By David
Posted November 5, 2009
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We usually get our Shabbos challahs through our children's school. Every month or so, we fill out a challah order form, and every Friday, the Good Boy comes home from school with a challah or two stowed away in his backpack. An excellent system.

So, what brings me to write a post on challah? What seems to be a change of challah vendors at the school. Last week, I made kiddush and handed out challah chunks as usual when I realized that the challah was particularly sweet.

My wife doesn't mind sweet challah, nor do my children. I, on the other hand, don't really prefer sweet challah. If I want to eat cake, I'll eat cake. For me, challah is supposed to be fluffy, soft, warm, and tasty. But not really sweet.

So, I decided to investigate what the typical expectation of challah really is. Yes, ladies and gents, I've scoured the Web in search of answers to the ultimate Shabbos question: Should challah be sweet or not?

To begin, I've found what I would think is a typical challah recipe on Epicurious.com:

Sweet as a challah?

2 teaspoons (6 grams/0.2 ounce) instant yeast
About 3 1/2 cups (475 grams/16.8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 grams/2 ounces) warm water
3 large eggs, plus 1 for glazing
1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams/0.3 ounce) table salt
1/4 cup (55 grams/1.9 ounces) vegetable oil
1/4 cup (85 grams/3 ounces) mild honey or 1/3 cup (70 grams/2.4 ounces) granulated sugar

So, you can see, that this recipe will produce a sweet challah. Almost a challah-cake, if you ask me.

And, here's a recipe for "Traditional Challah" found at JewishRecipes.org:

5 pounds flour
2 ounces fresh yeast and 1 package dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 1/2 sticks margarine
2 1/3 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs

I would imagine this one, too, to come out pretty darn sweet. Interesting that it's termed "traditional," considering that, at least for me, growing up in an Orthodox family in New York City, challah was never sweet. But, who knows... Maybe NYC isn't really representative.

So, I set out to ask some kosher food experts about whether traditional challah is sweet or not.

Chana from Healthy Kosher Eating With Chana is one such expert, and she's a wonderful resource for kosher nutrition topics in general. "Yes, in my opinion, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of 'traditional' challah is one that's sweet, white and made with eggs and oil. I suppose that's what makes it special and different from everyday bread, which for most people is neither sweet nor rich with eggs and fat, " Chana said.

"This rendition has to be modern though, as the original manna and showbread from Temple times was no doubt pretty plain and simple. (I'm sure that my grandparents didn't eat a rich challah either, at least until they made it to the U.S.) Also, the eggy challah we're familiar with is Ashkenazi in its roots. Most Sephardi challah was plain and more like pita.

"That being said, I'm all for changing tradition when the mood strikes. For instance, this Shabbat our challot will be whole-wheat sourdough, with no sugar, oil or eggs!" she concluded.

Miriam, also an expert on kosher food from Israeli Kitchen, agrees. "It should be sweet. That's because Jews (and people everywhere) associate the sweet taste with good things, relaxation, whatever is desirable. And Shabbat is a sweet, desirable day, a day set apart from the stress and worries of the other six days.

"Nowadays challahs are made of all kinds of doughs: sweet or not, light or heavy, white, whole wheat, what have you. As long as it's braided, it's challah. But if you're talking about traditon, challah is white and sweet, with a soft crumb."

Personally, I'm all for eating whole wheat and whole grain breads, so long as there isn't a major compromise in taste or texture. Of course, in the hands of someone as knowledgeable as Chana or Miriam, I'm sure that the challah comes out tasty as well as healthy. If it were left up to me, well... not so much.

Anyway, during my relentless research, I've learned some things that might not be immediately apparent to many regular challah eaters. It seems that challah is enjoyed, at least in the U.S., by many people who are not even Jewish, much less concerned with the concept of kiddush. It is widely used to make gourmet French toast, which is why one can easily find challah for sale in towns that are not typically known as home to major Jewish communities. Of course, gourmet French toast lends itself very nicely to sweet rich challah, which stands up well to the egg, butter, cinnamon and sugar that make up the French toast.

Based on the French toast application, I'd say that if you expect to have a lot of challah leftovers after kiddush and plan to make French toast out of it, then a sweet challah is in order. On the other hand, if you expect to use your challah to make cold cut sandwiches, or dip in matbucha, Turkish salad, or hummus, etc., then a less sweet challah is much preferable.

But, if you just judge challah for the sake of enjoying it as a stand-alone treat, then it's, of course, up to individual taste. Some like it sweet, some not. Some like it with raisins or chocolate chips, some plain and tasty. Some enjoy more of the crust, some more of the middle... You get the point. Whatever it takes to get your dough to rise!