CONTEST BREADS: Pennsylvania Altar Bread

PENNSYLVANIA ALTAR BREAD
Adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie

An earthy whole-wheat bread used for communion. In Pittsburgh and other Western Pennsylvania parishes of the Episcopal church, it is common to use small, thin loaves of real, fresh, home-made bread at communion instead of the pressed wafers popular in most other places. The bread has a chewy texture to it, keeps tremendously well, and makes a great lunchbox food (each "loaf'' is about the size of a large cookie).

This recipe (adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie) comes from Father Bill Coats of the Church of the Redeemer in Pittsburgh.

PENNSYLVANIA ALTAR BREAD

7/8 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
2-2/3 cups whole wheat flour (unsifted)

Combine the tepid water and yeast in mixing bowl, left it rest for a few minutes. Add the honey, olive oil, and salt. Add the flour. If flour does not completely dampen, add small amounts of water until all of the flour is damp. Be sparing with the water.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board, and knead thoroughly for 5 minutes until the dough is
extremely elastic.

Sprinkle a tiny amount of olive oil in a big bowl, then roll the dough in it until the dough is covered with olive oil. Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Punch the dough down, knead again for a few seconds.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured with a floured rolling pin, as if you were making a pizza
crust, to a thickness of about 1/4-inch thick. Using something like a large peanut butter jar or a giant cookie cutter, cut out about 4-inch circles of the dough and lift them onto a slightly-oiled baking sheet.

With the dull back edge of a knife, press a cross into the top surface of each, so that it can be easily broken apart. Bake the loaves, on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.

You can freeze these loaves easily; either put them in sandwich-size plastic storage bags and use them for school lunches, or freeze a bunch in a large food-storage bag.

Makes 8 to 10 individual loaves.