William Greenberg Desserts’ Challah, Round for Rosh Hashanah. Photograph by Liza Schoenfein An email landed in my inbox this week from William Greenberg Desserts, a tiny kosher bakery on Madison Avenue — and with it came a flood of memories. My grandparents lived practically around the corner from Greenberg’s (we lived nearby too), and my…
Baker on the Rise: Most employees graduate to jobs at other bakeries. Courtesy of Hot Bread Kitchen Staff. The week before Rosh Hashanah, inside a low-slung East Harlem building under elevated rail tracks, a crew of women will quietly mix, knead, shape and bake challahs in an immaculate kitchen. Their dough will yield thousands of…
Hot Bread Kitchen’s Sephardic Challah. Courtesy of Hot Bread Kitchen Staff. Active time: 25 minutes Total time: 3 hours 45 minutes, plus cooling Yields: 2 round loaves 3 tablespoons sesame seeds 1½ tablespoons caraway seeds 1½ tablespoons anise seeds 1 envelope active dry yeast 2 cups lukewarm water 5 cups bread flour 2½ tablespoons extra…
My new year’s resolution was not to eat bread that I didn’t make. Between December 31st and January 1st, this already proved too difficult, so I scaled it back to not purchasing bread. In other words, if I wanted bread, I’d have to make it. I’ve already mastered my classic challah recipe (which is actually…
More than 2,000 South African Jewish women converged on a street in Johannesburg’s Glenhazel neighbourhood two weeks ago to learn the intricacies of preparing challah – the bread Jews customarily eat on Friday nights when saying Kiddush to mark the onset of Shabbat. The street had been closed Thursday evening, with permission from the city…
As a college student in New York, potluck Shabbat meals were a weekly occurrence. Of course, not everyone could cook, or even had time to, so those guests were assigned the shopping jobs — drinks, fruit, and challah. As a rule, anyone assigned to bring challah really only had one choice — Bagel City. Anything…
I got to sit down with Stephanie Botvin, winner of the 2013 Challah Contest at the Rocky Mountain Food Festival, who was already convinced from the start that she made the best challah in Denver. After having tasted her challah, it was no surprise why she won. With a unique cake-like consistency, the use of…
Don’t live in New York, or in need an easy fix? We’ve got you covered. Below are three brands available in supermarkets across the country. The Challah Fairy Sesame Challah The problem with tasting store-bought challah right after a freshly baked loaf is that you instantly taste the difference. Thoughts like “This is a crust?…
100% of profits support our journalism
