The round challah is one of the most important symbols of the Jewish holiday season that starts with Rosh Hashonah (on the evening of Sept. 5) and ends with the solemn fast of Yom Kippur (the evening of Friday, Sept. 14).

The round shape indicates the importance of the "head" of the year. In addition, it underscores the wish for a full and healthy year. Third, the dough usually is shaped in a spiral, rising in the center, to emphasize the hope that prayers during this all-important period will wind their way directly to heaven.

If you've never prepared a challah, this is a good time to start. One advantage of making your own is the delicious, warm aroma of the baking bread. It will fill your house. If anyone in your family didn't realize a special occasion was at hand, the baking bread smell wafting through the house would tell them it is.

Second, it's a rare bakery that can match the flavor of homemade bread. When you make your own, you don't add preservatives, flavor enhancers, extenders or fillers. These additions take away from the true bread flavor. When you're in charge of the ingredients, you add only the freshest and best. You're not trying to maximize profits, cut losses, etc. All you want to do is please yourself and your family.

If you're trying to cut down on fat and cholesterol, and feel that challah is off your list of appropriate foods because it is so high in eggs and oil, here's good news. By baking your challah, you can alter the ingredients list to fit even the most stringent of low-fat, low-cholesterol diets. In addition, new products make it easier to remove fat and eggs from the traditional ingredients list and still come out with a delicious bread.

Start out by using no-fat egg substitute in place of whole eggs. Some manufacturers just remove the yolk's cholesterol and/or replace the "harmful" fat in the yolk with canola oil, a "healthy" oil. It seems a waste of fat calories to add it to egg substitute when there is a fat-free alternative. In addition, reduce the amount of oil. My challah comes out so rich and delicious that many guests compliment me by saying, "With bread like this, you don't have to eat cake."

Challah is important for this occasion not just at the festive dinner. Observing the holiday season correctly involves setting the pattern for behavior for the rest of the year. Even what and how you cook has important implications. If you prepare your own challah and make a low-fat, low-cholesterol version, you will be giving your family a good start toward a sweet, happy and healthy year.

But this is just the beginning. Continue this pattern into the New Year. Use the challah to make French toast. Continue on the low-fat, low-cholesterol road by soaking the bread in a mixture of nonfat milk and egg substitute. "Fry" it in a pan with a non-stick surface. Use vegetable oil spray instead of butter. Enhance the flavor with a little cinnamon. Present it with poached apple rings, honey or apple jelly.

Or use challah to make bread pudding. Serve this tasty dessert to break the Yom Kippur fast. Soak cubed challah in a mixture of nonfat evaporated milk and egg substitute. Add a few golden raisins. Assemble it the day before and refrigerate until everyone comes home from the synagogue. Bake it while you're putting out the rest of the break-the-fast foods. Present it all hot and puffy from the oven. It will make a starving stomach feel better. With almost no fat, it's easily digestible -- an important consideration for this occasion.

So start the New Year right. Give yourself and your family the wonderful treat of homemade challah. The recipe makes two large loaves, so you have enough after the festive meals to treat the family to challah French toast or challah bread pudding.

Best of all, you know that you can indulge in these otherwise rich foods because you have removed the fat and cholesterol form the recipe. L'shonah tovah tikontaivu v'saichosaimu! (May you be inscribed and sealed for a happy, healthy and good year.)

"Yolkless" Challah

Makes 2 large loaves, 24 slices each

2 packets dry yeast

2 1/2 cups very warm water (about 110 degrees)

honey

pinch of crushed saffron (optional)

10 cups unbleached white flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

8 ounces egg substitute (equivalent to 4 eggs)

6 tablespoons canola oil

sesame seeds

1 egg white

In a small glass bowl, combine the yeast with 2 1/2 cups of water. Add teaspoon of honey. Stir well and set aside. After about 5 minutes, the yeast should be bubbling. Now it's ready to use. Stir in the saffron, if desired.

In a very large ceramic mixing bowl, combine 6 cups of flour and the salt. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, stirring well. Scrape the sides of the bowl to combine all the flour.

Add 1/3 cup honey, 2 cups more flour, the egg substitute and the oil. Continue stirring. Work in one more cup flour. The dough should be sticky. Combine these ingredients well.

Rub the remaining cup of flour into your pastry cloth. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on the floured cloth. To aid kneading when the dough is sticky, lift the edges of the pastry cloth and knead through the cloth. This way, you will use less flour and your bread will be light and have a wonderful texture. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Wash out the bowl in which you mixed the dough. Dry it carefully and spray the inside with a vegetable spray. Or, wipe out the inside with a paper towel moistened with canola oil. Place the kneaded dough into the greased bowl. Cover with a clean, damp towel and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until the dough has come up to the top of the bowl (or doubled in size), at least 1 1/2 hours (or longer).

Spray 2 8-inch cake pans with vegetable spray.

When the dough has risen, punch it down and turn out onto the pastry cloth. Divide into two equal parts.

Put one half back into the bowl and cover while you are working with the other half.

Divide the first half into four pieces. Roll each one out to an 18-inch snake. Press the top ends together and braid. Starting at the outside edge of the prepared cake pan, coil the braid in a circle, working toward the center. Tuck the ends inside the center. Cover the shaped dough with the damp towel. Then shape the other half of dough. Let both breads rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

In the meantime, heat your oven to 350 degrees. When the breads are ready to bake, beat the egg white with a little water. Brush this mixture onto the bread, taking care not to get it near the edge of the pan (or the bread will stick to the pan). Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and the bread makes a hollow sound when you tap the bottom with your finger. Cool on wire racks. Remove from pans when the bread is still slightly warm.

Per slice: 120 calories; 3g protein; 22g carbohydrate; 2g fat; 0mg cholesterol; 15 percent of total calories come from fat.

Low-fat, Low-cholesterol French Toast

Makes 8 servings

1 8-ounce carton no-fat egg substitute

1 cup nonfat skimmed milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of cinnamon, optional

8 slices yolkless challah

poached apple slices, optional

In a medium bowl, beat the egg substitute with the milk. Add the salt and cinnamon, if desired. Soak the sliced challah until it becomes saturated with the mixture. This will make "soft" French toast. If you like a firmer consistency, just dip the bread in the mixture. Do not let it soak.

Spray a large frying pan that has a nonstick surface with vegetable oil spray. Heat over medium heat. Add the prepared bread and cook until the bread browns on one side. Use a spatula appropriate for pans with nonstick surfaces to turn the bread. Cook on the other side until brown. Serve at once. Garnish with apple slices, if desired.

Per serving (not including apple slices): 143 calories; 6.5g protein; 24g carbohydrate; 2g fat; 0.5 mg cholesterol; 13 percent of total calories come from fat.

Poached Apple Slices

Makes 12 servings

3 large apples, washed

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Core and slice apples. Place in a medium bowl. Pour the lemon juice over them and toss. Set aside.

Combine sugar, cinnamon and 3/4 cup water in a flat pan. Bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar melts. Add the apple slices, a few at a time. Cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the slices. Remove from the syrup. Continue this process until you have poached all the apples. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Refrigerate the remaining syrup separately. Use when you need apple jelly.

Serve the apple slices to garnish challah French toast.

Per serving: 50 calories; 0g protein; 13g carbohydrate; 0.1g fat; 0 mg cholesterol. 2 percent of total calories come from fat.

No-cholesterol Challah Bread Pudding

Makes 8 servings

6 slices day-old challah

2 tablespoons melted pareve margarine

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup golden seedless raisins

1 cup egg substitute

2 cups nonfat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with vegetable oil spray.

Brush slices with melted margarine. Mix 2 tablespoons of the sugar with the cinnamon. Sprinkle it onto the prepared bread. Cut into cubes. Layer the bread cubes and raisins into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl, beat the egg substitute. Gradually beat in the milk and vanilla. Pour over the bread and raisins. May be refrigerated now.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pudding from refrigerator and place in a pan containing 1 inch of hot water. Bake 60 minutes, or until a sharp knife inserted into the custard comes out clean. Serve warm or chilled.

Per serving: 188 calories; 7g protein; 30g carbohydrate; 4.4g fat; 1 mg cholesterol; 21 percent of total calories come from fat.