 5 minutes or until it proofs and starts to bubble.

Make a well in the middle of the fl our, sugar, salt mixture and pour in eggs and the oil.

Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour in and mix. Knead for 5 – 10 minutes until gently elastic. Add just a touch of canola oil in bottom of bowl and rub gently on both sides of the dough so it doesn’t dry out. Cover with a dish towel and let it rise for 1 hour.

After an hour, punch down and divide the dough in half and shape and make two challahs. Let it rise on baking sheet (prepared with parchment paper) for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack..

STREUSTEL TOPPING

1 cup sugar

1 cup fl our

½ cup margarine, cut into pieces, or canola oil

24 Mix sugar, fl our, and margarine with fork to form a crumble. Sprinkle on top of challah after you have applied the egg wash before baking. You can also sprinkle some crumbs on the pans before you put the braids down, and it gives the crust a nice, sweet crunch.