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In the baking of bread There’s nothing quite like the smell of bread fresh out of the oven. It’s known to be so enticing that some supermarkets pump the smell of their baking bread to the front of the shop to attract more shoppers in! Bread is also a powerful symbol in the Bible. With two fish, Jesus shared out five loaves and 5,000 people had enough to eat. Along with wine, Jesus shared bread with his apostles and asked them to ‘do this in memory of me’ at the Last Supper. Jesus spoke often about the importance of sharing.

“Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food, or thirsty and gave you

something to drink?” He answered: “Just as you did it to one of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Matthew 25:37, 40 Right now, there’s enough food to feed everyone in the world. But because it’s not shared fairly, not everyone has enough to eat. CAFOD’s campaign, Hungry for change, looks at the reasons why one in eight people in the world go to bed hungry and is calling for the system to change so that the world’s food can be shared out in a more fair way. The following activity provides you with an easy recipe for baking bread, some

questions for discussion and an alternative activity if you don’t have access to cooking facilities. Many bread recipes require some time for the dough to prove, which isn’t very practical if you only have an hour or so in which to do this activity. The recipe for soda bread will allow you to make, cook, share and eat your bread within an hour! Breaking the ice

Before starting cooking, why not try an icebreaker activity?

See the ‘In the baking of bread’ ice-breaker Powerpoint. Ask your group to identify the country of origin of the 10 different types of bread shown in the photos. The answers are supplied, along with each country’s flag.

You can adapt the Powerpoint to: � play the quiz using only the

presentation � print out the bread pictures

and flags and ask the group to stick the flags to the pictures which have been posted round the walls

� find real examples of the breads (or others of your own choosing) and make cocktail stick flags for the young people to stick into the breads to guess the country

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Aprons on…

If you have sufficient cooking facilities, the young people can each bring in the ingredients

required to make and bake their own bread. Alternatively, one person or a small group can make a loaf, watched or helped by the rest of the group. The baked bread can then be shared between everyone.

Discussion time

While they are enjoying (hopefully!) the home-made bread, get your group to talk

together about what they’ve done: How did it feel making something that many of us just buy off the shelf in the supermarket? What was the easiest bit? The most difficult? How did it feel taking the bread out of the oven? Was the result as you expected? How did you feel when you shared your loaf with others? Did making the bread yourself make you appreciate it more? Did you enjoy sharing it more? Did it make you think about where the food we eat every day actually comes from? How often do you eat bread at home? If you like bread, how would you feel if it were in scarce supply? Many of the people around the world who make and eat bread as part of their staple diet are facing much higher costs for the ingredients. What does this mean? Why do we think that Jesus used the symbol of bread? You may like to include the story of Teresinha from Brazil, who runs a healthy eating project, called Bread and Art, as part of the work of CAFOD’s Brazil partner. http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2012/12/05/our-daily-bread

Recipe for soda bread � 450g plain flour � ½ teaspoon cream of tartar � 1 teaspoon salt � 1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda � 350ml milk � Flour to sprinkle Makes one loaf Pre-heat your oven to 220°C, 425°F, gas mark 7 Grease a baking tray. Sift flour, cream of tartar, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Add the milk and mix to a smooth soft dough. Knead gently on a lightly floured surface, then shape into a round. Place on the baking tray and mark the top quite deeply into four sections with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with flour and bake in a hot oven for 35 minutes. Allow to cool. Once you have made your bread, slice it on a large bread or chopping board. Make sure there are enough slices for your group and then top it with butter or spread and invite your group to take a slice each.

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Alternative activity

If you do not have the facilities to make bread in your group, here is another activity.

Ask the members of your group to see if they can find out about a type of bread, or bread-related product they have never eaten before. This could be Irish soda bread, a French stick, Indian Nan bread, a Viennese roll, Greek flat bread, Italian ciabatta; it could be a bagel, a croissant, pitta bread. If they can, find an example of the bread and bring it to the session, along with how it originated and how it is made. (You should be able to find a recipe for most kinds of bread on the internet.) Cut the breads into small portions so that everyone in the session can try more than one type of bread. There is also the opportunity to turn this part of the activity into a quiz too. You may like to ask your group to guess the country of origin of each of the breads, in a similar way to the ice-breaker activity above. Discussion time

What did the different breads taste like? What did people enjoy?

Why do you think that, although in different variations, bread is eaten throughout the world? What are the similarities and differences in the recipes? How often do you eat bread at home? If you like bread, how would you feel if it were in scarce supply? Many of the people around the world who make and eat bread as part of their staple diet are facing much higher costs for the ingredients. What does this mean?

Why do you think Jesus broke bread with his disciples? Why do you think bread is symbolic? You may like to include the story of Teresinha from Brazil, who runs a healthy eating project, called Bread and Art, as part of the work of CAFOD’s Brazil partner. http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2012/12/05/ourdaily-bread Other relevant resources

Our daily bread – stories around bread: http://blog.cafod.org.uk/2012/12/05/our-daily-bread Food for thought guide and young people’s campaign guide: http://www.cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Get-clued-up/Food

Take action

E-mail Prime Minister David Cameron now

http://www.cafod.org.uk/Campaign/ Take-action-today/Hungry-for-change

Pray Liturgy, reflection and prayers http://www.cafod.org.uk/Pray?_tag%5B%5D=&_tag%5B%5D=&_tag%5B%5D=hunger

Stories

Case studies, facts and figures about hunger http://www.cafod.org.uk/content/download/6326/53280/file/Food%20campaign%20for%20young%20people.pdf