Rainbow Challah Bread | Traditional Challah

Rainbow Challah Bread | Traditional Challah 

Rainbow Challah 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). Ritually-acceptable challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering.

The word is Biblical in origin. Similar braided breads – such as kalach, kalács, kolach, or colac – are found in Eastern Europe, though it is not clear whether these influenced or were influenced by the traditional Ashkenazic challah.

Most traditional Ashkenazi challah recipes use numerous eggs, fine white flour, water, sugar, yeast, oil (such as vegetable or canola), and salt, but "water challah" made without eggs and having a texture not unlike French baguettes also exists. Modern recipes may replace white flour with whole wheat, oat, or spelt flour or sugar with honey or molasses.

Similar braided, egg-enriched breads are made in other traditions: the Bulgarian kozunak, the Romanian cozonac, the Czech vánočka, the Slovak vianočka, the Armenian choreg, the Greek tsoureki, the Polish chałka, the Finnish pulla and the Turkish çörek. Zopf is a similar bread from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Brioche is an egg-enriched bread which is not braided. Many of these breads also contain butter and milk.

This Rainbow Challah recipe is perfect for happy themed parties! Plus.