It’s not quite as good as ‘The Challahs in the Ark’ (which I first heard from Rabbi Pete), but it’s a pretty good story!
I would hazard a guess that it has been many decades since challah was produced by any bakery in the Gorbals. No longer the case as of last Wednesday!
High Rise Bakers is an award-winning social enterprise in the Gorbals (in mid June they bagged a Silver and a Bronze at the Scottish Bread Championships). I see them on occasion at community events such as the Gorbals Fair, and have asked if they had ever made challah. Their founder Catriona’s response was something on the order of ‘no, but we could consider it’.
That conversation forgotten, fast forward to last Wednesday morning; I was sitting at the computer scrolling through Facebook when I came across the following post from High Rise Bakers:
Team day today so we’re closed to customers. We like to try a new recipe when we gather and this month it’s challah the Jewish Sabbath Bread. Every year at Gorbals Fair we get asked if we make it so if you’re that person and you see this post please knock the door around 12:30 and come and try it.
Imagine Catriona’s surprise when I walked in their door at 12:30! They invited me to stay to lunch, and we talked about challah and other community projects. As challah bakers, they were starting from little knowledge, but had a very good manual: The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden. With some experimentation, the team produced a nice variety of loaves, including a round one; they were rather chuffed when I told them that any Jew would immediately recognise them as challah!
They gifted me two loaves of my choice, which served to nourish the GRS crowd at Friday evening’s kiddush and Chavurah Supper. Pleased to have hand delivered our Shabbat bread directly from the ovens of the producers to the consumers! Many thanks to the team at High Rise Bakers!
Note that this was a one off: they will not be baking challah on a regular basis, but don’t let that stop you from trying their delicious bread. And I’m sure that if they decide to have another go at challah, I’ll be the first to hear about it 🙂
Scott Curland Chase
