ALTAR-BREAD - An earthy whole-wheat bread used for communion

7/8 cup lukewarm water (The water should be about 110 deg. F)
3 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 Tbsp
olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 2/3 cups
whole wheat flour (Unsifted)

(1) Combine water and yeast in mixing bowl. Add honey, olive oil, and salt. (1) Combine water and yeast in mixing bowl. Add honey,
olive oil, and salt.

(2) Add flour. If flour does not completely dampen,
add small amounts of water until all of the flour
is damp. Be sparing with the water.

(3) Turn out onto a very lightly floured board, and
knead thoroughly for 5 minutes until dough is
extremely elastic.

(4) Sprinkle a tiny amount of olive oil in a big bowl,
then roll the dough in it until the dough is
covered with olive oil. Leave the dough in the
bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rise for 1 1/2
hours, or until doubled in size.

(5) Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Punch the dough down,
knead again for a few seconds. Roll the dough out
with a rolling pin, as if you were making a pizza
crust, to a thickness of 1/4 inch.

(6) Using something like a large peanut butter jar or
a giant cookie cutter, cut out 4-inch circles of
the dough and lift them onto a slightly-oiled bak-
ing sheet. Press a cross into the top surface of
each, so that it can be easily broken apart.


(7) Bake the loaves, on their baking sheet, in a
preheated 350 deg. F oven for 10 minutes.

Notes.

DIFFICULTY RATE: Fair

WARNINGS:

You can freeze these loaves easily; either put them in single-serving ziploc bags and use them for school lunches, or freeze a bunch in a large food-storage bag.

In Pittsburgh and other Western Pennsylvania parishes of the Episcopal church, it is common to use small, thin loaves of real, fresh, home-made bread at communion instead of the pressed wafers popular in most other places. The bread has a chewy texture to it, keeps tremendously well, and makes a great lunchbox food (each "loaf" is about the size a large cookie). This recipe comes from Father Bill Coats of the Church of the Redeemer in Pittsburgh.

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