give us this day our daily bread
Today :: making bread and sultana buns. Sitting in patches of sunlight to eat and enjoy. Sharing little pieces with siblings. Licking the sticky honey-butter topping. Piling a plate high with buns, in anticipation that we will eat all of them - before Mama says 'no, one each will be enough'.
Bread making hasn't been happening every day, lately, but when it does I vow to do it more regularly. To not buy bakery or supermarket bread. To be able to bake bread for my family is a pleasure, to feed them and nourish them. To warm them with warm fluffy bread. Fresh from the oven, slathered with butter and Vegemite. Memories of the bread that my own Mama made. Memories of her strong arms kneading out the goat's head shaped dough, talking me as she does it. Her body heaving and pushing and pulling. Banging gently against the bench, then easing back again. The rhythm of our days. The rhythm of our bodies - mirrored as I kneed for my family, in the same was my Mother did.
Sticky sultana buns were Ari's request. I'm glad I hadn't vacuumed before the flour went everywhere, but probably I wouldn't have minded doing it again; based on the amount of fun and creativity from both the kids. Simple unsalted bread dough, poke in sultanas as you wish; eat some as you go, of course. Roll and squelch and squeeze and pull and roll again. Prod and poke; form into turtles with pointy noses. Squash up into a mound again. Cut with the new cookie shapes.
Then let Mama 'help' you roll it out into a long straight, fairly flattish shape. Roll up into a spiral. Squash them altogether into the cake tin, and let them rise again in the sunny garden - of course, sit there and guard them; just in case an ant or cat or bird or tiny child want to poke into them!
Top with butter and honey, and bake for 20minutes. Counting down on the timer - learning numbers going backyards much too quickly to keep up. Trying to keep kids occupied for such a long time that it takes to bake bread.
Ziiinnng. Ready. Eating them while still steaming. 'Yummmmmy. I think I need just one more Mama. Just one more. I'll share it.'
And of course, make crazy faces for the camera. Faces so silly that we laugh and laugh, and then have to email them straight away to Daddy at work.
Ahhhh. bread. more than just simply cooked dough.
PS - if you'd like a yummy sounding recipe for Cinnamon Buns, check out
Sarah's.