I confess that there’s an element of crazy in my stubborn refusal to buy ready made food for Shabbat. No matter how many people I host, I cook the entire meal from scratch.

Call it stubbornness. Call it tradition. Maybe you can call it love.

Funnily enough, I’m not that much of a stickler about baking bread. The kosher challah and sourdough choices in Los Angeles are plentiful, and they are all incredibly delicious.

However, the week before Rosh Hashana, I decided that I needed to bake challah. I needed to make the blessing of “hafrashat challah.” I needed to pray for a “refuah shleima” for all who need one and to pray for a beautiful, happy New Year.

I got out my five-pound bag of flour, my Israeli yeast, sugar, honey and avocado oil. I figured out the right temperature for the water (105 to 110°F) and I took out my huge metal bowls.

I enjoyed measuring out the ingredients and watching the yeast magically bloom. I loved mixing the dry and wet ingredients and the meditative workout of kneading the dough. It was magical to see the dough puff up and so satisfying to punch it down. I had fun braiding, egg washing and topping the challahs. And the smell. So unbearably mouthwatering!

The challah was so good, with a pillowy white, fluffy texture and a perfectly balanced sweet and savory flavor.

Everyone loved it. The praise was so lavish that I felt obligated to bake fresh challah every Thursday night.

Maybe this is your colorful sign to bring the blessings of challah to your Shabbat table.

—Sharon

This Shabbat, we read Parshat Noach. It tells the story of the pairs of animals in the Ark, the flood, the dove and the olive branch and the beautiful rainbow. A sign of the covenant from G-d that never again will the earth be destroyed in a flood.

We thought that a rainbow challah, with its lovingly braided strands and its symbolic place on the Shabbat table would be a wonderful way to convey the hopeful message of the “keshet,” rainbow in Hebrew.

I wanted to use natural colors (free of harmful chemicals), so I used powders and liquids made from beets, turmeric and spirulina, which gave me a pinkish red, a bright yellow, a blue and a green. To be honest, the dough did not absorb the color as easily as I expected, so it ended up being quite a workout!

I shaped the dough into a six-strand braid and curved it into an arch. My one regret is brushing the top of the challah with egg wash before baking, so it came out darker than I had hoped. (Egg gives challah its glossy golden crust, but it also makes it brown and on a loaf that is all about color, that may have been a mistake.) Next time I will use a thin wash of egg white and water and tent the loaf with foil for part of the bake. (Also natural colors are more delicate than artificial food dyes and can soften in the heat of the oven.)

After the challah cooled, Sharon and I trimmed the ends off the rainbow loaf. We were so excited to see that the inside of the challah was beautifully streaked with pretty colors, far more vivid than the exterior. We stood the loaf upright on its  cut ends, a glorious rainbow.

Someday, I hope to make this rainbow challah with my granddaughters. Next time I will make a smaller batch. I will color the dough the night before, giving it time to bloom, because the longer it sits, the deeper the color gets. I will be sure to wear gloves, because my new French manicure was stained to a turmeric yellow tinge.

We hope you make this colorful and meaningful challah centerpiece for your beautiful Shabbat table.

—Rachel

Our Favorite Challah Recipe

4 Tbsp active dry yeast

5 cups warm water

2 Tbsp sugar

5 lbs high gluten flour + more as needed

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp kosher salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

¼ cup honey

1¼ cup avocado or vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Combine dry yeast, warm water and 2 Tbsp sugar in a bowl. Cover with a dish towel and set aside to proof in a warm spot for 10 minutes.

Place the flour in a very large bowl, then add the remaining sugar and salt and mix well. Add the eggs, honey and oil and the proofed yeast. Mix well until all the ingredients are well incorporated and dough begins to come together.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured working surface. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed. (If using a bread mixer, add all ingredients and mix for 10 minutes.)

Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Set aside to rise for 90 minutes in a warm spot.

Rainbow Challah

Separate half the dough into balls. Place a ball into a bowl and add the desired food color. Using gloves, work the color into the dough. If the dough is very sticky, add a handful of flour. Keep folding and working the dough until the color has the desired intensity. Continue process of dying the dough.

Form 4 or 6 strands of each color and place on parchment paper. Then braid the dough. (To braid a 4 or 6 strand challah, search YouTube tutorials.)

Curve the braid into a semicircle, like a rainbow, then place on parchment paper lined baking tray.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Allow the challah to cool completely, then slice the two ends of the rainbow equally. Stand challah and decorate with a menagerie of animals.

Tips

Dough can be made and colored the night before. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow dough to come to room temperature.

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. Their cooking and storytelling project has grown into a devoted following on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food. sephardicspicegirls.com/full-recipes.