I am a mother of four children ranging in age from 3 to 18. I work part time, have my hands in ministry, and let’s just say I can get busy. So you can imagine that when my husband suggested I started baking our own bread, my eyes got pretty wide and rolled a little bit.
He went on to tell me about his grandma Jean. She would bake fresh bread every day and he could remember coming home to that bread warm and enjoying as the butter melted. The look in his eyes as he described this got stuck in my head.
It is my deepest desire to serve my husband and my family. Loving them in a way that fulfills their basic needs, but also in a way that makes their hearts dance. So I set to work…I found some recipes for fresh bread online and came to learn that baking bread is a process. First you must awaken the yeast, then add the flour a little at a time. Some recipes call for a standing mixer, which I do not have, but they also say that you can knead the dough by hand. Let me tell you – this is no easy task. It is a repetitive physical process of turning out the dough on the counter for about 10-15 minutes. Once you have kneaded the dough it must rise, turned out again, formed, and then rise again. Then it’s time to bake it.
The first loaf turned out ok. My family loved the fresh baked bread, but the look was not in my husbands eyes. I wanted that look, so I tried a couple different recipes. What I have come to learn about myself is that besides the reaction from my family, I enjoy kneading bread. Did you know that kneading bread reduces stress, releases aggression, can be soothing, can be an act of worship? I found myself in my kitchen with worship music playing, and Jesus beside me as I worked out a batch of dough destined for our dinner table. I cried, I laughed, I prayed, and I made bread. And my family loved it.
Since then I have taken to finding scripture about baking bread and there are many. From Jesus breaking bread at the last supper to the Lords instruction for grain offerings, but what what stands out to me the most is the process.
When I think of the process that I must go through in this world, how I may be the dough in the Lords hands, working me into what He designed to fit into His purpose and for His pleasure. A process that takes time and effort and strength. And it is there that I submit – to the process.
I will be trying new recipes until I find the one that puts that look in my husbands eye. May you also find joy in a lump of dough.
Blessings,
Kathy
God Bless you Kathy. Great insight!
I’m just glad Brian has not asked me to do that. ; )
I love baking bread. Thanks for this!!
I loved what you wrote about making bread.
when my kids were little I would make flour tortillas from scratch and have cookies ready for when they got home a couple of times I made bread and the aroma is something to treasure.
now that they are grown we are raising our 2 grandchildren and so I started making our dough and pizza sauce on thursday so we could have pizza for dinner. I think its awesome how we can make it special for the ones we love. I want to get back to making fresh bread as well. I have my KFLR radio station and I love to praise and worship my Lord!!!! I too will be kneading my dough and praising my God. Thanks for your letter.
josie
I heard the same call to arms about 4 years ago. One other thing bread does for you…. all of the health benefits. Homemade bread is so much healthier…. whether it’s whole wheat, spelt, or plain white. Homemade is always better!
Dearest Kathy,
Though I wasn’t moved to kneading dough, I have to tell you how much I enjoyed your post. It is BEAUTIFUL! I especially loved the line, “It is my deepest desire… to love (my family) in a way that fulfills their basic needs, but also in a way that makes their hearts dance.” Ahhhh!!!!
It’s incredible how we start doing some things out of love and end up loving them!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and love for your family. What a blessing!
Thank you, ladies. You have blessed me big