Making Shabbat

Photo Credit: blmurch (Flickr)

This afternoon, Ruth asked me to make challah with her. I'd never done it with her - in fact, it has probably been longer than she's been alive since I made a yeast bread. Hard to believe given how much baking I do. Anyway, I was thrilled that she wanted to make it with me today. Once he heard what we were doing, David was excited to join in the fun.

Anyway, if you've never done it, most yeast baking requires not much active effort, but lots of down time - I think a lazy afternoon is best for challah. An afternoon when you have time to read a book play games, write a blog post or take a short nap while you wait for the dough to rise. You name it - anything that relaxes you. Then you can enjoy your sweet, eggy bread hot out of the oven at dinner (or before if you can't wait). Leftovers (if you have any) are perfect for French toast the next day.

I could see gathering with a group of like minded bakers (with or without kids) on a Friday and communing over our challah making during the afternoon. We'd give each other tips about how to make the best challah as we'd hang out all afternoon (naturally, the loaves I make with Ruth and David are the best). Maybe we'd play cards. Maybe we'd just drink tea. Maybe someone would teach me to knit, and I'd knit with him/her.

We'd be making Shabbat while we are making bread together in the hours leading up to when Shabbat actually starts.

Today has been a perfect challah day. Ruth and I played countless hands of Uno (that girl really plays a heck of an Uno game). She and Seth worked on a jigsaw puzzle. David read for hours. We had an excellent Genius playlist going. I even had some spontaneous eruptions of dancing in the kitchen as I washed dishes and in the dining room as I folded laundry (I actually happen to find both dish washing and laundry folding relaxing).

Contrary to the way we're doing it, I am sure that observant Jewish women spend the "down time" of Challah making frantically preparing all the food for the coming Shabbat when they are not allowed to cook from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. The good news for me is that I have the luxury of doing challah my way.

Given my last post about not feeling my roots, today's baking with Ruth and David was just what I kneaded. (ok, sorry about that one - couldn't help it).