THE TOOLS

Oil adds smoothness and richness to the dough. Challah is a special bread, so we always use some oil (or other fat, like butter) to make it extra soft and flavorful.

Have you noticed that when you pour oil into a jar of dressing, the oil always rises up to the top? You have to shake that jar very hard to get the oil to mix with the other ingredients. And even then, as soon as you walk away, there goes the oil—back to the top of the jar again! The Jewish people are compared to oil. Wherever we go in the world, we hold onto our special mitzvot that keep us distinct and separate. We always add lots of flavor and richness to every place we live in, but only when we stay like "oil," true to ourselves, do we maintain that which makes us unique. Sometimes we may think that we want to be like everyone else, but it’s those things that make us stand apart that make us special and add a flavor to the world that only we can bring! So, celebrate your uniqueness, as a one-of-a-kind human being! By being you, you will make the world a much better place. Even though that oil keeps wanting to separate, we really want it to blend in nicely to make this dough delicious and soft. Eggs can do it! They are up to the task!

Eggs are the “binders.” They bring everything together and also add lots of flavor and richness to the challah.

We can be “connectors” too!

There is so much that we all share. When we remember that, it’s easy to bring everyone together. When all the ingredients blend, it creates the magic that is challah. DID YOU KNOW? BLOOD IS NOT KOSHER! IF AN EGG HAS EVEN ONE DROP OF BLOOD, WE DON'T WANT IT IN OUR CHALLAH. BE SURE TO CHECK EACH EGG FOR BLOOD SPOTS BEFORE YOU DROP IT IN THE CHALLAH DOUGH. IF THE EGG HAS BLOOD, DISCARD IT AND USE A DIFFERENT EGG.

WHAT KIND OF OIL?

Most of my sweet challah recipes call for a flavorless oil, like canola oil. Grapeseed oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil are all good replacement choices for canola oil. Butter (or a pareve substitute, like Earth Balance or margarine) makes for a very decadent challah, and we have recipes with that in this book too. When the recipe is for a savory challah, it will often call for extra virgin olive oil.

Whoa! Slow down there! The yeast can’t seem to stop gobbling up the sugar! Even though the challah will puff up real big—and quickly, too—if the yeast is allowed to go to town on that dough, it will eventually puff up way too much and just collapse! Salt is like the adult in the room. It controls the chaos so the yeast can have fun, but not too much fun—otherwise, in the end, nobody will be happy. Salt plays a super important role in the challah recipe. However, since it likes to stop the yeast from growing, it has to be put in at the right time. Only put in the salt after the yeast has already been activated in the sugar and water. Then the salt can join the party and still control things without ruining the rising fun! A FEW THINGS THE SALT DOES:

~ Salt slows down the rising, allowing the yeast to ferment in the dough more slowly and give much more flavor to the challah.

~ Salt tightens the dough, holding it together, so the dough isn’t all floppy and we can make beautiful braids and shapes with it.

~ Salt prevents the yeast from gobbling up all the sugar. The remaining sugar can then help form a beautiful golden crust, instead of leaving the challah pale and sad.

~ Salt is also a preservative. This means it will keep the challah fresh for longer.

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THE SALT IS IN OUR LIVES?

WHAT KIND OF SALT?

My favorite salt to use in a challah dough is fine sea salt. It isn’t bitter like table salt, and the small crystals help it blend easily into the dough. Yup. It’s the rules. And even though sometimes we wish they weren’t there and we could just go crazy, we know that everything works out better in the end when there are boundaries and order.