Challah
special bread in Jewish cuisine and religion
Challah ( (K)HAH-lə; Hebrew: חַלָּה, romanized: ḥallā, pronounced [χaˈla, ħalˈlaː]; pl. [c]hallot, [c]halloth or [c]hallos, Hebrew: חַלּוֹת), also known as berches in Central Europe, is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover and Yom Kippur).
Ritually acceptable challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering. Challah may also refer to the dough offering. The word is biblical in origin, meaning "loaf". Similar (usually braided) breads with mainly the same ingredients including brioche, kalach, kozunak, panettone, pulla, tsoureki, vánočka are found across European cuisines.
Name and origins
The term challah in Biblical Hebrew meant a kind of loaf or cake. The targum is גריצא (pl. גריצן, var. Classical Syriac: ܓܪܝܨܐ / ܓܪܝܣܐ) which also means loaf.
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