Lib er,

AMEI

Food/Cover Story

Values

e Israel

,

CHALLAH

AMEINU
provides liberal Jews with a

,

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writes. Called berches or datscher, it
was glazed with beaten egg like the
challah of today.

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in the American Jewish community

Ameinu works for a more democratic and inclusive Jewish
community. We helped establish the Union of Progressive
Zionists student organization, providing a home for liberal
Jewish students in an adversarial campus situation.
We provide support for Habonim Dror North America,
which operates seven summer camps across the U.S. and
Canada. For 70 years, the organization has trained future lead-
ers for Israel and the American Jewish community. Ameinu
guarantees that a liberal voice and progressive values have a
seat at the table within the organized Jewish community.

CONNECT
with Ameinu and

the community

For more information, contact Ameinu
248.967.3170
25900 Greenfield Road, Suite 205D
Oak Park, MI 48237
www.ameinu.net

954660

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Not everyone eats sweet braided bread
on Shabbat, says Glezer, but all Jews
break their finest bread for special
occasions.
"It didn't matter what culture you
came from; the Sabbath bread was
special," she says. "In Morocco, the
typical daily bread was a whole-wheat
bread, and the white flour was saved
for the Sabbath. In Poland, the typical
bread was a dark, heavy rye, and the
special Sabbath bread was wheat.
"Always there was an attempt to
make it different and special, which is
also probably why people have such
good memories of it."
Many Detroiters miss Chana
Kagan's challah. Kagan, the former
Oak Park mother of 11 who baked
and sold challah from her home for
nine years, moved to Miami last fall.
Reached by phone recently, she says
she really enjoyed making hundreds of
fresh loaves each week in her three
ovens and 15 bread machines. "Several

SECRET CHALLAH RECIPE

THE NEW DETROIT
SCIENCE CENTER

..'•

Making Shabbat Special

people told me they started keeping
Shabbos because of my challah; they
enjoyed my challah," Kagan says.
"It's special because you don't have it
every day," says Cindy Levine, a
Temple Israel member and Franklin
resident who has made challah since
she was a teenager. "It's one of the tra-
ditions, one of the small things you
can do that just makes you feel con-
nected to people who have done it for
so many years."
Making challah is really all about
connections — whether it's connect-
ing to the Torah mandate or to
friends, ancestors and role models.
At Southfield-based Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah's annual auction, one of the
specialty baskets includes bread pans,
oven mitts, an apron and a coupon for
a challah demonstration. Two years
ago, Oak Park resident Rochel Lea
Groundland gave the demonstration to
Natalie Newman of West Bloomfield.
Groundland brought prepared dough
to Newman's house, and they kneaded,
shaped and baked those loaves. They
also whipped up a fresh batch of
dough, so Newman could experience
every part of the challah-baking

Do-It-Yourself

START YOUR
ENGINES AT

THE NEW DETROIT SCIENCE CENTER
5020 John R. Street • Detroit
313.577.8400
www.detroitsciencecenter.org

from page 53

4 packages yeast
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp. sugar
10-plus cups flour
4 Tbsp. salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup plus a little sugar
1/2 cup plus a little honey
1 1/2 cups warm waters

Combine the first four ingredients and set aside. Mix the flour and salt in a
bigger bowl. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the eggs, 1 1/2
cup warm water, 1 1/2 sugar and honey. Then add the yeast mixture.
Knead and add flour until it's a dough consistency. When it doesn't stick to
the sides much anymore, knead it. (Flour your hands so they don't stick to the
dough.)
Let it rise for an hour, covered with a dish towel, on the counter or in a warm
place. You can let it rise longer.
After it rises, divide the dough into loaves or rolls — use 1 pound of dough
per challah. Braid it, and put the loaves on Pam-sprayed cookie sheets.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Use the yolk of an egg, 1 Tbsp. water and 1 Tbsp. sugar to wash over the top
of the bread. You can sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top.
Put in the oven, leaving room for it to rise. Bake on 400F. for 10 minutes,
then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 20 minutes more. If it's brown on
top before the end of the baking time, cover the top with a piece of foil so it
won't get any browner.

— Karen Goss and Dorothy Barak