The Staff of Life

I've loved learning the history of bread baking from its nutritional values to its community supportive quality. It is a symbol of the earth holding all the elements needed for life because it is primarily made from seeds, holding the potential for new life.One of the oldest communities of agriculture and bread baking was Catal Huyuk in Turkey, dating back to 6300-5500BC. I visited the ruins of Catal Huyuk many years ago, and it is an incredible ancient city, much larger than I had envisioned and one that they are still excavating. It is known for its temples dedicated to the Mother Goddess.
he making of bread was a community experience from grinding the grains to tending the fire of the central hearth for baking. The picture above is of an old style breadmaking oven that I found in Egypt and is still used. I'm planning to duplicate this oven here at Hawk Circle someday. Here is my favorite bread recipe. It is so basic which makes it ideal for adding different ingredients each time you make it.

2 pkgs of yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1 Cup scalded milk
1 Cup boiling water
5-6 Cups flour
4 Tbs. sugar
4 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. salt
1 egg

Mix the yeast and 2t. of sugar with 1/4 warm water and let sit until yeast is activated. Pour the boiling water and scalded milk over the butter, sugar and salt. Let sit until it becomes warm, NOT hot. If it is still too hot when you add the yeast mixture, it can kill the yeast. Add beaten egg and yeast mixture, stir and then add 1 Cup of flour at a time while stirring. You may place this in a bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place til it rises or you may cover and refrigerate until needed. Bake at 350 degrees.

Variations: I will often use a combination of white and wheat flours, at a ratio of about 50:50. I also add at times fresh rosemary and thyme for an herb bread and once, some of the students here at Hawk Circle baked the bread with whole garlic cloves. Other times I will had dried fruits such as currents, cranberries, raisins and apricots. This is also the same recipe that I use to make delicious cinnamon rolls on Christmas and Easter morning. I make the dough the night before and refrigerate it. The next morning I roll out the dough in a rectangle shape, spread soft butter on and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar(sometimes I add raisins and nuts). Then I roll it up and slice. I put the cinnamon rolls on a cookie sheet and let sit until they have risen, then bake. After baking I drizzle the rolls with frosting made of butter, confectionery sugar and milk. They are my family's favorite!