Re: CHAT: cross-culturation

Barry Garcia wrote:
>
>  draqonfayir@juno.com writes:
> >although my informant made the comment "it's [just] bread :-)" which
> >brings up another issue... wouldn't it be expected that any bread made of
> >wheat would be pretty much the same?  so Jewish hhalah and Ukrainian
> >hhalah-like bread could just be similar by accident.
> >note:  i don't know very much about baking bread
>
> I think so also. Challah doesnt seem to have anything special about it,
> except maybe being made popular by Ashkenazic Jews? It also seems to have
> more eggs than other wheat breads. For instance i looked at a recipe for
> both Challah, and Pandesal (a common bread made by lowlander Filipinos),
> and the recipes are pretty much the same, except Challah seems to have
> more eggs, and poppy seeds are added to the top, and Pandesal has oil
> added instead of butter. So it's not a very exotic bread.
As I understand it, having learned this from religious school as a small
child who didn't pay much attention, the only differences between
challah and "generic wheat bread" are that challah is made with more
eggs, and it's made in accordance to rituals I don't remember. The first
may be an Ashkenazic tradition, (which would explain why the bread is
known outside of the Jewish world, ie. by Ukranians as has been
mentioned) while the second is what seperates challah, by definition,
from any other bread.

Maybe one of the other Jews, or people well-versed in Judaism, on the
list can add more, or correct me if I'm wrong.

--
Robert