Perhaps you have never made unleavened bread before. I think it is a very useful skill to have. If you never have the blessing of preparing the bread for your local congregation's worship service, you may find yourselves homebound on a Sunday by poor weather and as long as you have flour and oil on hand, you should be able to bake some communion bread for use in family worship.
There are many different recipes and styles of the unleavened bread. This simple recipe handed down from my grandmother is the one that I like to use. This will make 6-8 crispy, cracker-like rounds. Feel free to double or triple the recipe if you need bigger batches.
1/2 c. white flour (I've used whole wheat in a pinch and it works just fine)
2 tbs. warm water
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
(If anything, err on the side of too much oil - too much water will make a very hard cracker - too much oil will make it crispy.)
Preheat your oven to 450*. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl together (cereal bowl size works fine). Mix lightly with a fork and then form into a ball with your hands. The ball will feel a bit oily, but this is o.k. Lightly flour a clean work surface, pinch off a ball of dough and roll it out with a floured juice glass into a round. I use a 3 3/4" round cookie cutter and cut it into a nice, thin circle shape. Transfer to a baking sheet. I've always used a baking sheet with a silpat, so if you don't have one, you may want to use parchment paper if you have problems with sticking. Repeat the rolling out process until you've used up all of the dough. Once all of the rounds are on the cookie sheet, prick all over with a fork. I've also heard of using a clean hair comb to prick the holes. Stick the bread in the oven for about 10 minutes, but watch it carefully. Depending upon the thickness of the rounds they may be done in as little as 7 minutes or take as long as 14. Some of them may get done at different times, so just take them out as they are done and transfer to a cooling rack. You will know a round is done because it will be lightly browned on
the top. When the breads are cool, you can wrap them individually in plastic wrap, put them in a tupperware-like container and put them in the freezer to be used as you need them.
I have also found it useful to keep this recipe written down in the back of my Bible so I always know where to find it. Here's the short version for copying down:
- 1/2 c. white flour
- 2 tbs. warm water
- 2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Thank you so much for this very easy recipe. Ann
ReplyDeleteHad wanted a recipe using olive oil and used yours this morning with perfect success. I have made communion bread for years with Crisco, so used 275° for 30 min. I rolled out dough with rolling pin, pricked thinly rolled dough on both sides with a new heavy metal floral frog, cut out with 2 1/4" cookie cutter, and scored with flat safety grater. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. So nice to know it was also your grandmother's!
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe, I've been using various different ones, but this is easy and works well. Something I found making dog treats (peanut butter, eggs, flour and water) is rolling it very flat on on parchment and cutting rows making squares with a pizza cutter. Works well for this as well. Thanks, God Bless!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heather, for sharing this wonderful recipe. We have been using it each Sunday for over five years now, always with great results. I like to think the bread that Jesus ate was made with olive oil. I often speak a prayer for you and for your grandmother while making it. Blessings...
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