Bread is, arguably, the official food of the COVID-19 pandemic. And, without a doubt, challah is the official bread of the Jewish people for the last 4,000 years or so. It seems that the longer we’re staying at home, the more people are making challah, with varying degrees of success.

We found a challah expert right here in Greater Boston: Mandy Silverman of Mandylicious Challah is pushing the braided loaf in entirely new directions, constantly adding shapes, fillings, toppings and colors that offer new twists on an ancient culinary tradition.

The Sharon native and self-described “carbologist” joins us to discuss how she thought “inside the braid” to launch her business and an Instagram community of over 25,000 aspiring challah bakers.

Follow Silverman and her magical challah and babka creations on Instagram at instagram.com/mandyliciouschallah.

Edited by Jesse Ulrich, with music by Ryan J. Sullivan.