Saturday 1 April 2023

Tell Me, Where Is Fancy Bread?

... as the Bard almost said
I've been reading up on braided bread recently - which exists in many European cultures. 
The Czechs and Bohemians use golden raisins and condensed milk in their recipe and call it houska.
Polish housewives make chalka - with or without dried fruit. It is very popular at Eastertime. And if any is left over, it is turned into makowki - a bread pudding sprinkled with poppyseeds.
Swiss Butterzopf is a special Sunday treat in many families, particularly at Easter
From the VendΓ©e region of France [on the Atlantic coast] we get Brioche VendΓ©enne, which is flavoured with brandy or orange blossom water.
From Hungary comes the round kolach  loaf. However, I suppose the most well known braided loaf is the challah, of the Ashkenazy Jews,
particularly popular at the start of the Jewish New Year [
Rosh Hashanah] There are many stories about the size and shape of the challah loaves, often very ornate.
Braided ones, which may have three, four, or six strands, are the most common, and because they look like arms intertwined, symbolize love. Three braids symbolize truth, peace, and justice. Twelve humps from two small or one large braided bread recall the miracle of the 12 loaves for the 12 tribes of Israel.
Braids,ropes, plaits, twists - there are so many different variations on the theme.This weekend, if you fancy one of these plaited treats, I suggest you pop down to your local European Supermarket, where there may be a special offer on Aldi's Ropy Loaf







16 comments:

  1. I always click on your blog on this day and you bever disappoint! How do you come up with them!!!!!!!

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  2. They all look delicious and I bet they taste wonderful, too!

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  3. Don’t they all look so appetising. We used to make Challah bread with P7 when they were learning about Judaism but sometimes I would just nip to a bread shop in the Southside of Glasgow and buy a few loaves. This meant everyone got a piece and the staff usually ended up eating the homemade stuff as our children thought anything homemade (even by themselves) was poisonous. Catriona

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  4. Aaaaand, it's April 1st! Ropy Loaf indeed!

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    1. It's important to acknowledge the day!!!!

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  5. So tempting the look of all those glossy,braided loaves
    Alison in Wales x

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  6. Fabulous looking breads! JanF

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  7. Aldi's Ropy Loaf indeed ... I should have asked for one while I was there. ;-)

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    1. I have decided that April 1st jokes don't travel "across the pond"!

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  8. You always find such interesting things to write about and this post is perfect!
    Yum!

    Hugs!

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  9. Not too many braided loaves to be found over here. Perhaps in speciality shops in cities or among those of European heritage, but the breads we find in our supermarkets are rather boring!

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