BBA Challenge 2011: Week 6: Challah
Hi TFL folks - here's week six on challah. I've cut and pasted the start of my blog post on it below, you can read the rest and discover what other BBA folks did, here:
Here's my rule: if you can't holla 'bout challah, there's somethin' wrong with you. Challah, when it is made well, great bread. I've always been a huge fan of it, but sadly I haven't had it in a very long time (even if I could find it here in Missouri - and to be honest I've never seen it - I wouldn't waste my money buying it). It's not just Missouri, though - it's just hard to find it outside of certain places. I don't remember seeing challah much when I lived in Northeast Connecticut either. Already, I suspect, I was too far out of NYC (second largest Jewish population on the planet) to find it readily available. Basically, two hours from NYC and already I might as well have been on the other side of the challah-eating universe. So it's not surprising that you don't find it out here, where the Jewish population density is probably 1 person per 200 miles.
So I was naturally excited to bake this. However, I was a bit apprehensive about making it. After all, how was I supposed to reproduce such a great bread off the cuff? Gladly, I'm actually shocked to report, this recipe turned out awesome. I mean, I realize I'm not Jewish and all, so in the end - really - what do I know? Still, I can say that I grew up in a neighborhood with amazing Jewish bakeries, so I can honestly say that I know what it is supposed to taste like. And this loaf of challah comes damn close to what I remember it tasting like. Seriously, I had some flashbacks to the days of my youth ripping into these loaves like a ravenous dog. In fact I had to stop myself from continually cutting into the loaf to eat more and more of it.
Basically, I'm hollerin'.
