Challah

The term “challah” is applied more widely to mean any bread used in Jewish rituals. On the eve of Shabbat, two loaves are placed on the table to reference the Jewish teaching that a double portion of manna fell from heaven on Friday to last through the Saturday Shabbat.*

The significance of this ceremonial bread lends to the care and precision of making it. It can be said that this bread is holy, so the intricacies involving the process demand respect.

Jasmine and Bea, one of the youngest baking students of the Academy, agree that “The most challenging part in making challah is achieving the right color, texture, yield, size, shape, crumb structure, and taste. There is a prescribed method from dough-mixing, shaping, proofing, finishing, and baking.”