Challah Morning Bakery
Poles and Jews shared one land for over 1,000 years. What a great influence these two different cultures have had on each other, something we can experience thanks to old recipes.
The mysterious Shabbat pastry, challah, baked usually on Friday morning, became popular all over the world. Nowadays challah is baked from Minsk to Marrakesh, but not everybody remembers about its Jewish roots. What made challah so popular? How is kosher challah different from any other? Using grandmothers' recipes, we will bake it together. I'll guide you step by step through the preparation process, we will try to learn how to braid it and also learn what the shape of challah means.
During this workshop, we will experience the culinary alchemy of the Ashkenazi Jews. You will experience a piece of the world which no longer exists, which used to be the biggest Jewish diaspora in Europe.
Ingredients we'll be using
- 1 egg
- 330g all purpose flour
- 33ml olive oil
- 100ml lukewarm water
- 33g sugar
- 8g fresh yeast
- pinch of salt
Utensils and equipment we'll be using
- 0.5l bowl
- 2l bowl
- drainer
- oven tray
- baking paper
- brush
- kitchen scale
Frequently asked questions
About Sabina
Hi :) I'm Sabina. I'm a rolling stone, food designer involved in many culinary projects. Since studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, I started to discover how fascinating and multicultural history stands behind my city. My grandma ran a bakery, I was brought up on best quality rolls, bread and pastries. I'm the owner of Głodne Kawałki, catering specializing in party food and founder of Mecyje, group of cooks discovering Polish and Jewish culinary roots. I cooperate with Polin Museum in Warsaw. My second home is in Athens
Reviews
James
My husband bought me this cookery class for my birthday. It was wonderful. Sabina had emailed a list of ingredients and utensils needed prior to the class so my husband was able to secretly prepare everything!
Sabina was so warm and welcoming. As soon as the session started I felt I was with a friend. We were joined by Marta, who also gives cookery lessons for Eataway. It was great fun comparing our efforts! We made the dough on Thursday evening. Sabina had lots of useful tips. She cooked alongside us and it was really useful to see the process. Much better than just reading it in a cookery book. Whilst waiting for the yeast to work there was time to chat, which made the whole experience very special. The second part of the lesson took place on Friday morning and Sabina demonstrated the skill of plaiting Challah dough. More time to chat whilst the challah was baking and then a shared breakfast with my new friends 2000 kilometres away. I have already recommended Eataway to my sister and to friends and will certainly be booking again.
Nicky
We joined Sabine and four other guests for a morning of creating and eating traditional Polish food. Sabine is a very warm and welcoming host and her professional catering background meant the food she made was delicious and she was calm and unflustered throughout. We arrived to the delicious scent of freshly baked challah, which we ate with butter and a choice of local honey or homemade gooseberry jam which we washed down with a shot of homemade quince vodka. Non-alcoholic drinks were also available! We then donned our aprons and, using dough that Sabine had already made, we attempted to plait our own challah loaves whilst Sabine told us about the history of Jewish food and culture in Krakow. Whilst the loaves were baking, we had a go at kneading and rolling the pierogi dough. Using two choices of filling – baby broad beans and mint or potatoes, fried onion and cheese – we attempted to create our own signature pierogis with varying degrees of success. These were then boiled and served with butter and fried lardons and were absolutely delicious. We also made a sweet version with strawberries, served with cream and sugar – incredibly simple and really good. In addition to the pierogis, we also ate homemade chilled beetroot soup and a bowl of bilberries with sugar and cream. The relaxed atmosphere meant we all chatted and swapped stories about food and asked Sabine lots of questions about the Krakow food scene and Polish food traditions. She recommended two local food places which we went on to visit and thoroughly enjoyed (a Georgian restaurant – GMT and Meat and Go – serving American deli style overstuffed sandwiches and craft beers).
So – if you love food – making it, eating it or talking about it – or all three – this is for you! Highly recommended.
Goska
Catherine & I had a fabulous cooking class with Sabina. Loved her delicious lavender challah with honey. Our entire experience was “sprinkled” with delicious Polish treats like home made lavender drink, local cherries & delicious cold beet soup to name a few!
Her recipes for challah & pierogi were delicious. Her”challah” pancake was absolutely heavenly.
We also made blueberry & strawberry pierogi for dessert.
Catherine & I had a fantastic time with Sabina -cooking, laughing & sharing her passion for home made farm to table food.