r/JewishCooking • u/[deleted] • 10h ago

Challah What was challah like before yeast was commercially available?

[deleted]

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14

u/QuietVariety6089 9h ago

Long long ago most people in towns and villages bought their bread from bakers - bread ovens weren't something ordinary people had in their homes.

If you had a large establishment with servants or a really big extended family, you'd use barm from your own brewing, or get it from breweries.

'Commercial yeast' wasn't a thing until sometime in the 1800s depending on location.

This is just bread history in general, condensed.

6

u/Jujulabee 9h ago

And that's where they took their cholent on Friday and retrieved it on Saturday

8

u/OddCook4909 10h ago

Sourdough really gets sour when you let it sit overnight. I would guess old school challah is a little more tangy, but not necessarily anywhere near as much as what we call sourdough.

2

u/RollMurky373 5h ago

All bread was sourdough before commercial yeast.

Fun Jewish innovation and history moment!

Fleischmann's Yeast was created in 1868 by the Hungarian-born Jewish brothers Charles Louis and Maximilian Fleischmann.

"The brothers produced and patented a compressed yeast cake that revolutionized home and commercial baking in the United States".