Bread

My quest lately has been to make bread instead of buying it. Fortunately, I am the one who eats sandwiches most often, so it is mostly me that is affected by the unreliability of available bread. This week I made two loaves. The trouble with homemade bread is that it is so darn good. We end up eating it faster than store bread and then I don't have any for sandwiches.

I am using recipes from the book Peter Reinhart's artisan breads every day (pictured left) and the two I made yesterday were his whole wheat sandwich bread (I reviewed this book here). It was delicious. It still is delicious and will still be delicious for another day or two, hopefully.

I love the recipes in this book because they incorporate overnight rises. I have the hardest time working bread into a weekday because I'm not around enough to punch it down, rise again, punch it down and proof. I needed to find bread that tasted good (flavor develops in the rising) but also wasn't going to be ruined if I didn't pay attention to it. The recent bread I made, for example, was intended to be baked on Friday, but Friday got too busy, so it stayed in the refrigerator until Monday. Which is how long Peter says it can be left. One loaf's worth I took out on Friday, let it rise and then realized I didn't have time to bake it, so back in the fridge it went. That bread did bake up significantly fluffier, so I'm wondering if that out of fridge time helped. Anyway.. 'museings of a want-to-be baker' is what I should call this post.

The real purpose of this post is to say that whenever I think of bread, which is frequently, a few phrases or verses come to mind:

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Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, Moses didn't give you bread from heaven. My Father did.
And now He offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
  "Sir," they said, "give us that bread every day."
Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:32-35


But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but
by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matt. 4:4


Give us this day our daily bread. Matt. 6:11

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I need these reminders when I think of bread. Making bread is just the first step in self sufficiency. I am so tempted by the notion of being self sufficient. Anything I can do myself I try to do it: grind the flour, grow the yeast (sourdough), knead by hand (okay.. I let the mixer do that most of the time). If I could I'd grow the grain, raise chickens for the eggs, cows for milk, bees for  honey etc. Now that would be a feat in an apartment!

I'm sure that all of this would be exhausting, and I am so grateful that if I did do all of those things, it would be a hobby for fun and not my only source to supply food. I can drive seven to ten minutes in any direction and find a grocery store and I am thankful for this, SO thankful. It is a blessing to be able to have the time and resources to make something homemade. This means that I have a roof over my head, a stocked pantry and kitchen appliances galore. We live in a blessed nation, for the time being, and I am daily reminded of it and thankful for it.

I am also reminded that, 'in my weakness, He is stronger' (2 Cor. 12:9). It is human nature to be independent, but we are to be dependent on God for our daily bread and for the bread of life. I can work hard and scrape together my existence on my own, or I can submit to my Father's provision and be fruitful. I can fight to let my desires and personality shine, or I can die to my sinful nature and be a slave to Christ and be blessed!

I was listening to an interview with Christian music artist Matthew West in which he was discussing his recent experience talking to Billy Graham. Matthew asked Billy for his advice on how to stay strong in the Lord through so many years of public ministry. Matthew says that Billy told him to protect his quiet time. Matthew quotes Billy in saying that 'your time alone with God is the most important thing to your ministry, your family and you: it will be what sustains you. Even Satan knows that daily time alone with the Lord is important, and he will do anything he can to keep you from it.' (paraphrased).


It is a daily task to be sure. Much like the daily tasks of keeping a garden, farm or field; so it is a daily task to stay growing in the Lord. A steady, growing, fruitful relationship with our Savior does not happen without labor, but it is a labor of love, joy, peace and hope. So much so, that it does not feel like labor at all.

We cannot live on bread alone, we need to feast daily on the Bread of Life.