“What hymns are sung. What praises said. For homemade miracles of bread?”

Louis Untermeyer

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“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocations of innocence and delight.”
- M. F. K. Fisher

***

After an abundant meal, my mother would often say: “Thank you for the elegant sufficiency; any more would be a superfluity.”

She made me smile every time she said it.

One of the celebrative aspects of Christmas is that it is a time of sweets and treats galore–elegant sufficiency indeed. 

But, as we know, the sweets and treats galore of the holiday season can also become a significant superfluity.

So, when we take a gift to a neighbor or co-worker, instead of sweets, how about taking the gift of homemade bread?!

Gifts of bread can come in all shapes and sizes – banana bread, zucchini bread or you fill in the ___________ with your favorite recipe.

 I have a bread maker, and my favorite recipe is one that my daughter Alicia introduced to me.

An important note: Alicia adapted the recipe slightly by changing both the flour amounts to 1 1/3 cups. And it is perfectly delicious!

For this first loaf, I cut off the front of a grocery bag, and wrapped the bread like I was wrapping a package. Both fun and free!

Then I added some ribbon and a tag that said exactly what I wanted it to say:

Eat your bread with happiness!

This is actually a quote from the Bible–Ecclesiastes 9:7.  Some translations use the word “joy”, and others use the word “happiness”. Some say “your bread”, and others say “thy bread”.

I love the thought of eating bread with joy; I even love the poetic sound of the old English “thy”.