A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World by Maggie Glezer

  • My challah

    from A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World A Blessing of Bread by Maggie Glezer

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Jewish
    • Ingredients: honey; instant yeast; all-purpose flour; store-cupboard ingredients
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Notes about this book

  • Eat Your Books

    2005 James Beard Award Winner, International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Czernowitter challah

    • PinchOfSalt on November 08, 2013

      A nice middle-of-the-road challah recipe. Not very sweet, not at all rich.

  • Breadsmith's challah

    • arosfd on May 26, 2021

      This is an incredible recipe, but do be careful if using a standard size (4.5 qt) stand mixer. The dough broke the gear on mine and though I replaced it, it hasn’t had the same strength since. Quite mysterious for a dough that is as soft as it is, but it can also be made in a sturdy food processor.

    • mjes on August 26, 2021

      An excellent challah -- although the use of vanilla seemed a bit odd it does work in the final bread. The recipe assumes a stand mixer. I prefer to make my bread by hand.

  • Lithuanian yeasted coffee cake (Babka)

    • PinchOfSalt on January 07, 2014

      Made the split-top version. This is the babka of my youth, except the loaves my mother brought back from the neighborhood bakery were not scored on top as this recipe requires. It is a treat made with a rich dough and a sweet filling (even without the chocolate chips, which I did not use). There is plenty of filling - this is not a chocolate version of cinnamon bread. The recipe makes two loaves.

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  • ISBN 10 1579652107
  • ISBN 13 9781579652104
  • Published Nov 18 2004
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 336
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Artisan
  • Imprint Artisan Division of Workman Publishing

Publishers Text

2005 James Beard Award Winner! - Baking and Desserts

2005 IACP Award Winner - Bread, Other Baking and Sweets Category!

A landmark volume that presents, for the first time, the diverse bread-baking traditions of the Jewish people.


This multifaceted guide to Jewish baking harbors a wealth of recipes for challahs from around the world, as well as for babkas and honey cakes, bagels and matzoh, crackers and everyday breads such as deli rye.


Working with bakers from Guatemala to Russia, Maggie Glezer perfected these recipes, many of which had never been written down. Recollections from Jewish grandmothers and great-grandmothers all over the world remind us of life as it once was, and riveting oral histories, ancient legends, shtetl folktales, aphorisms, and proverbs throughout will delight and inspire the baker in us all.


There is a special urgency to record, learn, and pass on culinary history if we are to preserve our traditional foods and customs. How fortunate that Maggie Glezer has taken the challenge.

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