By Sharon Wilson

I love bread. Flatbread, french bread, banana bread or pita bread, you name it, I’ll eat it! I crave just about any type of bread, and I love it plain, sweet or savory. I especially love it fresh from the oven and slathered in butter. Bread brings me comfort.

Bread is mentioned at least 492 times in the bible. It starts with Genesis and runs through to Revelation. Moses had manna from heaven. Ezekiel even gives us a recipe! “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt. Put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself” (Ezekiel 4:9). Let’s not forget that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which translates to “House of Bread.” All of that and we haven’t even gotten to the Last Supper or the road to Emmaus yet.

My love affair with bread came from simple beginnings. With a Czech cultural heritage, warm Kolackey was a staple at my grandparents’ farm. I have memories of wrapping the prune or poppyseed filling into a diaper of dough and helping to “pinch” them shut and placing them on well-greased baking pans to be set into the oven…waiting only until they cooled enough to take out of the pan to eat them.

Bread is a staple in any grain-growing culture, and as my memories of my Grandmother’s Kolaches, it is a way of passing on our cultural history to the next generation. It is no wonder that Jesus uses bread as His way for us to more than remember him, but to be with him.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. ~Luke 24:30-32

Road to Emmaus

Today we hear about the disciples on the way to Emmaus who encounter Jesus on the road. They didn’t recognize Him at first even when he spoke to them all of the things they had witnessed and the connections between everything that has happened. It was only in the breaking in the bread that they recognized Him.

When I walk into my kitchen today, I am not alone. Whether we know it or not, none of us is. We bring fathers and mothers and kitchen tables, and every meal we have ever eaten. Food is never just food. It’s also a way of getting at something else: who we are, who we have been, and who we want to be. ~ Molly Wizenberg

There is always something about gathering at a table. Memories give way to revelations. It is that moment when you see your child telling a joke at the table that you recognize his grandpa in his features. It is when you look around your Easter Sunday table and it feels complete. This year Easter Sunday’s dinner table was not complete for many of us. With the COVID-19 restrictions, our breaking of the bread was different, yet when we enter that kitchen, we are not alone.

Making New Memories

Since we are all at home anyway, check out this Cinnamon Roll recipe shared from Woman’s Day and maybe create new memories. I plan on trying it today!

Cinnamon Rolls

INGREDIENTS

1/2 c. milk
2 tbsp. milk
1 package active dry yeast
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
vegetable oil
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

  • In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water on medium-low heat until warm but not hot to touch.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the yeast, 1 cup flour, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Stir in the warm milk mixture. Cover and set aside until thick and foamy, about 15 minutes.
  • Mix in the salt and 1/4 cup melted butter. Gradually mix in the remaining 2 cups flour. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Meanwhile, lightly coat a 9- by 13-inch pan with oil. Line the pan with parchment, leaving a 3-inch overhang on the 2 long sides; coat the parchment. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
  • Punch down the dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until it comes together. Roll into a 9- by 12-inch rectangle. Spread with the 1/4 cup softened butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a tight log, pinching the seam to seal.
  • Slide a long piece of unflavored dental floss under the log of dough about 1 inch from the end. Holding the thread taut, lift the ends and cross to cut off a piece of dough. Repeat to cut twelve 1-inch-thick rolls. Transfer the rolls cut-side up to the prepared pan, spacing them equally. Cover and let rise until the rolls are touching, about 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the rolls until puffed and lightly golden brown, 25 to 27 minutes.
  • During the last 5 minutes of cooking, in a small saucepan, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, remaining 2 tablespoons milk, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter and cook over low heat until smooth, 2 minutes. Drizzle over the cinnamon rolls.

About the author:

Sharon Wilson – Wife, Mother, Writer, Catholic Speaker, and a WINE Specialist.  Sharon has a degree in education and has worked as a freelance writer, Respect Life Coordinator, a teacher, in advertising, radio, buyer and in youth advocacy – She even rode an elephant in the circus once! Sharon speaks, writes and shares about God’s healing and about the great gift of being Catholic at SharonAgnesWilson.com