What the Holiday Kneads

What the Holiday Kneads

Photos by Chad Bremerman

Close your eyes and picture the perfect holiday home. Imagine the decorations, twinkling lights or flickering candles, your favorite holiday music floating in the air, interrupted by bursts of laughter from children happy with the knowledge they have no school to attend for the next few days.

They stand in the kitchen, gathered around an island dusted with flour. The aroma of yeast is heavy in the air as little hands pull, fold, press, turn … pull, fold, press, turn. More giggles erupt as a poof of flour dusts a cheek with whiteness.

Once a necessary daily chore, the task of making bread has been almost completely replaced by trips to the grocery or bakery. But during November and December, sales of flour and yeast spike, indicating that for many, the holiday is still a time for baking bread.

And for good reason. Making bread, or any of its soft fluffy relatives-cinnamon rolls, sticky buns or bread twists, to name a few-is a great way to step back from the hustle and bustle of the season, and to connect with family and friends. Appropriate for just about any age, bread baking can become a family tradition, providing children-one’s own or the neighborhood’s-with memories that will last a lifetime.

Fortunately, making and baking bread is quite simple. Good recipes abound; just be sure to use a yeast bread recipe, as opposed to a quick bread recipe. Ingredients need to be measured carefully and the temperatures need to be minded. Yeast is actually alive, and if the liquid is too cold, the yeast won’t wake up and make the bread rise. Conversely, liquid too hot can kill it.

Next is the “bread machine versus by-hand” decision. Kneading the dough is really what making bread is all about. It’s the repetitive “pull, fold, press, turn” of kneading that becomes a relaxing, almost hypnotic, task. Standing side-by-side kneading with a tweenager-the same one who hated you that morning-is akin to shooting baskets with a sullen adolescent. Without words, a connection is created and contact is made. Almost primitive in its comfort, kneading bread is the antithesis to cell phones, iPods and Call of Duty gaming. It can make us-kids and adults-realize we’re really on the same side.

That said, when quantities of dough are needed, as would be for several kids to make take-n-bake cinnamon rolls, the bread machine can come in quite handy. Using the “dough” cycle, ingredients can be combined and kneaded a day in advance, placed in oiled, air-tight bags, and refrigerated, allowing one to amass enough dough to keep numerous hands busy. Be sure to press all the air from the bags before sealing; even in the refrigerator, the dough will start to rise and the bags can burst.

For the littlest of participants, pull-a-parts or “monkey bread” is a great project, because it really requires very little skill. Chunks of dough are simply pulled off and kneaded into balls that are then dipped and rolled in yummy ingredients (depending on your recipe) before being piled in a pan. Baked right away or refrigerated for later, kids of all ages will love the messy sweet treat, covered in sticky goodness.

Take-and-bake cinnamon rolls are great for bigger kids. Dough is rolled out, slathered in butter, then laden with cinnamon, sugar and other toppings. Kids can get creative with what goes inside (M&M’s anyone?), and every participant’s recipe can be according to taste (raisins on one half only, please). Rolled tightly and sliced-one inch wide for lots of shorter rolls, or 1 1/2 for larger but fewer – the rolls can be placed in disposable aluminum pans, covered with foil and refrigerated until ready to bake.

Homemade bread treats make wonderful gifts, allowing the youngest of children to give from the heart without breaking the bank. And who wouldn’t appreciate a pan of cinnamon rolls, just ready to pop into the oven?

As you hurry your way through this hectic time of year, consider taking a break from all the busy-ness, and discover the peace and joy that comes from making bread with family and friends. It may be just what your holiday needs!