Bread benediction
Bread made by Ruth Winkler
Make some bread. Bread is nourishing. Bread is a touch from the Creator. Bread is a gift. Bread offers hope. Bread is “soul” food.
Make some bread. Mix the dough. Feel the dough in your hands. Squeeze it through your fingers. Shape the dough. Savor the aroma as it bakes. Accept the outcome.
Taste!
The thing is . . . bread takes time! By hand, it can be a day’s project. Even with the modern Kitchen Aid mixer, or a bread machine, it takes three to four hours. And this is good because bread is not a “fast food.” Something happens to food when it is “fast.” Nourishment that is prepared quickly has no “soul.” It satisfies our physical hunger but leaves our spirit untouched.
There is some truth to the idea that if we prepare quickly, we have more time for “quality” time with those we love. So why take all that time? Because cooking, and specifically bread making, is so much more than combining this ingredient and that ingredient.
One of the most essential food groups in every healthy menu is “compassion” for others. When we cook something, we stir up the ingredients but we are also adding our care and concerns for those who will eat it.
Bread takes time! It has to be said again. In mixing, kneading, and rising, bread making has its own language. The yeast requires a proper temperature for the dough to rise and that takes time.
And then there’s this: Bread speaks to us of our daily reliance upon our Creator. It is a food that brings us close to our roots as fellow creatures of God’s creation. So, bread is a wonderful metaphor for the spiritual journey!
When we make bread, there is a connection between the nature of a particular bread mixture and the journey of the soul. Seeking an encounter with our Creator takes time. We cannot be too busy, feel too important, or be too anxious. Making bread can take us into the presence of God and brings us back to earth. We discover there is enough. We discover there is an abundance. We discover there is plenty for us and plenty to give away. The effort we give in finding and shaping the nourishment we need for each day keeps us from being greedy. When we are busy kneading bread, we don’t have time to hoard more than our share. Extra hours at the mixing bowl mean fewer trips to the mall.
Bread takes time! Jesus knew that when he said, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Perhaps Jesus was reminding his disciples of the manna in the wilderness. They were given each day’s bread, and they were to take only enough for the day. No more and no less than what they needed.
Just enough. Jesus used a shared loaf to offer freedom for the fretful, real food for the hungry, acceptance for the outcast, and empowerment for the vulnerable.
Make some bread! Mindfulness, effort, wisdom, concentration, patience, and generosity are all extra benefits. I love making bread!
This essay was written by Ruth Winkler originally published in House of Nourishment, a Retreat House Spirituality Center publication. You can purchase a copy here.
Learn more about Winkler in our blog post Leaven of our lives: Bread making with Ruth Winkler.