Get Ready...Set...Go! A Divine Bread Recipe

Can't explain why it is that on Sunday mornings when I seem most ready to listen to what God is saying. Yesterday morning as I was preparing for church, my mind wandered "no pun intended" - to the Israelites. No kidding!!! I thought about how it must have felt to hear Moses' voice saying, "Get Ready, We're leaving!" Can you imagine their confusion? Being known as the pereninnal planner (my family will astest to this fact), my mind pondered as to what it might have looked like as an Israelite. Can you imagine the clammer coming from the kitchen area of an Israelite woman. Can you imagine her looking at a mound of fresh dough and thinking, "Now? He wants us to go now????" As I meditated on that for a few minutes, it occurred to me just how good God is. He had not given them weeks to prepare for their departure from Egypt. Can you imagine the Israelite woman complaining, "Oy, va! What to take,? What to leave behind? Where or how is this all going to fit in that cart? I mean a camel can only carry so much!" God being the knowing God He is, He knew there would have been chaos in the long-term camping event! So, it was, at a moment's notice, they were off and running - literally!

There is wisdom is not knowing what is ahead of you. We think we want to know...but really, there is wisdom in God announcing to you in His perfect timing, "Get Ready! It's time to go." As I continued to mediate on what God was speaking into my heart, the visual image of our grandson riding his bike came into sharp focus. I couldn't help but smile as I saw him take off on his "new set of wheels" and riding with the wind all the while yelling behind him, "Nani, watch this!" Yet, I know for each of our grandchildren and our own children, getting started on riding a bike and riding with the wind were miles apart.

After a long time God has finally spoken to Steve and me, "Get Ready! You're Leaving!" Like the Israelites, God did not allow us months of "preparation." It happened very quickly and there was no mistaking that it was God doing the moving. The last 12 1/2 years have been a consuming place of life, joy and sometimes sadness. Thankfully, one lesson Steve and I have (over the years in our ministry) is that anytime God calls you out it is going to exciting. (We tend to think exciting is all good...or at least we hope it is). But, God keeps us tettered to His side so that whether the times or good or bad, we know that He is present and overseeing everything that touches us...good and bad.

Affirming both Steve and me all the way through this calling out, just this week I read in my study of Isaiah about God's faithfulness. Isaiah was telling the children of Israel that God clearly (literally) spoke the words, "I love you!" It reminded me that we are not out of His sight...and He really loves us! He never forsakes us! We can depend on His perfect timing.

Getting back to the divine interruption of Israelite woman making bread, God reminded me that whether the bread is done or not, God is in control. He will lead, feed, and keep us safe on this new journey. Can't ask for a better trip planner than that!

This week's recipe is (if you haven't guessed already) homemade bread. My sweet, sweet Louisiana cousin gave me the starter for this recipe. By the time this is posted, I'm hoping to have a recipe for the starter. In the meantime, here is the recipe for the best ever homemade bread! Enjoy!!!

Starter is stored in the refrigerator with a loosely fitted lid in a quart jar. Once your starter is established, you feed it every 3-5 days.

To begin the breadmaking process, take out the starter and feed it (recipe below) then leave out on the counter overnight:

Ingredients to feed starter include the following ingredients. Please note that you need to stir the starter with a wooden spoon

1 cup hot water; 3 Tablespoons potato flakes; 1/2 cup sugar

The next day you make the dough. You will need the following ingredients:

1 large bowl; 1/2 cup of sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup oil (I use canola); 1 cup starter (returning remainder in quart jar back to refrigerator); 1 1/2 cup hot water; 6 cups plain flour; Pam (kitchen spray)

Add all the liquids together and then mix gradually with the 6 cups flour. I use my standing mixer with the wire whisk at first to blend the liquids, then I change to the dough hook attachment when adding the flour to the liquid mixture. Blend flour and liquid until well incorporated. Once the dough is mixed together, spray dough with Pam, cover with wax paper and allow to rise on the kitchen counter for several hours.

After dough has risen, empty the dough onto a floured board. Knead the dough and divide into 3 loaves. (Here is where I vary a bit depending on how I want to bake the bread). One of my favorite things is to use the Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan that holds 4 mini loaves of bread. I also use the stoneware (regular size) loaf pan and our new stainless loaf pan. Have been very pleased with stoneware and the stainless. Bread turns out golden brown in either pan. Also, have used the Pampered Chef mini muffin pans to make those bite-size rolls or use the Pampered Chef regular size muffin pan* and make dinner rolls. No matter how it was presented (bite-size, mini-loaf or full size) I have yet to be turned down when giving the bread away! Whatever you choose to bake in, make sure that it is greased before placing the dough in the pan. Allow the bread to rise for several hours. Bake loaves for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Every oven is different, but mine tends to be done right at 30 minutes.

Once the bread is done, take it out of the oven and place the pan on the Pampered Chef stackable cooling rack for a few minutes. Then, turn out onto the cooling rack to complete cooling. However, the the smell overcomes you, you can just slice it and eat it - it smells that good! I would tell you how to freeze it, but I haven't had the opportunity to do so. It seems that before it is out of the oven, someone has claimed it theirs. It has been great fun to bake the bread and deliver to our neighbors and friends.

Hope you enjoy the weekly posting of recipes and that these easy recipes bring you and yours back to your family table. The Focus on the Family magazine posted results from a study conducted by the University of Minnesoto. This study found that there has been a 33% decline (this study is several years old and I expect the numbers are now higher) over the past 20 years in the number of families who regularly eat dinner together, families with teens may be missing out, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse of Columbia University. The article went on to say that teens who eat with their families are at half the risk for substance abuse compared to those who seldom eat dinner with their families. Their friends are also less likely to use drugs, and they are less likely to contemplate suicide. Other benefits including being more likely to earn better grades in school and reducing home-life stress. For more information go to resources.family.org.

*In Louisiana, we call this "Lagnaippe" (meaning an unexpected gift or something extra) . When talking with a friend in Louisiana who owns her own restaurant she related this story. This past Christmas season she was having to make tons (no kidding) of muffins. My friend said that the only muffin pan that her muffins DID NOT stick were the Pampered Chef ones. She promptly threw out everything that wasn't a Pampered Chef product and uses Pampered Chef exclusively! Have a great week! You bless me more than I can express! Thanks for following my blog. If you have a request for a recipe, let me know.

Next week's posting is called, "Day Six - Flat Iron Captivity - Too Wired To Cook! - a fast and easy recipe when you are having a bad hair day! See you next week!