Give us this day our daily bread.

 Two loaves of bread are baking this morning. Flour, salt, water, and yeast mixed together with a wooden spoon and two hands. Add time and touch. What comes out is simply wonderful. Enjoy with butter, PB&J, marinara or dipping oil. When it goes stale, toast for croutons, dip in egg for french toast, or give the birds and squirrels a treat.

Many people think there’s a trick to making good bread, and they are right. It takes the magic of heat to create a good loaf of bread. The source of my kitchen magic is basic – electric, four burners, and an oven of decent size.  Consistent heat with little risk that turns a puffy blob into bread, raw fowl into Thanksgiving, and cauliflower into something tasty wonderful. There’s even a timer that reveals when the food is ready.

I use my oven constantly, but I don’t often give thanks for the miracle that it is. Every day, I pray for bread without really seeing the way my prayer is answered. Fortunately, my oven does more than bake – when necessary, it can open the eyes of the blind.