Say a Prayer!

Good day everyone! We are going to try this again. Last Sunday I had written a super long post only to have it disappear. So, instead of discussing today’s sermon, which was on mothers, I’m going to try again to recreate the post I lost. However, I do want to wish all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day, and that goes for mother figures as well!

Alright. Last Saturday was the RISE event at church which consisted of learning how to make sourdough and then a lesson on the Biblical significance of each ingredient.

Before I write about it, I’m happy to tell you that she gave me a starter meant for immediate baking when I left, and over the next day or two, I baked my very first sourdough bread and it turned out pretty good. The outside was crunchy and the inside was soft and holey.

It was dense though and made with all-purpose flour. I’ve already bought alternate flours which I will use on my next batch.

Ok. This time I want to give you the actual recipe and then we will discuss the Biblical “recipe”.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of active sourdough starter (fed and bubbly)

1 Cup warm water (filtered or declorinated)

1/4 Cup milk, or buttermilk

1 lg egg

31/2 -4 C all-purpose or bread flour

1 1/2 t salt

1 T sugar or honey (optional, for softer crumb)

1 T olive oil or melted butter (recommended for softness)

Instructions

1. Mix dough

in a large bowl, whisk together- sourdough starter, warm water, milk, and egg

Add flour, salt, and optional sugar/honey, and oil. Mix until a soft, sticky dough forms.

2. Rest (Autolyse)

Let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes to hydrate flour and improve texture.

3. Stretch and Fold

Perform 3-4 sets of stretch and folds ; Every 30 minutes, stretch one side of dough and fold over. Rotate and repeat 4 times around.

4. Bulk Fermentation

Cover and let rise for 4-8 hours until doubled and airy.

5. Shape

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a round or oval loaf and place into a floured bowl or proofing basket.

6. Final Rise

Let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature OR refrigerate overnight for deeper flavor

7. Bake

Preheat oven to 450° with Dutch oven (or whatever you have to cook in) inside

Transfer dough into hot pot/pan

Score the top

Cover an bake 20 minutes

uncover and bake 20-25 more minutes until golden brown

8. Cool

Cool completely (at least 1 hour) before slicing

Tips: Brush w/butter right after baking for a tender crust.

Store in an airtight bag once cooled

This dough , may feel slightly softer, avoid adding too much extra flour

There’s a long list of Do’s and Don’ts but I’m going to touch on the most important:

Use CLEAN glass or food-safe containers

Feed regularly (once or twice daily) 2 T flour and 2 T water

Cover loosely (not airtight)

DON’T:

Use HOT water

Use dirty tools

panic over hootch stir back in or remove and use in recipes for the hootch or discard

use reactive metals like aluminum

for healthier bread, don’t rely on bleached flour all the time. Experiment with different flours

Now for the Biblical meanings

1. The grain offering was the only offering that didn’t require blood
2. It is an offering of gratitude and devotion, more like a “thank you” than worship
3. It represented the fruit of human labor-symbolising life lived for God
4. It still belonged to a system centered on blood. Because the grain offering was done me at the same time as sacrifices. Grain offerings represented a relationship with God

The grain offering symbols:

Fine flour-Sinless perfection of Christ/ Refinement of the heart

Oil- Holy Spirit/ blessings of unspeakable joy

Salt- Preservative (symbolism of the eternal nature of God’covenant)

Frankincense-fragrant aroma that rises upward. That detail is very intentional.

Fire- Fervancy and zeal that should accompany worship

Grain Offering

Fine flour-represented a person’s personal relationship with God, giving Him the best since fine flour to a ton of work. It had to be harvested, thrashed, and ground down.

(The harvest meant that you had to be saved.

The threshing floor was where you gave God the parts of your life He never meant for you to carry. He gets His way with your heart.

The grinding down of the grain symbolizes the mundane parts of life that wear you down and make you tired because you think it’s crushing you somehow, but being obedient to the Holy Spirit.)

By the way, Frankincense isn’t in the bread, it was burned along side of it to send a pleasing aroma up to God

As you can see, having a relationship with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit does say it costs you something… Being a Christian isn’t a one-and-done kind of relationship we hear about nowadays. It does cost you something but now knowing that, what does God say about the grain?

Offering finely ground flour showed that the person gave something made with care, not something raw or effortless. It represented giving your best, fine flour was of the highest quality than course or unprocessed grain. By bringing this form of grain, the Israelites were showing honor and respect. Giving God what was refined and valuable, not leftovers.

When Jesus called Himself the “bread of life” in John 6, He is speaking to a people who already understood offerings like the grain offering from Leviticus 2:1-16, so the imagery would have clicked for them.

Crushing the grain symbolized Jesus suffering and ultimately being broken through His death. The idea is that something whole is given up so it can be life-giving for others. The grain offering is refined and pure representing Jesus being sinless.

Bread is and was a staple food-something people depend on every day. Similarly, Jesus is the “bread of life” which we need every single day for sustenance of our spiritual life.

What beautiful symbolism is sourdough bread! Try to remember all this while you are making your next loaf.

I’m sure that being prayerful over the process will produce the best loaf ever!

I hope and pray you enjoyed this long, long post and that you will give it a go yourself someday!

If you don’t have a starter, they are easy to make and you can find a recipe on the internet easily. Good luck and God Bless!