Talia's Challahs Is a Farmers' Market Hit With Big Plans for the Future

“My goal is to make challah more mainstream while staying true to ancestry. They’re not just beautiful breads, but also extremely versatile," says Talia Rudee. This summer, she launched her first food stall, Talia's Challahs, at the City Park Farmers Market.

While summer may officially be over, there's still a month of farmers' market season to enjoy: The City Park market takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through October 26, and Rudee will be on hand with plenty of bread for your fall meals.

Challah is a three-times-proofed braided loaf made with eggs, oil, and sugar that is traditionally served during Jewish holidays — though Rudee believes it's a food that can and should be enjoyed anytime. “Just a slice of fresh challah with some good butter, nothing can beat that," she notes.

She has spent countless hours perfecting her braiding technique and makes her loaves using all local ingredients. Rudee and her fiancé and business partner, Daniel Koas, spend anywhere from six to twelve hours every Friday at a commissary kitchen braiding dough and prepping for the Saturday market as well as for pre-orders for Shabbat. (Because they cook in a commissary kitchen, the loaves are not kosher, but they are prepared in a fully vegetarian facility.)

The couple bakes about 120 loafs every weekend in a variety of flavors, including everything bagel, Nutella, cinnamon sugar and a new seasonal option, pumpkin.

Talia's Challahs offers two sizes: the traditional, long three-braid loaf and a smaller, round two-braid loaf — a new addition that has been a big hit. There is a vegan option as well that's made with a water-based recipe. “Just perfecting the traditional recipe here at this altitude and dryness proved to be a challenge,” Rudee admits. “It was especially hard to find the perfect water-to-oil ratio for our vegan option."

Recipe development took weeks of trial and error, but for an experienced baker like Rudee, it was a challenge she welcomed. She learned how to bake challah from her mother, who is a Sephardic Jew and was involved in baking groups. Rudee took a challah recipe with her to college and would occasionally bake loaves to impress friends. She
found herself enjoying educating her non-Jewish friends about the specialty breads — so much so that she brought a chapter of a philanthropy-centric club called Challah for Hunger to her school, Whitman College.

After moving to Denver with Koas in 2021, Rudee took a break from the kitchen, but she soon realized how important it was to bake challah for the local Jewish community and to continue to educate others.

Last winter, Rudee started offering challah via pre-orders on Nextdoor and in Facebook groups before applying to be a vendor at the City Park Farmers Market on the recommendation of a friend. “The market was a huge win for us — we really want expand to Sundays next summer," Koas notes. "We are expecting exponential growth in 2025. ... Denver is great to us. It’s a great place to start a small business. Denver treats them well, and the [Denver Metro Small Business Development Center] offers resources."

During the farmers' market off-season, Talia's Challahs plans to pop up at holiday markets at Dairy Block and McGregor Square. Rudee and Koas are also actively seeking their own commercial kitchen space so they can branch out to wholesale and have stands at multiple farmers' markets next summer.

Rudee wants to expand her offerings as well, including adding a gluten-free challah option and more savory flavors such as rosemary or pesto. She plans to offer hamantaschen, a popular Jewish cookie, during Purim and hopes to offer more of the Sephardic Jewish fare that her mother used to bake for her as well as some other cookies made using her great grandmother's recipes in the future. 

Talia's Challahs is currently taking pre-orders for Rosh Hashanah through October 1. For more information and to place an order, follow it on Instagram @taliaschallahs.