By: Lorin Gaudin
Let’s break bread. A portion, a challah. Golden, braided loaves of airy, egg-rich, honey-sweetened challah bread are beloved by many, though the bread’s origins are deeply connected to the Jewish community.
The word challah comes from the tradition to take a small piece of dough and burn it in the oven as a blessing. It is said that the word challah was coined in Austria during the 15th century and became a ritual bread as Jews migrated east from Germany, Austria, and Bohemia into Poland and Russia.
Jewish immigration and migration to Louisiana is relatively modern. Around the mid-19th century, Jews formed communities all across the state, including Shreveport, Lake Charles, Morgan City, Bogalusa, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. With these new communities came their food traditions, adapted to the landscape and climate; challah was part of that menu.
For Jews, challah has religiosity. It’s eaten at Friday evening Shabbat meals, with loaves woven into braids representing arms intertwined, a symbol of love. On holidays, there are special shapes: round to represent continuity on Rosh Hashanah (New Year); a ladder that signifies ascending to great heights, eaten before the fasting period of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement); and for festive times, blessings are said over two loaves. But challah isn’t eaten only in religious context—it’s a wonderful bread for daily and varied uses.
Louisiana is rich with brilliant bakers, but statewide, there is not a single kosher bakery (editor’s note: this statement is accurate as of press time, September 2000). Kosher challah can be purchased from stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, from specialty stores like Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery in Metairie, or online.
Joel Brown, owner of Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery, is an amazing resource on the world of kosher foods. In store, he carries a variety of kosher challahs from New York and Memphis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when baking became a serious hobby, Joel’s daughter Rebecca was hand-making kosher challah for the family. Kosher challah is a requirement for the Brown family, but it is not necessary for those who do not keep kosher.
Making challah is long, hard work, requiring heavy kneading and two risings before shaping and baking. Finding challah in New Orleans is no problem. Finding small bakery challah elsewhere in Louisiana is more of a challenge. And, of course, it isn’t kosher.
Moeko “Mo” Glynn, who operates Maru Bread Co. in Baton Rouge, is known for her flaky pastries, chewy bagels, crusty sourdough loaves, and freshly baked challah. “I first made challah for a friend who couldn’t find it here and asked me to make her a loaf,” she says. Mo had to look through a number of recipes to come up with her own glossy braided loaves. Mo’s challah is on regular rotation at her pop-ups, promoted on her Instagram account, @marubreadco.
In Covington, Carlos B. Sanchez (formerly a baker at La Boulangerie in New Orleans) has opened Tournesol Café & Bakery. Carlos first began making challah while apprenticing with the bakery arm of Gelson’s Markets in Los Angeles, California. When he came to New Orleans, La Boulangerie already had a challah recipe, so he stashed what he’d learned for the day he opened his own bakery. For his challah, Carlos draws on his prior employers and adds his own touch. “I know it’s a part of a religious food tradition, but it’s also just really good bread,” Carlos says. “I’d like to see it become the new white bread many ate as a kid, only better.” Carlos’ loaves of challah fly off the rack as fast as he can pull them from the oven.
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, Louisiana’s Jewish population is fewer than 14,000 in a total population of more than 4.6 million (editor’s note: this statement is accurate as of press time, September 2000). Challah is a bread that transcends its religious import and connections to be a bakery staple for all to take a portion … a challah.
