Monday, December 13, 2010

St Lucia Bread

G, as my oldest daughter, really wanted to lead the children in a candlelight breakfast procession this morning, in honor of St. Lucia's Day. I value my early morning quiet though, so opted for a later breakfast, using Family Fun's recipe for Saint Lucia Bread.


I made a few changes, cutting the recipe in half, and mixing it in the bread maker, so all I would have to do was bread the dough, and let it rise, before baking.


Remember, if you want to make a regular bread recipe in a bread machine, it's wet ingredients in first, and water temperature doesn't matter so much, then the flour, and the rest of the dry ingredients, with the yeast going in last.


We did add candles, as the recipe suggests, and I let G carry it to the table lit. We like the legend of St. Lucia, that says she was known to sneak food to the persecuted Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs. She wore a crown of candles to light her way through the dark tunnels, keeping her hands free to carry the food.

If she had thought to put the candles in the bread, she wouldn't have needed to wear them on her head.



One final note though, if you decide to try this yourself, wait until the bread has cooled completely, before putting in the candles, or the hot bread will cause them to melt from the bottom up.

You can find out more about St. Lucia, and her day at whychristmas.com's Swedish page (they are a very good Christmas around the world resource, too).


And, there is a very cute St. Lucia paper doll printable, here. My children were offended by the nakedness of the doll, but the problem was quickly solved by drawing on a pair of underwear. G, especially likes this doll, because she looks like Kirsten from the American Girl series.


Which, is also our suggested reading for St. Lucia's day. Kirsten's Surprise, A Christmas Story, is G's (age 11) favorite of the Kirsten books, and I can only assume, the reason she was so gung-ho to celebrate the day.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

12 comments:

  1. I was tempted to do something for St Lucia based on Hannah's Christmas book that we read, but I figured (correctly, it seems) that we won't really have time for it. Great bread and good tips too.

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  2. I wanted to celebrate this holiday this year, but I SO didn't have my act together!

    Can I load my kiddos up in the van, make the two day drive, and celebrate with your family next year? ;0)

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  3. That bread looks good. I never would have thought the candles would melt in hot bread - thanks for the tip.

    That is a cute paper doll - I like your underwear addition. Do your younger girls like the American Girl books yet? We haven't read any yet; I am assuming R is a little young for them.

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  4. Christy - I haven't really tried the younger girls on them, but they do have easier, picture book versions. To be honest, I don't want them to start begging for the dolls, like their older sisters :)

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  5. She looked so serious with her duty! Lovely tradition, isn't it?

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  6. Thank you for the links and for sharing your celebration. We didn't do much to celebrate today, but I got out the pipe cleaners at our playdate to let the tots make sparkly crowns in honor of St. Lucia.

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  7. I love the paper dolls I might have to borrow that

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  8. Looks fun and delicious - as so many of your activities do! And I totally would have melted my candles into the bread. Thanks for the warning. :)

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  9. I would be more worried about the wax dripping on the bread. It would also have to be the right consistency to hold the candles?

    I've never heard of St. Lucia until today. Is it a Catholic tradition? Pardon my ignorance. There's so much I need to learn...

    Love the bread and the paper doll clothes. I remember I did the same with Michaelangelo's painting of Adam. :)

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  10. Joyful Learner - It's one of those unofficial Catholic holidays, like St. Nicholas Day. It's big in Sweden, and a few countries around it. We are not Catholic, but enjoy learning the history, and legends behind the saints - they are interesting, and challenging stories.

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  11. Your bread looks so yummy! I agree with one of the other comments that your daughter looks so serious carrying out her duty!

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  12. I love all the bread ideas that you have...I remember seeing turkeys and bears at some point.

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