Three meditations for the practice of homemade bread
Today is “National Homemade Bread Day.” Funny to think there was a time when every day was homemade bread day— or else there would be no bread. But now, we can get almost any variety we desire at the grocery store.
Still, there is something about the smell and attraction of fresh-baked bread, which is probably why we saw such a resurgence of bread baking during the pandemic, when so many of us were stuck at home.
If you don’t have your own bread recipe— please use ours. Our family has a bread recipe (shared below) that’s been passed down from generation to generation.
As you make and/or break bread today, ponder with me: “what is it about bread?”
What is it about the smell of fresh baked bread that makes us salivate?
What is it about a basket of bread on the table that tells us we were expected, we’re welcome and we’re wanted?
What is it about a loaf broken that calls us to a fellowship which far surpasses what we ourselves could ever produce?
When Bread isn’t just “bread”
In the Bible, bread comes to signify the concepts of care, hospitality and even life. Bread also serves as a sign of God’s presence, it is a symbol of God’s provision, and in the person of Jesus Christ, it becomes a means of God’s grace.
The Christian association with bread comes from three primary references:
- Jesus teaching the disciples to pray, “give us this day our daily bread,”
- Jesus’ self disclosure, “I am the bread of life,” and
- Jesus’ breaking of the bread at the Last Supper, saying, “This is my body, broken for you.”
As our hands sift, knead, shape and rest, consider these three meditations for your bread-making today (or any day):
“Give us this day our daily bread”
After setting forth the One to whom alone we should pray: “Our Father, in heaven” whose name is to be hallowed, whose Kingdom is to be welcomed, whose Will is to be done, Jesus then instructs His disciples to pray, “give us this day our daily bread.”
Read the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 aloud as you bake. Notice, this prayer for daily physical provision and spiritual nourishment is followed by two petitions for the soul: forgiveness and deliverance. So, although we concentrate here on the petition for the body, the petitions for the soul are readily acknowledged.
In the Lord’s instruction, we pray “give us this day our daily bread” is that He follows it with the petition “and forgive us.” Why does Jesus join the prayer for forgiveness to the prayer for provision? Might it be to show us that to be fed physically without being reconciled spiritually is ultimately unsatisfying? How much more is bread to you with the knowledge of who Christ is as the bread of life and what Christ has done in being broken and poured out for you?
Daily bread may satisfy your hunger but daily knowing that in Jesus Christ you are forgiven will forever satisfy your soul.
“I am the bread of life”
Flour may be the first ingredient for basic bread, which begs the question, “what is the most basic ingredient for an authentically Christian life?” In a word: Jesus.
In John 6.35, 47-51: “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” …”Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Without Him there is no Christmas, no Easter, no forgiveness of sins, no reconciliation with God, no hope of resurrection, no way to eternal life, no Holy Spirit power within us and no peace of Christ among us. Without Jesus the Christ there is no Christianity for apart from Christ we can do nothing and without Christ we are left to ourselves, falling ever short of the glory of God.
We call Him Savior because He did for us what we could not do in satisfying a holiness we could not approach. We call Him Lord because He alone has proper authority over those who call upon His name. He is the bread of life and the Christian’s life is given over to sharing with other beggars how to find Him. Do you know Him as Savior? Do you know Him as Lord? Have you eaten of the Bread of Life?
“This is my body, broken for you”
Matthew 26:26, “On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to his disciples saying, ‘Take, eat; this is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’
Take up the loaf before you and tear it in half. Consider the act of Christ on the Cross for you. Consider that the only One who was ever really whole was broken apart in order that we who are hopelessly broken might be made whole. That is the reality of imputed righteousness and grace— Jesus gets what we deserve and we get what only Jesus deserves.
“Do this in remembrance of me,” the Lord Jesus says. What does it mean to remember? To become a part of again, to be restored to, to be reattached. Look at the broken bread now lying on the plate before you. Who or how could that be restored? Who could possibly put it together again? How could the torn pieces be re-membered into one body? Only God is sufficient for such a task.
Becoming bread makers and bread breakers
I challenge you to become not only bread makers, but bread breakers.
Share the experience of making bread with a younger person. Make it intergenerational by inviting a neighbor child and their single mom or your grandchild and their best friend. Intentionally plan to pass on to others what you in turn have received this day.
As you break bread in private or in public, do so intentionally. Ask yourself and those with whom you share table fellowship, “How will Christ be made known here among us and outwardly to others as we share in the common union of this meal? How will Christ be made known here and now in the breaking of the bread?”
Carmen’s basic bread recipe (yields three loaves)
Ingredients:
- Flour 8-9.5 cups flour (5-6 c soft white or all-purpose; plus 3.5 c whole grain blend)
- Yeast 1 package active dry yeast (2 Tbsp.)
- Milk 3 cups (110 degrees)
- Honey 1 cup
- Salt 2-3 Tbsp
- Butter 3 Tbsp, melted
You will also need
- Oil
- Bowls for mixing, resting and rising
- Cloth for covering the dough
- Pans for baking
- Sharp knife for scoring
- Rack for cooling
Steps:
1. In a saucepan, heat the milk to 110 degrees and dissolve the honey. Remove from heat. Stir in the yeast. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow it to fully activate.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift 5 cups of soft white and add the salt. Add the butter to the wet ingredients and then stir the wet ingredients into the 5 cups of sifted soft white using a large spoon.
3. Add the grain blend flour 1 cup at a time, incorporating each cup thoroughly before adding the next until the full 3.5 cups have been incorporated. At some point, you’ll have to use your hands instead of a spoon and may find it easier to do by turning the dough out onto a floured surface (or you can use the dough hook on a stand mixer to mix the dough beginning at step 2). After incorporating all the grain blend flour, add more soft white 1/4 cup at a time until the dough forms a smooth ball and does not stick to the side of the bowl.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 8 minutes or until the dough does not bounce back when you dent it with your knuckles.
5. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and cover with a clean, slightly damp towel over the top. Set in a warm place to rest. Allow to rise until doubled in size (approximately 2 hours).
6. Punch down the dough and divide it into 3 even parts. Form each into an oblong loaf and place in well oiled loaf pans. Score the tops of the loaves with a sharp knife. Place the towel back over the loaves and allow to rise again in a warm place for 1 hour.
7. 45 minutes into the hour, preheat the oven to 350°. When the oven is preheated and dough is fully risen, bake for 30 minutes on a middle rack. Once fully baked, remove from the oven and turn onto a rack to cool.
8. Let Christ be made known in the breaking of the bread in table fellowship!
Recipe note: In our home we like to make bread flour from a blend of 50% wheat berries, hard white, hard red, spelt, kamut, and flax and 50% soft white. All organic and all ground in a counter-top grain mill just before using. This preserves the maximum nutritional value of the grain.
