Iwould add a bit to Reggie's post about challah. My comment is based
on the general history of East European Jews and their types of
bread. Challah was part of a larger class of breads that were often
called "rich people's bread". Most of the peoples of Eastern Europe,
and other parts of Europe, had a similar bread. Years ago the King
Arthur monthly newsletter included a recipe for a similar Swiss
bread. I've forgotten the name, but perhaps someone with old copies
of the newsletter or knowledge of Swiss baking can provide more
information. These breads, including challah, were called "rich
people's bread" because they were made with white flour and eggs and
fat. The literature of Jews living in Eastern Europe includes
comments about poor people hoping someday to eat white bread.
Literary comment about "rich" families would include that they ate
white bread on the Sabbath.
Also interesting was the development of different shapes for challah
and this entire class of breads. For Jews there would be a local
characteristic shape or shapes for the Sabbath and different shapes
for the Days of Awe, Rosh Hashanah and the meal to break the fast
after Yom Kippur. You can find discussion of the shapes in quite a
few Jewish cookbooks. For more information about challah, Maggie
Glezer's very fine book "The Blessing of Bread" includes anecdotes
and stories about challah and Jewish bread baking in general.
Best,
Stephen Blumm
Valley Forge, PA