A little Lenten story

I made my own bread when the children were small, with the aid of a machine. They ate it ravenously, sometimes playing Eucharist: “This is my toast, given for you.”

My eldest bequeathed me a recipe that needs no kneading, no machine but the oven. It is the easiest, the most forgiving bread recipe. I have made it many times, in many variations. I have sometimes made it to share, but more often it sits upon the counter at home, barely cooling, tempting me to gorge myself on its soft, warm flesh.

I bought a smaller cast iron oven in which to lessen the lure. I should have bought larger, or more, multiplied the loaves so that I have no choice but to give them away, to share the satisfaction of solid, fluffy bread, the many variations, the “taste and see”, to defeat the temptation not of enjoyment, but of selfishness.

Well, of course you want the recipe! (The photo is not of this bread. I ate it all.) https://tasty.co/recipe/dutch-oven-jalapeno-cheddar-bread