The Jewish New Year typically coincides with harvest season, an occasion ripe for reflection on the past year, and perfect for planting the seeds of new beginnings. Rounded challah bread, eaten with honey, is a traditional part of the holiday meal, promising a sweet start. 

At Hot Bread Kitchen in New York City, the timing is doubly sweet as the bakery prepares to celebrate the fall graduates of their Bakers in Training and HBK Incubates programs.

In honor of the Jewish High Holidays, Hot Bread Kitchen is producing challah in rounded turbans instead of braids, to signify the cyclical nature of the year (available through Oct. 12).

In addition to typical challahs made with cage-free eggs and local honey (plain, whole wheat, and honey raisin), the bakery also makes a seasonal Sephardic challah, based on the rich traditions of the Middle East and North Africa, crunchy with sesame, caraway and cumin.