Over the past year and a half I’ve baked a LOT of challah and the only reason I’ve been able to keep going is by keeping to one rule: it doesn’t have to be perfect. Every week I make my dough when I have time, and I knead for however long I can, and I let it rise for however long (or short) I have. I don’t stick to an exact science. Some weeks my challahs are more evenly sized than others and some weeks the braids are prettier than others. I don’t know the perfect baking time, I just take them out when they look ready and I have a minute. And I distribute my challah however it comes out because it will do however it is. I resolved early on that if I was going to be able to bake challah, I had to let go of most everything but the actual making.
Sheryl Sandberg said, “Done is better than perfect.” Meaning, it’s better to just do something than to get stuck on trying to do it perfectly. That’s my challah motto. And it’s spreading to other areas of my life as well. Like not obsessing in the mirror before I go to meet someone. If I look fine enough, I’m going. Or how I write my blog posts. Write, reread, publish. Done is better than perfect.
Have a restful Shabbos!
