Everything pumpkin challah, October 2024, Vermont
Growing up in Central Valley California, I was never exposed to Jewish traditions or food. In fact, I’d only heard the word bagel on TV (they were given away as some sort of prize on a kid’s show) but had no idea what it was until I went to college. I went to a Catholic high school, which happened to be next door to a synagogue, and there was a Jewish student at our school who held a seder there for us one year. Well… turns out seders are all about all my favorite foods. Namely, horseradish!
Now, obviously challah has nothing to do with seder — it’s the antithesis, I know. But that was the beginning of my love for Jewish food. My favorite bread, without question, is challah, and pumpernickel is a close second. In Erbil, I made challah a few times. I even made vegan challah, which turned out not bad.
Chanukah 2018, Erbil
Top — traditional made with Slovenian olive oil and rosemary
Bottom — vegan with sesame seeds
Tonight I’m making marbled rye challah, but I got a late start so I’ll update this later with the results. The recipe is based on this one, but with some improvements (I hope).
