Advent: Day 1 (Bread)

Advent is a word that means "coming".  It is filled with anticipation and preparation.  This month, we are going to look at the concepts of hospitality and grace, how they tie together, and how we experience them all the time - often times without ever being aware of it.  Throughout this season of Advent, where our main focus is on the coming of the Christ-child, I'd like you to keep in mind that hospitality is the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers, and grace is the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.  There's nothing we can do to earn grace - we simply have to accept it when it happens.

So let's give you an idea of what might be an incident of grace that you might not recognize, and add in some hospitality that was neither prepared for nor anticipated.  You have a three-day weekend.  Because of this, you've decided to goof off the first day, get your house cleaned up and chores done the second day, and work on a project the third day.  You prepare some popcorn, stepping over the piles of laundry you're going to do tomorrow, and start Netflix to watch a movie you've been wanting to see for a while now.  All of a sudden, the doorbell rings, and there you are, in your holey sweats, ratty and stained t-shirt, and a house that's utter chaos, now that you look at it.  You answer the door with trepidation, and it's a friend from church and her 8 year old son.  They had decided to drop by for a visit, bearing a plate of cookies, and looking like she could use a friend.  Taking one last look at your disarray, you open the door, inviting her in, and apologizing for the mess.  "We came to see you, not your house, so don't worry about it!" she exclaims, and you can tell that she means it.  You ask her if it's a night for wine, coffee or hot chocolate, and with the request for hot chocolate, you ask her son if he's seen the newest Marvel movie.  He hasn't, but he's all excited about the prospect of it when you tell him you've got it on Netflix if he'd like to watch it.  He starts babbling on about this character and that as you load the movie for him, get a small bowl to fill with some of the popcorn you'd made, and you take your friend to the kitchen table, clearing away a few odds, ends (and maybe a dirty dish) so she can sit down.  You keep the conversation light while you prepare the hot chocolate, put the plate of cookies between you and then sit down, telling her to spill.  She smiles, and says she appreciates how welcome you make her feel and how she is grateful to have such a friend when she doesn't know where to turn.

Your evening is certainly not what you'd planned.  Instead, you were granted grace  to practice the art of being a good friend, of caring for a child, of being able to listen and offer hospitality, when it was certainly nowhere on your list of things to do today.  God has taken the opportunity to remind you of what's truly important, and that's a grace, a gift that we don't often see in our chaotic, unplanned or over-planned lives.  "Then Jesus said to them, 'Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;  a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’"  (Luke 11:5-6)

So let's begin our Advent recipe collection with a recipe for Hot Cross Buns, a form of bread.  The recipe with pictures, comes from the Pioneer Woman, and you can access that at her blog on the link.  Otherwise, the recipe is below:

Ingredients
Buns (see below)
2 cups Whole Milk
1/2 cup Canola Oil
1/2 cup Sugar
1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup (additional) Flour
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Spices: Cardamom, Nutmeg, Allspice (optional)
1/2 cup Raisins

GLAZE
1 whole Egg White
Splash Of Milk
Icing
1 whole Egg White
Powdered Sugar
Splash Of Milk

BUNS

Combine 2 cups milk, canola oil, and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot--about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.

Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and whatever other spices you want to use.

Lightly flour surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle on about a third of the raisins. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is "plain" again. Repeat the sugar/raisin process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won't use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)

Pinch off ping pong or golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, quickly roll it into a ball, then turn the edges under themselves slightly. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes...an hour-plus is better.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 degrees

GLAZE

Mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll.

Bake for 20 minutes, give or take, or until tops of buns have turned nice and golden brown.

Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

ICING

Mix 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar for icing to be very thick. Splash in milk as needed for consistency.

Add icing to a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Make icing crosses on each roll, making sure they're completely cooled first.