Today through September 4 is the start of a community project #PDXFoodFriday with Portland museums and organizations taking turns posting recipes that represent or connect with a variety of cultures, ethnicities, and communities. During times of social and political upheaval, food has functioned as a way to bring people together and bridge the understanding of different perspectives. Although we cannot safely gather together to cook in each other’s kitchens, we hope that these recipes inspire you to try something new!
We begin with Mama Shuldman’s Challah recipe courtesy of her daughter Eddy Shuldman. Challah, the centerpiece of the Shabbat meal, is the perfect recipe for the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education to share—enjoy!
Mama Shuldman’s Challah Recipe By Eddy Shuldman, (an approximation)
Ingredients
1 cup + 1 cup of water- warm
2 pkgs of yeast or 4.25-4.5 tsp of bulk yeast
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 eggs + 1 egg
7-8 cups of flour
Use a large bowl. Pour hot tap water into the bowl to warm it, then drain the water. Pour the first cup of water to the bowl and add the yeast. Add the second cup of warm water and stir with a heavy wooden spoon. Let sit for a minute. Then add the vegetable oil, sugar and salt. Mom would always pour the salt into the palm of her hand. I do that as well—so it is approximately a tablespoon or so. Mix again.
Break 3 eggs, one at a time into a small dish. If there is no sign of blood, add that egg to the bowl. Stir again. Add flour, 1 cup at a time. Stir with the wooden spoon. Usually it requires about 7 cups of flour. When the stirring becomes too challenging, take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a clean-floured surface. Start kneading, adding flour as you go.
When the dough seems pliant with just the slightest hint of stickiness it is ready to rise. Put a little oil in the bottom of a clean large mixing bowl, and then add the dough. Cover with a clean lint free towel. If the bowl is large enough, the dough won’t rise to the height of the towel. The challah should rise for a minimum of 45 minutes. I usually let it rise for 1.5 hours. You can punch the dough down and let it rise a second time if you aren’t yet ready to braid.
Cut the dough into three sections. Each section will make 1 challah.
Cut each section into 3 equal parts and roll each section into a strand.
Braid the strands (you can certainly cut more strands for fancy braids).
Set each challah on a parchment-lined pan. Cover each pan with a lint free kitchen towel. Rise for 40-45 minutes. Don’t crowd the challahs. You can usually fit 2 challahs on one tray, depending on the size.
Preheat oven at this point to 400 degrees. Break the last egg into a small dish and mix it well. This will be your egg wash. Gently paint the challot with the beaten egg on the first tray using a pastry brush. Sprinkle your choice of topping: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, finely chopped onion (all 3!). Be careful, be gentle—you don’t want them to collapse.
Bake for approximately 14-17 minutes.
As my mother used to say….Ess main Kind, ess! Eat my child…eat!
Mama Shuldman’s Challah
Arthritis bent each finger just so, making it hard to take off her rings when she kneaded the challah dough. Kneading takes koiach….strength, she would tell me back and forth she massaged the mass, pushing and folding, shaping and reshaping in mesmerizing rhythm.
Three sections of dough were cut and then each of those sections were cut into three long strands. Watching her braid the bread I wished for long hair so she could help me look like the other girls at school.
Over and under, under and over…the strands interlaced. Covered lightly with dishtowels, they magically rose, doubling in size.
Flour dusted mama’s face, yeast was her perfume. She would rub her hands, massaging them warmly then with great artistry she egg-washed her strands and covered them with a rain of sesame or poppy seeds, sometime both with some chopped onion for good measure. Twisting and turning she worked her wedding rings back on to her hand.
This was her work; the work of her hands, the work of her life.
Mama would bake challah every Friday. If there was a family celebrating a simcha she would bake for them as well. Together we baked a two-layer challah for my Bat Mitzvah. At shul women would ask her for her recipe. Always willing to share, she would smile and say “I’ll give you the recipe after you come make challah with me!”
The truth is, she didn’t have a written recipe! Other than a definitive amount of water, eggs and yeast, her measurements were in handfuls and pinches until it looked and felt right. She wanted her eager new challah bakers to learn the art of dough. That’s why the recipe I have shared is approximate.
As a counselor at B’nah Brith Camp (too many years ago) my campers and I would invade the kitchen on Friday mornings to bake challah. I still remember the joy on their flour dusted faces as they worked the dough and learned the enchantment of this ancient ritual. Ralph Policar (of blessed memory) was the cook (master chef would have been the better title!) back then. I remember lamenting to him that although these challot were lovely, they really weren’t as good as my mama’s. In fact, even my challot couldn’t compare to hers. He smiled and explained that no matter what I do, my challah will never be as good as my mama’s! The recipe, he said was great but it was my mother’s essence that made it so special.
I can still remember my mother’s hands cracking eggs, one at a time. Making sure each egg was unfertilized before adding it to the bowl. I remember later in her life when her koiach was fading, my father’s hands taking over the kneading of the dough. I bake challah virtually every Friday, emulating my mother’s every step. My husband can be counted on to knead the dough, taking on the new tradition my father established, and now, my son and daughter-in-law do the same.
Eddy Shuldman