Challah

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Name Variations

 * hallah
 * challa
 * egg bread

About Challah
Wikipedia Article About Challah on Wikipedia

Challah, hallah (חלה), Barches (German and western Yiddish), Barkis (Gothenburg), Bergis (Stockholm), khala (Russian), khale (eastern Yiddish) is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish braided bread eaten on Shabbat and Jewish holidays except Passover, when leavened bread is not allowed.

The association of challah with Judaism is most prevalent in the United States. Similar rich brioche-like breads (often braided) are also traditional in many other countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic among non-Jewish peasant populations. Very similar breads exist in other traditions: Turkish çörek; Armenian choreg; and Greek tsoureki, where it used to be an Easter specialty (with a red-dyed egg baked into the top), but is now available year-round.