What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

How thankful I am for Sundays! What a blessing it is to get to go to God’s house, praise Him, fellowship with believers, and have a day that’s different from every other day of the week. Sunday is the Sabbath and the Lord made it for us.

As I was having my devotions on Saturday I read in Luke 4:16 – And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day… Our sabbath is now on Sunday because that was the day the Lord rose from the tomb and we go to praise our risen Savior! But still, it was Jesus’ habit to be in the synagogue on the sabbath. Is it our habit too? Is the entire day the Lord’s? Do we use the day as it was created? As I studied this passage I was challenged to make a change or two in what I do on that day to make it more of what the Lord intended. In truth, it can be a very busy day for us, so I’m endeavoring, with the Lord’s help to smooth some things out so it can be what the Lord desires. I trust your Lord’s day was a wonderful one!

Our Sunday school class had their monthly lunch at church yesterday. Our theme was Italian food. When I went to sign up for what to bring, there were already many bringing main dishes, so I decided to try my hand at making homemade French loaves to contribute to the meal. The recipe I found was very easy, fat free, and probably cost me pennies to make. Oh, and you can have fresh, hot bread in two hours!

I buy the 25 pound bag of bread flour at Sam’s and the large package of yeast, which is the much cheaper way to go. Here’s the recipe:

2 Tbl. active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
4-1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
1 tsp. cornmeal

In large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. I use a thermometer to make sure the temperature is correct.

Add the salt, sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

I have the blessing of having a bread hook for my Kitchen Aid, so I use it instead of kneading it, but it should look like this…

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Here’s the dough after rising:

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into 12 in-long loaves.

Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with cornmeal. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.