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Rising to the Occasion

by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur

We recently moved into a new home, and our new neighbors (friendly Italian immigrants) were kind enough to present us with a loaf of homemade bread as a housewarming gift. As we savored the still-steaming loaf of bread, my 3 ½ year old son David asked me, "How do you make bread?" I told him it has yeast and flour and some other ingredients and you bake it in the oven.

"Can we make some tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well," I replied, "we don't have any yeast, but we can buy some on Friday when we go grocery shopping and then we can make bread."

"OK," he said, "go put yeast on your list."

So, I did. Now, you must understand that I am not known for my culinary prowess. My husband has been subjected to some truly inedible meals, cakes, etc. and my attempts in the kitchen have been the subject of quite a few jokes. I have improved somewhat with time and practice however. Still, the closest I ever came to making homemade bread was pouring a mix and water into an electric breadmaker! Yet, this was going to be a learning experience for my son and I figured the worse thing that could happen is that it would come out poorly - not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination.

I consulted my cookbook and prepared for bread-making day. After we had come home from the grocery store, had our lunch, and put two-year old Isaac down for his nap, David and I dug into the project. We mixed our ingredients and warmed up our liquids to the correct temperature for the yeast to work. We kneaded the loaf for the appointed ten minutes, rolled out the dough, folded it in threes to make loaves and set them in their pans to rise for an hour. David watched in fascination as the dough doubled in size! We then put them in the oven and waited for them to be done. Amazingly enough, they came out well, - hearty whole-wheat honey loaves that made a wonderful afternoon snack.

Making bread takes time. The yeast can't be rushed, nor can the time in the oven. It takes physical labor to knead the dough. Briefly, however, this project connected us to a simpler time. In our busy world, we don't often have the opportunity to get our hands dirty in a big pile of dough, to feel the grain and the yeast working their magic between our fingers as we methodically push and pull the dough until it is ready. While I can say with confidence that the majority of our bread will continue to come from the grocery store shelf, I just might make bread again sometime when I need a reminder of the simple pleasures of life.

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of The Spiritual Woman Newsletter