Spotlight: Serafina Rosen

The challahs at our recent Shabbat/Purim doubleheader were especially delicious. And they were baked by none other than 14-year-old Serafina Rosen, a member of the Jewish Healdsburg community and a volunteer helper at our weekly Hebrew School.

Serafina learned how to make and braid challahs from her Grandpa Norm, who lives in Ukiah and is an avid baker. She also undoubtedly picked up serious culinary chops through osmosis: Her parents, Ari Rosen and Dawnelise Regnery, owned beloved Healdsburg restaurants Scopa and Campo Fina for many years, and her dad is a chef.

To make these challahs, Serafina applied her family’s recipe, with two exceptions.

First, she let them rise longer than her Grandpa usually does—an attempt to make them fluffier. Second, she gave the breads a double egg wash, which gives them a nicer color.

Serafina takes her Judaism seriously; her bat mitzvah in 2023 was the result of years of independent study (this was before Jewish Healdsburg’s b’nai mitzvah program). She read her portion from a Holocaust-era scroll known as the Pisek Torah, which her Grandpa Norm has cared for since the Torah was loaned permanently to a small Jewish community in Ukiah.

When Serafina isn’t baking, she’s probably playing soccer—she plays for a travel soccer team, and describes the team as a second family.

She always finds time for Judaism.

“I always think of Judaism as more of a culture than a religion,” she said recently. “It’s a way of life. You eat the food, you celebrate with family. It’s just kind of a way to celebrate being Jewish. I really love the way it brings my family together.”

If you missed Serafina’s challahs at the Shabbat/Purim bash, fear not—the budding baker is considering starting a challah business. Stay tuned for updates.