By Shimona Tzukernik – the Kabbalah Coach
The bread Jews bake for the Shabbos following Pesach is known as “Shlissel Challah” – the Key Challah. Across the globe, braided loaves have a key pressed into the dough before baking. And at the meal, the loaf is cut in the hope of slicing down on it.
While the tradition calls forth creative designs and moves many who don’t usually bake their own bread to do so, I suspect the reason that this week is designated as the Key Challah eludes most of us. In a year of Saturdays, why now?
Since the advent of quick activating yeast, wheat allergies have been on the rise. But quick-and-easy is not good for the gut. In fact, the code of Jewish law states that one should eat only wheat that is prepared by fermentation and baked in an oven. So much for boiled pasta and chik-chuk loaves. Our bellies and brains would be better off baking it as has been done for millennia – with a fermented starter.
Which brings us to the Key Challah.
Leavened bread is forbidden on Passover. In fact, all leaven (including fermented starters) must be removed from the home for the holiday. What that meant until recent history is that for the loaves following the Passover holiday, a new starter had to be prepared. I suspect that herein lies the reason for this week being designated the one to mark the rich tradition of baking the ceremonial breads.
If you want some design inspiration or simply to feast your eyes, check out my friend Gitty Salomon’s Instagram page of Challah Art.
Interested in making your own Sourdough? Devori Nussbaum is a therapist and health-and-wellness practitioner. You may remember her from the Macrobiotic retreats we did together in France and England some years back.
Both Devori and I have been taught by Amanda Wright. Amanda is a remarkable shiatsu practitioner who travels the world helping others regain their innate health. Below are two of her delicious recipes.
Amanda’s Steamed Sourdough Bread
(Easier to digest than baked so makes us less irritable, foggy brained and sore in the neck!)
2 Tbsp miso
3 cups leftover rice or grains
2 ½ cups whole spelt flour
½ cup other flour
Spring water
Corn oil
Raisins/seeds/onion/grated carrots or whatever your imagination conjures!
Add miso to rice, mix well and leave in warm place 2-3 days. Massage once a day to aid fermentation. Smelly and wet is fine. The night before you want to cook it, add the flour and water a little at a time and knead to a dense but flexible dough. Divide into 2 small loaves, spread with corn oil, cover with cheesecloth and a warm damp towel. Leave overnight. Leaving it in the cheesecloth, place the dough into a bamboo or stainless steel steamer above the pot of boiling water. Steam for 1 hour, checking every 15 minutes that there is still has water in the pot. Eat cool!
Sweet Batter Bread
2 ½ cups spelt flour
1 cup millet flour
1 cup rice flour
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil
3 cups water
Combine all flours and salt. Rub in oil. Stir in water and mix till heavy. Let stand for 8 hours or overnight. Add a pureed mix of any of following: squash, sweet potatoes, raisins, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, anise, ginger, and orange or lemon peel. Bake 1 hour.
Before you go, on the topic of bread, you may be interested in my article on the bread, manna, money and meaning. Yes, the etymology of “money” finds its source in “manna.” You can check that out here.
To your health!
getting into the recipe themselves- a bakery of low carb challah told me you had to eat twice as much of it ti Bentch, being that there were half non wheat flours (not hamotzi) mixed with wheat flours. A look at the recipes shows almost half non hamotzi ingredients….
מנהג ישראל תורה היא
Every one follows his own minhagim
We all come from the same forefathers and mothers
So we need to be united!
These weeks of sfira we need to add in ahavas Isroel!!that means to respect others
We all know the Rebbe encouraged people to keep their family minhagim even though they were not minhage Chabad. For example, those who were told to wear a striemel, or for the women to shave their hair. Some families in Chabad had the minhag from their parents and grandparents to do shlissel challah. For those who decided on their own to start this minhag of shlissel challah, my answer to the criticism is, since when is it minhag chabad to make a fire on Lag B’omer, or for the women to bite off the pittum of the esrog on Hoshana… Read more »
Please name another minhag like this that is not ours and one of ours that other Yiddin do not do?
i like that one
just be aware that the shlissel in the challa can cause issues in boirer, so practically better shape the challa in a shlissel to avoid that
To a chossid of the Rebbe, only the Rebbe’s minhogim matter. It’s not about being stuck up or gezhe. It’s called loyalty and dedication. It means that what’s not mine, is not mine and I want nothing to do with it, even if it has a legitimate and holy source.
Other people’s wives are also very nice, but they don’t belong in your house. Other people’s minhogim can be very special, but they don’t belong to us. Take pride in being a chossid of the Rebbe. You don’t have to be intolerant, just don’t go where you don’t belong.
Amanda’s Steamed Sourdough Bread:
3 cups leftover rice or grains
-?? Precooked rice?
-?? Whole rice or white?
-??What kind of grain (cooked or not)
The claim that this has something to do with avoda zara is a wicked lie, made up by vicious people who hate chassidus and all chassidim with an unholy passion fueled directly by the Leumas Zeh. They cannot bear the thought of people following any derech that is not theirs, so they make up stories that anything they don’t do is avoda zara and assur. They have to learn that there is great diversity within yiddishkeit, we are not a monolith and never were, even in the Beis Hamidkosh times each shevet had its own minhogim and derech, and none… Read more »
You are right that this is not our minhog, but it is a minhog of many other yidden, with genuine sources that are *just as valid* as our own, so you have no right to call it a mishugaas. Our minhogim are not better than those of other people, they’re just ours. This urge to put down other people’s minhogim seems to come from a feeling that if it’s valid then we should adopt it, so since we don’t want to do that we must denigrate it. This is a very wrong view. Other people’s minhogim are true and valid… Read more »
Rebbe Yoilish of Satmar said that all the segulos for parnasa are effective only until 9:00 AM. Then, you have to go to work.
so when i become an Apra’er chosid ill do it !
It’s not our minhag
according to what I read another website.
We don’t say it…but it is still in our siddur
Rema 690:17 says it is asur to mock or abolish minhagim…people did that to the minhag of making noise over Haman’s name on Purim….they were the early reformers
Good for u from Nevel.
You probably also make shiiduchim only with gezhe.
baking challah as segulah in groups of 40
saying Perek Shira for 40 days
etc. etc.
Why are Lubavitchers into segulohs that are not Lubavitch minhagim?
All prior commentaries please look at above sefer, accepted by all Yidden for the source of the minhag.
The minhag to bake Schlissel Challah is mentioned in Seforim, like Ta’amei Haminhagim U’Mekorei Hadininm, and Nitei Gavriel.
P.S. People claim that Kapporos stems from Avodah Zarah as well.
Which custom is from avodah zara?
Feel so much better haven mostly givien up wheat for about 9 months, but have been sad to miss out on the mitzvah of hamotzi. Excited to try!
Interesting to note that the author doesn’t mention that the custom comes from AVODAH ZORAH…
I believe it’s not a Lubavitcher minhag
Everyone knows that: A. Shlissel Challah isn’t a Chabad Minhag B. We only do the Minhagim of Chabad C. If you are looking for Segolos the Rebbe always says that Chitas and Tzedokah etc will do and why do you run for shlissel Challah? When was the last time you said Chitas – כרמי שלי לא נטרתי why are we looking in כרמי אחרים D. The Rebbe’s Mannah we all know סגולות כלך מדרך זו. It’s printed in Igros. So why do we keep on talking about this every year….?? The only answer is that we don’t have the Rebbe… Read more »
the last decade or so i started making shlissel challah as my younger sisters fought up with the ‘trend’ but the last few years i stopped . I grew up ffb and i donit recall my mother doing this growing up ( she does it now , i’m guessing it might be connected to her being an avid mishpacha , bina , ami reader ) and i certainly know my grandmothers never did this and not did my friends mothers or grandmothers do this too. so please can someone give me the sorce of this mishagasim and tell me when… Read more »