History
Saint Anthony Pechersky was from
the Ukraine. He went to a monastery in Greece and then came back to his home
country to start his own monastery. Anthony lived as a hermit. Hermits are
people who spend most of their time away from other people so they can focus on Jesus. Most of the time, Anthony lived in a hand-dug
cave, where he ate only rye bread every other day and drank only water. People
all around the area knew how holy he was, so they came to him for advice,
guidance and blessings.
Activity
Bake (or purchase) some rye bread. Have this bread and water as one of your meals or snacks today. Talk about how
living alone with very simple food might help us keep our eyes on Jesus.
Here is a rye bread recipe that doesn’t have caraway seeds (which have a licorice-like flavor that most kids
find offensive), so it’s easy for children to eat. If you have a bread machine,
simply follow the manufacturer’s direction for adding ingredients (either wet
ingredients first or dry ingredients first). To be a little more authentic, set
the machine on “dough” cycle and then follow directions 5 and 6 below.
Saint Anthony’s Rye
1 cup leftover coffee (or 1 cup
water and 1 Tbsp. instant coffee)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp molasses
* * *
¾ cup rye flour
1 Tbsp gluten powder (you can omit
this for a denser loaf that would be more like Saint Anthony’s)
1 ½ Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1-½ tsps. yeast
¾ cup whole-wheat flour
1-½ cups bread flour
1. Combine the rye flour, gluten powder (if using), cocoa powder,
brown sugar, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
2. Heat the coffee, oil and molasses in a small saucepan until just
warm (115°-120°). Pour the warm mixture over the flour mixture and beat with an
electric mixture for three minutes at low speed. Add the wheat flour and half
the bread flour and mix with a large spoon.
3. Turn the mixture out onto a heavily floured wooden board and
knead in the remaining bread flour until the dough is smooth and elastic (6-8
minutes).
4. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Turn once and
cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let rise in a warm place till double
(1 ½ hours). Punch down dough; remove from bowl.
5. Shape the bread into a round loaf and place on a baking sheet covered
with greased parchment. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand, cover and let
rise till double (45 minutes).
6. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross into the top of the loaf. Bake
at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool slightly, but serve while still warm.
Saint Anthony Pechersky, pray for
us!
More reading for parents
