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• 1 2018-09-26T10:06:32-07:00 What is Challah? Here is What You Need to Know About This Traditional Jewish Bread 2 plain 2018-09-26T10:10:11-07:00 For today's article, we went to Zomick's bakery to find out what is Challah bread and how Zomick's Challah is made.
  
  Challah is traditional braided bread that is usually baked on Friday for the Sabbath by Jewish women. This bread recipe exists for over 3500 years. The first Jewish woman to make the Challah was the matriarch Sarah.
  
  The Challah bread is typically made by hand. Jewish woman usually don’t want to use a bread machine. The recipe is passed from generation to generation. This bread is eaten on Sabbath, Jewish holidays and celebrations, such as weddings or Bar Mitzvahs.  
  
  From Zomick’s bakery explain that the original challah recipe consists of eggs, fine white, high-gluten flour, water, yeast, sugar, and salt. However, there are many varieties of the recipe. Some Zomick’s Challah bread contains no eggs, some is made with integral or whole grain flour, etc.
  
  Before baking, it is bathed in an egg wash and sprinkeled with poppy seeds, rolled oats or sesame seeds. Cinnamon, chocolate chips, Nutella, or raisins can be added to the mix to add flavor.
  
  The same recipe can be used for making pizza, cinnamon rolls or baked Challah bread slices can be used for French toast. So, besides a Sabbath Friday night table this bread can be used for other things, suggest from Zomick’s, which has one of the best Challahs in NY.
  
  History of Challah
  
  The word “Challah” represents the separation of a piece of the Challah dough before it is baked. This is a Biblical commandment, which is still done today. During the times of the Temple in Jerusalem, this piece was given to the High Priest, the Kohen.
  
  Nowadays, the separated piece is burned in the oven. This is called "hafrashat challah" and literally means "separating the challah". On Friday night, for the family dinner, two challot (plural of challah) are placed on the table. They represent the double portion of manna (heavenly bread), that they were given in the desert. The braid represents harmony, family, and unity.   
  
  Is Challah Healthy? 
  
  Challah bread can be very nutritious or high in fat, refined carbs and sugar. It all depends of the ingredients that are used. The Zomick’s Challah bread is usually made without butter, but many recipes also include butter, which can increase the amount of fat in the bread. You can make a healthier variant of the Challah bread, using whole wheat flour and stevia instead of sugar.  
  
  Recipe for Zomick’s Challah
  - For 2 Challot -
  Ingredients
  2 eggs
  5 cups of flour
  1 1/2 cup of water
  1/3 cup of oil
  3/4 cup of sugar
  2 teaspoons of salt 
  1 packet of rapid rise yeast
   
  
  1. Sift the flour. 
  2. Place all the dry ingredients like flour, sugar, salt, yeast, in one bowl. Mix them together.
  3. Place all the wet ingredients (water, eggs, oil) in another bowl. Mix all of them together. 
  4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Knead the dough until its texture becomes smooth.
  5. Put the dough in a bowl. Place a moist towel on top of the bowl and let it rise for around two hours.
  6. Braid the dough like you would braid hair. The Zomick’s challah can be braided with 4, or even 6 strands. You can add chocolate chips, raisins, cinnamon, Nutella, etc. 
  7. After you have braided the dough, leave it on a baking sheet for around 30 minutes in order to continue to rise.
  8. Brush the challot with egg wash. Sprinkle it with poppy seeds, rolled oats, or sesame seeds. 
  9. Place the challot in the oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit for around 30 minutes.
  
  “Trust me, it's normal to have your neighbors, who are attracted by the delicious aroma, knocking on your door for a slice of your challah. It's that good!” - says Zomick’s challah chief baker.
  
  If you don't have time for preparing the Challah bread, you can order the Zomick's Challah online on Shoprite.
• 1 2020-09-03T03:04:57-07:00 Zomick's Challah Bread 1 plain 2020-09-03T03:05:00-07:00 Zomick’s Challah Bread is a typical Israeli bread, consumed mainly on Sabbath and other Jewish holidays. Its distinctive braided shape has a symbolic meaning. Each of the ends represents peace, truth, justice. In addition, the Challah Bread with a round shape, symbolizes continuity, long life, a spiral without beginning or end. The seeds that decorate it, represent the manna that the Jewish people ate during their exodus through the desert.
  
  As you can see, it has an interesting story behind it. Here, bakers from the Zomick’s Kosher Bakery explain how the Zomick’s Challah Bread is prepared.
  
  ZOMICK’S CHALLAH BREAD
  
  Ingredients:
  
  (For two loaves)
  5 teaspoons (*) dry baker's yeast
  350 ml. warm water
  150 gr. of sugar
  110 ml. sunflower oil or mild olive oil
  5 eggs L (+1 for brushing)
  1 teaspoon salt
  1 kg. bread flour (+ extra for kneading)
  Sesame or poppy seeds for garnish
       (*) One teaspoon = 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
  
  Preparation of the Zomick’s Challah Bread
  
  1. Bakers from Zomick’s Kosher Bakery indicate that first of all, you should heat the water in a microwave and put the yeast in it. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
  
  2. The second step for the preparation of the Zomick’s Challah Bread is to add the oil, sugar and salt to the water and yeast mixture and mix with the shovel of your food processor.
  
  3. The eggs should be added one by one.
  
  4. The next step for the preparation of the Zomick’s Challah Bread is to add the flour little by little. At this point, you should switch to the dough hook accessory. It is better to use 900 gr. and, if you see that the dough is still very sticky, we add the 100 gr. remaining. When the dough is soft and elastic (although it will still be somewhat sticky) and has detached from the walls of the bowl, you should stop kneading.
  
  5. After that, you should oil a bowl and let the Zomick’s Challah dough rest in it, covered with a plastic wrap or cloth, for 1 or 1.5 hours or until it doubles in size.
  
  6. Next, put the dough on the floured worktop, and knead it slightly to degas. Then, let it rest again covered by a cloth for 45 more minutes.
  
  7. Divide the dough into 8 portions (4 for each of the breads that are obtained from this Zomick’s Challah Bread recipe).
  
  8. Start with the first Zomick’s Challah bread. For this you should take 4 portions of dough and stretch them to form cylinders. Each cylinder should be about 40 cm long. Then you should form the braid.
  
  9. Next, you should form the second braid and let it rest for another half hour. Meanwhile, the oven should be preheaten to 190º.
  
  10. We place the braids of the Zomick’s Challah Bread on two baking trays with special paper. Brush both with beaten egg and decorate with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake the Zomick’s Challah breads one by one for about 20 to 25 minutes or until they take on a nice golden color. A dry and crispy crust will be obtained, but do not worry, the crumb will be super fluffy. If you see that they brown too much, cover them with albal paper.
  
  11. Let the Zomick’s Challah Bread cool for about 15 minutes. Then, you can enjoy your Zomick’s Challah Bread!
  
  If you feel lazy to prepare this recipe or you have a busy schedule, you can order the Zomick's Challah Bread online from Max Delivery.