challah

noun chal·lah \ ˈḵä-lə , ˈhä- \

variants: or less commonly challa or hallah

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: challah Comes From Yiddish

Definition of challah

plural challoth or challot play \ˈḵä-ˌlōt, -ˌlōth, -ˌlōs, ˈhä-\ or challahs also challas play \ˈḵä-ləz, ˈhä-\ or halloth or hallot play \ˈḵä-ˌlōt, -ˌlōth, -ˌlōs, ˈhä-\ or hallahs play \ˈḵä-ləz, ˈhä-\

: egg-rich yeast-leavened bread that is usually braided or twisted before baking and is traditionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath and holidays

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Recent Examples of challah from the Web

Broadway Deli's Lox Club sandwich piles toasted challah bread with green onion cream cheese, smoked salmon, bacon and tomato.

— sarah gish, kansascity, "Pastrami time: 5 things to know about Broadway Deli's ‘mostly Jewish’ specialties," 8 June 2018
Fire Island is an altar to bread, with classics like Alaska whole wheat and Fire Island sourdough turned out daily and specials like challah, plum flax, and sprouted grain offered on specific weekdays.

— genevieve roth, Bon Appetit, "Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop Gets Me Through the Long Alaskan Winter," 6 June 2018
Dishes served include challah bread with apples and honey, homemade gefilte fish, chopped liver, matzo ball soup, beef brisket, apple tarte tatin and flourless chocolate cake.

— audrey gorden, RedEye Chicago, "Ring in the Jewish New Year with these Rosh Hashana specials," 18 Sep. 2017
Banksia sells the same crusty K.C. sourdough bread baked by Sasha's Baking Co. Sarah Gish Banksia also sells a variety of breads, from sourdough to wheat, rye and challah.

— sarah gish, kansascity, "5 things to know about Banksia, downtown KC's Australian bakery, with Sunday brunch | The Kansas City Star," 14 May 2018
Entrée selections include Dungeness crab pasta; Colorado lamb sirloin; seared Scottish salmon and challah French toast with chicken apple sausage.

— julie giuffrida, latimes.com, "Our 2018 Easter dining guide: brunch buffets, mimosas and plenty of eggs," 27 Mar. 2018
The generous Tal's platter contains three eggs, a thick slice of challah and a puffy pita to sop up sauce. Spices give shakshouka its flavor backbone.

— judy walker, NOLA.com, "Shakshouka for Lent? Israeli dish of eggs and tomatoes is perfect any time," 2 Mar. 2018
An accomplished cook, Van Derveer organized a pretzel baking party and drew plaudits for her challah, sourdough rye, cinnamon bread and hot cross buns.

— carolyn said, San Francisco Chronicle, "San Francisco mansion joins Roam’s stable of co-living hotels," 27 Apr. 2018
Market Grille, 110 Buckland Hills Dr., Manchester, offers a Mother’s Day brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for $26.95, with entree choices like filet mignon Benedict, Southwest steak and eggs, Belgian waffles and challah French toast.

— leeanne griffin, courant.com, "She's The Best, So Here's Where To Take Mom To Eat On Mother's Day," 23 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'challah.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

challah Comes From Yiddish

When English speakers first borrowed challah from Yiddish, they couldn't quite settle on a single spelling, so the word showed up in several forms; challah, challa, hallah, and the plural forms challoth, challot, halloth, and hallot were all common enough to merit inclusion in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged when it was released in 1961. Today, challah and the anglicized plural challahs are the variants that are usually encountered by English speakers. The initial ch of challah is frequently pronounced as a velar fricative, like the ch in the German Buch or the Scottish English loch.