The mitzva of hafrashas challah was mainly given to women. Therefore, women and girls who bake should review these halachos in order to prevent any potential pitfalls, ח"ו.
If the woman of the house is unavailable, her husband or any bar/bas mitzva member of the family can do hafrashas challah.
In honor of Shabbos. It is customary for women to knead enough dough before Shabbos or Yom Tov to require hafrashas challah (רמ"א או"ח רמ"ב ). Two reasons are given: 1) To honor the Shabbos/Yom Tov; 2) It is a reminder of Chava’s sin in causing Adam – who was considered “the challah portion of the world” – to be lost (מ"ב שם סק"ו ).
According to the first reason, one can also bake on Thursday, and one can bake less than the minimum amount requiring hafrashas challah. According to the second reason, one should specifically bake on Erev Shabbos [when Adam sinned] a quantity requiring hafrashas challah.
