I stumbled halfway down the porch steps on my way to the trash bin, dropping the loaf of bread I had attempted earlier in the day. Easy Irish Soda Bread with raisins, the recipe had boasted. After twice the recommended amount of time in the oven, the loaf appeared done but the inside was still gummy, so I waited for it to cool, wrapped it in foil and headed for the herby curby. When I stumbled, the ruined loaf shattered like the scattered bits of sidewalk chalk left behind by my grandchildren. I heaved a sigh as I bent to retrieve my parcel before heaving it into the garbage.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread is a personal favorite of mine but most store bought loaves contain dairy, which I avoid. I came across a fairly simple recipe for Irish Soda Bread with raisins so while I visited with Caroline, I decided to give it a try. Caroline enjoys baking and she is not afraid to try just about anything. I am a utilitarian cook. I cook because I need to feed my people. Rarely do I make something just for myself but I decided I would try this recipe under her supervision. She coached me through the process and left me to finish while she fed the baby. Only later that evening did the thought occur to me. Even as I said it aloud, I knew what I had done. I wondered why you would call it soda bread if it didn’t have any baking soda in the recipe. I had unintentionally overlooked an essential ingredient. Without that one teaspoon of baking soda, my bread was a bust.
My daughter informed me that the baking soda was essentially a yeast substitute and would have combined with the buttermilk to make the bread rise. During the week leading up to Passover, also called the Festival of Unleavened Bread, no yeast could be used in the homes of devout Jews. This annual festival remembered when God through Moses and Aaron brought the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel out of slavery in Egypt. God instructed them to bake unleavened bread because the people were supposed to eat their meal with their sandals on, fully clothed and ready to travel. Their baked loaves and the lamb’s blood on their doorposts were evidence of their trust in God to rescue them. Jesus is the bread of life and God’s spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. By obedience to His Word, I trust Him to rescue me.
Unleavened bread is bread made without yeast. Yeast is a reactive agent, a catalyst spurring on a chemical change. Jesus associated yeast with false teachers and false teaching but He also likened it to the kingdom of God.
“As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out!
Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread.
Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread?
Don’t you know or understand even yet?
Are your hearts too hard to take it in?
‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’
Don’t you remember anything at all?
When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”
“Twelve,” they said.
“And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they said.
“Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.”
Mark 8:15-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.8.15-21.NLT
Matthew clarified. “Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith!
Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread?
Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread?
So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”
Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Matthew 16:8, 11-12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.16.12.NLT
“He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like?
It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.
Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.””
Luke 13:20-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.13.20-21.NLT
When I woke the morning after my baking fail, my daughter had a Cinnamon Raisin Pecan Bread rising in the kitchen. At dinner, we enjoyed warm slices slathered in butter. She quipped, “This one is so easy, even you can do it!” That remains to be seen but as long as she’s willing to bake more, I’ll happily help her eat it!
“Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed.
Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.
For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.””
Luke 22:7, 15-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.22.7-15.NLT
“He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it.
Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.””
Luke 22:19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.22.19.NLT
“For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.”
1 Corinthians 11:26 NLT
