May 10, 2020 - 11:39pm
American interpretation of Challah
Question for Challah fans - what is it about the American recipes for this bread that make them call for so many eggs? I used to live in Israel and I've never once eaten a Challah that's even slightly yellowish on the inside. Breads Bakery for example, which is one of the most famous bakeries in Israel uses 1 egg per 500g flour. Googling for Hebrew recipes also roughly confirms this ratio across every single recipe. On the other hand, American recipes call for way too many eggs. Even Reinhart in his book calls for 4 eggs + 1 yolk for the same amount of flour. That thing is not Challah and it doesn't taste like Challah. It tastes like egg.
Rant over. Thanks for reading, let me know if you disagree :)
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I have an excellent French brioche recipe that calls for 5 eggs and 500g flour.
It seems the recipes you are finding are more brioche than challah. Is there any source documentation that adds credibility to low-egg content Israeli challah? Is there a religious book or document that spells out challah ingredients?
I have had lower east side Manhattan (Jewish) babka, and it is brioche-like and laden with sugar, eggs and butter.
I can only contest growing up in Israel and reading Israeli recipes. A simple Google search for Hebrew recipes confirms this, if you use Google translate you can double check me on this.
The top result doesn't even call for a single egg actually.
And here is Uri Scheft. He is known as one of the top bakers in Israel. I also own his book "Breaking Breads" and it's the same Challah recipe - 1 egg per 500g flour. His Babka btw is bar none the best I've ever eaten. If you live in NYC go check out the bakery there.
And this is Erez Comorovski, another top Israeli baker. Same ratio of egg to flour.
Now you can argue that the people of Israel don't know how to make Challah, or maybe they're not true to their Jewish origins as their fellow New Yorkers. But what is generally regarded in the US as Challah is nowhere near the Challah I grew up eating as an Israeli Jew.
It could be the case that "Challah" has been Americanized as other cuisine has experienced through the decades and centuries.
Consider Italian pizza vs American pizza, other Americanizations of Italian cuisine can be named
Consider German rye bread (made today) vs American rye bread, no comparison here
Consider a classic French gateau vs what passes for "cake" in America today, again no comparison
Consider what you have experienced in Israeli Challah vs American "Challah"
israel is a young country, and for most if its years a poor one at that. during Israels early years eggs were too expensive to put in challa dough so bakeries made do without them. people got used to this style of eggless challa and it became the norm in israel to this day. america is a far richer country and that changed the way jewish immigrants cooked there. they ate more meat for example because it is far cheaper in america (the same is true of italian americans) and they used more eggs because they could (it was a sign of plenty). thus in america the challa is more rich in eggs. personally I actualy prefer challa with little to no eggs, but it depends on your taste.
Agreed, I dislike the egg-rich challahs.