St. Elizabeth of Hungary

On November 17th, the Church celebrates St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the patron saint of bakers. Born in 1207 to the Hungarian king, she was born into a life full of royal responsibilities. She was happily married and had three children. Her life of prayer and service to the poor was essential to everything she did, and her husband greatly supported her. Living her life as a third-order Franciscan, she used all the power and wealth that came with her royal position to advance her charitable endeavors, even giving away all the royal clothing and goods to those affected by disease and floods that struck her kingdom. She was famous for delivering bread to the poor in secret. One day as she was sneaking out a basket of bread, she was stopped and asked what it was. As she revealed the basket's contents, it was no longer bread but a glorious bouquet of roses! While she would die young, at 24, her life of prayer and service was lived to the fullest. This month’s recipe is a humble loaf of bread in honor of St. Elizabeth and her humble life. Simple but foundational, just as prayer was for St. Elizabeth. St. Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us!  

Humble Bread

Ingredients

4 ½ cups of unbleached bread flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (typically one packet)

2 ½ teaspoons salt

1 2/3 cups 100-degree water

Cornmeal

Instructions

Step 1 – Stir together everything but the corn meal in a large bowl. Mix until it becomes a shaggy ball of dough. Step 2 – Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead, rotating the dough as you go. (Or use a stand mixer and dough hook for 6-8 minutes until smooth. Step 3 – Place in lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Step 4- Punch down dough, form into loaves and put seam side down on corneal dusted baking sheet and let rise for another 45 minutes and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Step 5- Dust loaves with flower, cut 3, ½ inch slashes in the top of the bread. Step 6 – bake for 20-25 minutes. When finished, crack oven door for 5 minutes. Step 7- Remove from oven and let cool for a little before enjoying!