Golden Valley Mom Starts At-Home Challah Bakery
A Golden Valley mom is baking her way through the pandemic by making challah after losing her day job as a corporate event planner.
When it comes to Haley Lerner’s sweet egg bread, there’s no secret ingredient, just skills and passion.
“I use a basic recipe,” said Lerner. “The kneading process is really important, I knead every loaf I have for 10 minutes.”
The golden-braided loaves are called challah (pronounced haa-luh). It’s a traditional Jewish bread typically eaten on the Sabbath day, on ceremonial occasions or on major Jewish holidays like Hanukkah.
Challah loaves by Haley Lerner.
“I’m Jewish, my husband’s Jewish, it’s a big part of our lives and who we are in celebrating Shabbat with my family,” explained Lerner.
When the bread comes out of the oven, it’s crusty on the outside and soft and stretchy on the inside. While it’s a traditional Jewish bread, Lerner said everybody can enjoy challah.
“It was my way to give a little bit of myself to the rest of the world and introduce something that’s incredibly important to me,” said the baker.
That’s why after losing her job due to the pandemic and being five months pregnant at the time, Lerner launched her own business called Challot By Haley.
Challot by Haley eventually gained so much demand that Lerner needed a separate kitchen to fulfill orders.
“This is my basement,” Lerner explained. “So I’m in my, I call it my “challah headquarters.” My husband built this kitchen for me for the business; he’s a general contractor.”
The baker may have lost her job but now gets to work in her own kitchen while spreading the challah love.
