The soft-as-air, indulgent, and delicious challah loaf is a staple at the Jewish feast table and equally loved by gentiles. Whether for the Jewish High Holy Days or a regular weekday snack, challah’s unmistakable taste is hardwired to release dopamine. Lightly toasted with a simple schmear of cream cheese is my personal favorite. Still, from savory sandwiches to fluffy challah French toast and bread puddings, everyone has their own preferred way to devour it. We tear into the symbolism and history of this ceremonial bread before sharing where to buy challah in the Hudson Valley.
The Symbolism and History of Challah
Traditionally, two challah loaves are served at the shabbat table. The symbolism of these loaves dates back to the Exodus from Egypt to Israel, during which each tent received their daily “manna from heaven”—a single portion of challah. On Fridays, families would receive two portions in honor of Shabbat, as Saturday is a day of rest. Today, the two loaves for Shabbat honor that double serving.
Additionally, the braided loaf for Shabbat holds several symbolic meanings. For one, the braid distinguishes it from daily bread. The woven dough, meant to evoke an image of interlocked arms, symbolizes love, unity, and harmony. Furthermore, two loaves of three strands each signify the six days of the week that the Israelites received manna. However, while these traditions are still widely practiced and their symbolic meaning upheld, challah bread as we know it today was not at all what people consumed in biblical times.
The Evolution of Challah Making
The origins of the braided loaf date back to the 15th and 16th centuries and can be traced to southern German and Norwegian roots. What is now referred to as the modern Ashkenazi challah first appeared around 1488 when Jewish bakers began braiding bread as homage to the Sabbath bride’s hair. Initially, challah loaves were made primarily of oil and potatoes. However, over time, Polish and, eventually, American influences veered the recipe towards its universally recognized sweetness with the addition of sugar and eggs.
Today, variations on challah abound, with ever healthier versions of the traditional loaf made with whole wheat flour or spelt, natural sweeteners in place of sugar, and longer fermentations to encourage better digestion. There’s even sourdough challah. No matter the variation, challah and its history inspire home cooks and passionate professional bakers worldwide. If you want to roll up your sleeves and try your hand at homemade challah, you can’t go wrong with this star-studded New York Times challah recipe.
For the Love of Challah
Apart from the ceremony held within the historical stories of challah, we reached out to a few Hudson Valley specialists who share a deep love for creating this most delicious bread to hear what they had to say about their connection to baking culturally important food. Lucia Swartz, known online as The Challah Pixie, says, “I love making challah for multiple reasons: the simple fact that it will feed people both spiritually and nutritionally. Making challah nourishes my heart as I’m making the bread. I think about the love that I feel for people, and that something I’m making with my hands will fill [them] on many different levels.”
For some, baking is an act of family connectedness. “What began in 2011 as a labor of love has become a special part of my relationship with my son,” says Rhona Schiffres of Challah on the Hudson in Kingston. “Our challah is truly baked from the heart. Originally started as an experiment after I was laid off, it has grown into a dedicated process of perfecting the ideal proportions for traditional Shabbat and holiday breads.”
Where to Get Challah in the Hudson Valley
Whether you prefer raisin challah bread or a braided loaf sprinkled with sesame seeds, these Hudson Valley bakeries specializing in challah have got you covered. These beautiful loaves are a staple of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, the holidays celebrating the New Year and the fall harvest—though they are delicious all year round. Here’s where to get your challah bread in the Hudson Valley.
Challah on the Hudson
46 Grandview Ave, Kingston | (845) 656-7424
Challah on the Hudson is a home-based bakery in Kingston with pickup also available in Catskill and Hudson. Rather than a traditional café or retail shop, it has the feel of a small, personal bake-to-order operation—more warm neighborhood specialty business than polished storefront. The menu centers on challah bread sold in pairs, from classic original and seeded loaves to raisin, cinnamon sugar, herb, dill, stuffed garlic, and chocolate-filled varieties. Baker-owner Rhona Schiffres also offers original or seeded rolls, cinnamon twists, and oversized ceremonial loaves for weddings and bar or bat mitzvahs. Orders must be placed in advance, which adds to its custom, made-for-you appeal.
The Challah Pixie
11 Locust Road, Poughkeepsie | (908) 415-7944
The Challah Pixie is a home-based bakery in Poughkeepsie with pre-order pickup onsite as well as a regular presence at the Beacon Farmers’ Market. With an intimate and homemade vibe, this is definitely more of a cottage kitchen operation than a formal retail shop. The menu centers on artisan challah and other Jewish baked goods, with offerings that include challah, rugelach, babka, scones, and cookies; the business also offers weekly challah subscriptions and Friday delivery in Poughkeepsie and as far south as Beacon. Altogether, it reads less like a retail bakery and more like a warm local operation built around special orders, market days, and community regulars.
Beacon Bread Company
193 Main Street, Beacon | (845) 838-2867
Beacon Bread Company, on Main Street in Beacon, is a full bakery, café, restaurant, and bar. Their selection of baked goods spans daily bread loaves, pastries, and desserts, plus espresso drinks, all-day brunch, lunch fare, and cocktails, beer, wine, and cider. The kitchen leans heavily on in-house preparation, from smoked and cured items to compotes and baked goods, giving the place the feeling of a true all-purpose neighborhood bread spot rather than a single-focus bakery. Still, challah deserves special attention here. Beacon Bread Company has been singled out by Hudson Valley as one of the region’s notable places for challah, making it the loaf to seek out amid the larger menu.
By The Way Bakery
574 Warburton Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson
A popular spot known for dairy-free, gluten-free, and certified kosher pastries, including babka and hamantaschen.Westchester’s By the Way Bakery has an intimate, old-fashioned neighborhood bake shop feel. Open in the same location since 2010, BTW is a fully gluten-free and dairy-free bakery. But that doesn’t limit the selection at all, which ranges from cakes, cookies, muffins, scones, and cupcakes to loaves of bread, plus custom and wedding cakes. If you love challah but are gluten- or lactose-intolerant By the Way Bakery’s oat-based challah is the solution. It is sold on Fridays, for holidays, and by pre-order.
Martine’s Fine Bake Shoppe
48 East Parkway, Scarsdale
10 Fisher Avenue, Tuckahoe
Martine’s Fine Bake Shoppe, with locations in Scarsdale and Tuckahoe, is a polished European-style bakery and café with an unusually wide reach. The menu runs from classic pastries like croissants, doughnuts, scones, and coffee cakes to cookies, and layer cakes plus heartier fare like breakfast and lunch sandwiches, wraps, omelets, soups, and salads. The shop makes challah fresh daily, including classic (leavened) and sourdough versions, and for holidays, the menu expands to include a plain round, raisin round, and apple-honey challah.
A Note on Why Challah isn’t Eaten at Passover
If you’re not Jewish, you might assume that challah is “Jewish bread” eaten at all holidays and meals. But during Passover, Jewish law prohibits eating chametz—foods made from wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt that have risen or fermented. Interestingly, the prohibition on leavened foods (and thus challah) is also related to the Exodus. Passover commemorates the Israelites departure from Egypt, when they left in such haste that their dough had no time to rise. So on Passover, instead of challah, it is traditional to eat matzoh—the flat, unleavened bread that symbolizes both urgency and humility.
Where do you get challah in the Hudson Valley? If you have a favorite Jewish bakery in the Hudson Valley or a favorite recipe for homemade challah, drop it in the comments below.
