Linda Alam's Best Challah Bread in Jakarta

By Lu

Challah is a Jewish egg bread that is simply heavenly. I am not Jewish in anyway obviously, not by traits, religion, nor injection like Carol would say about herself! But, Challah will be my bread of choice if I want to do some carb loading.
I first had Challah Bread when I took a Research Chef Association's class for Food Science at Kendall College in Evanston, IL. One of the master bakers there, Chef Tanbergen if I remember his name correctly, made this crazy looking braided bread and I was mesmerized. Holy cow..how did he braid it using 6 or 8 different strands of dough? Wow! It was so good.

Either way, I was in love. I forgot about it in awhile as you couldn't find it anywhere in Chicago easily. Then, I took a class for Food Styling at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and our instructor, a renowned Food Stylist, Dolores Custer showed us how to make Challah French Toast and dressing it with some powdered sugar and lime juice. It was simple.. Cut the Challah into thick slices, dip it in egg that has been seasoned with a little cinnamon, fried it, and then sprinkle powdered sugar and squeeze a fresh lime over it. OMG..so good!

My next encounter with Challah was with my sister, Ri and her husband, David in New York City. When we were in NYC, we always made a point to go to the Green Market at Union Square Park. I would buy a Challah and I'd eat it all the way back to Michelle's house in Hoboken.

But my fondest memory of Challah was making it with my mom and sister back home in Indonesia. This was back in 2007 and I had an opportunity to make it back home for Christmas. Gosh, that was the first time I made it home for Christmas in 14 years. It was just such a blessing from God.

Ri married David, and David is Jewish. So, we planned on making a Christmukkah celebration for both Christmas and Hanukkah. We prepared the menu.. we had Turkey, Corn Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Latkes, Green Bean Casserole, Gravy, Jelly Donuts, and of course Challah. Mind you, I was the only one who have ever made Challah before, but that really didn't help any.

We tried it that night on Christmas Eve, and we did something wrong - I think when we heat the milk, and add the yeast, the milk was so hot it just killed any power the yeast had. The bread didn't turn out and totally unleavened. You would think it was Passover instead of Hanukkah. My mom read it over, and before she was just helping Ri and I trying to make this bread. But she was like Yoda of Breadbaking. She didn't say much and just said.."I got it..oh..I got it."

She offered to make the bread at home and bring it to the holiday dinner tomorrow at Ri and David's house. So, I helped her deciphering the recipe that was in English. We got the dough done and it raised like a dream. Holy cow, it was a beautiful dough. But then..shit! How would we braid this thing!

I went to you tube..and found a video tutorial in braiding Challah - check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22p3wIHLupc

My mom watched in amazement. She's not the most technologically savvy and to see they had videos for just about everything totally impressed my mom. So, then we followed the instruction and we were successful in making our Challah. Check it out! Those below were our loaves we made that day! Mom is an expert now in Challah making. She is even an expert in braiding it too.
The expression on David's face when we arrived with the Challah was priceless. He appreciated it so much having those breads on that day. When he tasted it, he was so amazed as he said it really could be compared to the many Challah breads he had from any Jewish bakeries in New York City.

My mom even takes order now for Challah. It is quite a niche market in Jakarta. David's friend, Ari, also had the opportunity to try my mom's Challah several days later and he was like wow..Ari and Marcy (his girlfriend at the time) were eating the bread in the car and we were supposed to go going restaurant hopping in Jakarta's Chinatown.
That was such a great moment. It reminded me to a scene from a movie like Soul Food you know when family get together for sunday dinner, and the women were cooking in the kitchen. That's me, my mom, and Ri taking a break from the kitchen and took a trip to Traverse City, MI last year. But when they were here, we cooked up a storm too. We threw a house warming party and we cooked and baked so much together. I loved it!

If you're in Jakarta and would like to try Mrs. Linda Alam's famous Challah, contact her via email at linda.santika@gmail.com. She doesn't only take order daily, but she makes several versions of Challah, which is the classic, whole wheat, and whole grain Challah. She can also add fillings. Chocolate chip Challah? hahahaha..oh yeah!