20 Breads That Define
Jewish Baking
One bread for each year of Kosher Bread Pro. From Ashkenazi challah to Yemenite kubaneh — the recipes that tell our story.
Jewish baking isn’t one tradition — it’s dozens, shaped by centuries of diaspora, adaptation, and love. These twenty recipes span Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrachi, Yemenite, and North African kitchens. Together, they tell the story of how Jewish communities around the world turned flour, water, and faith into something sacred.
Every recipe below includes precise gram weights, baker’s percentages, complete halachic guidance, and step-by-step instructions. Whether you’re a first-time challah baker or a seasoned professional, there’s something here for you.
Classic Challah
The foundation. Six-strand braided, egg-enriched, golden — the bread that defines Shabbat tables worldwide.
Chocolate Babka
Rich, swirled, and endlessly debated. The chocolate-vs-cinnamon argument that launched a thousand bakeries.
New York Bagels
Boiled, not steamed. Malt-sweetened water, high-gluten flour, and the kind of chew that can’t be faked.
Sourdough Challah
Ancient technique meets the Shabbat table. Wild yeast, long fermentation, unmatched depth of flavor.
Kubaneh
Yemenite Shabbat bread that slow-bakes overnight. Buttery, pull-apart layers that greet you on Saturday morning.
Rugelach
Cream cheese dough, rolled crescents, infinite fillings. The pastry that bridges Eastern Europe and every modern bakery case.
Pita Bread
The pocket bread of the Middle East. High heat, quick bake, and the satisfying puff that means you got it right.
Jachnun
Yemenite slow-baked rolled pastry. Overnight in the oven, served with grated tomato and hard-boiled eggs.
Matzo
Eighteen minutes from flour to flame. The ultimate unleavened bread and the centerpiece of Pesach.
Marble Rye
Two doughs spiraled together. Caraway-scented, deli-worthy, and the bread that built Jewish delis across America.
Hamantaschen
Three-cornered Purim cookies. Simple dough, pinched tight, filled with poppy seed, prune, or whatever your family argues about.
Sufganiyot
Hanukkah jelly doughnuts. Fried in oil for the miracle, filled with jam for the joy.
Za’atar Bread
Flatbread brushed with olive oil and za’atar. The taste of Levantine mornings, perfected in kosher kitchens.
Burekas
Flaky Sephardic pastries with cheese, potato, or spinach. The shape tells you the filling — if you know the code.
Pumpernickel
Dense, dark, slow-baked rye. The bread that tastes like Eastern European memory.
Focaccia
Italian by birth, kosher by design. Dimpled, olive-oiled, herb-scattered — the flatbread everyone loves.
Msemen
Moroccan square flatbread, layered and pan-fried. Flaky, buttery, and essential to North African Jewish tables.
Honey Cake
The bread-adjacent cake of Rosh Hashanah. Spiced, honey-sweet, and as much a tradition as the shofar.
Sourdough Rye
Wild yeast, whole rye, caraway. The bread of the Pale of Settlement, still alive in every good Jewish deli.
Challah Rolls
Individual Shabbat portions, perfect for passing. Every guest gets their own golden knot of tradition.
That’s Just Twenty
We have 148 tested kosher recipes — and we’re still baking. Browse the full collection or join our newsletter for a new recipe every Friday.