recipes@glacier.ARPA (USENET mod.recipes) (11/30/85)
.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE ALTAR-BREAD B "1 Dec 78" .RZ "PENNSYLVANIA ALTAR BREAD" "An earthy whole-wheat bread used for communion" 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. .IH "8-10 single-serving loaves" .IG "7/8 cup" "lukewarm water" (The water should be about 110 degrees F) .IG "3 Tbsp." "honey" .IG "1.5 Tbsp." "olive oil" .IG "1/2 tsp." "salt" .IG "1 pkg" "active dry yeast" .IG "2 2/3 cups" "whole wheat flour" (Unsifted) .PH .SK 1 Combine water and yeast in mixing bowl. Add honey, olive oil, and salt. .SK 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. .SK 3 Turn out onto a very lightly floured board, and knead thoroughly for 5 minutes until dough is extremely elastic. .SK 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. .SK 5 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 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. .SK 6 Using something like a large peanutbutter jar or a giant cookie cutter, cut out 4-inch circles of the dough and lift them onto a slightly-oiled baking sheet. Press a cross into the top surface of each, so that it can be easily broken apart. .SK 7 Bake the loaves, on their baking sheet, in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. .NX 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. .WR Fr. Bill Coats Church of the Redeemer Pittsburgh, PA