“He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” Psalm 107:9
Eating, we call all agree, is holy. Where you put effort, you have gratitude, and in the South, you always give thanks. Blessings are oral poetry and ritual. In prayer, we are speaking gratitude to God for what is before us. As we consume food around the Southern table, blessings emerge. Blessings are a way to verbalize gratitude and, like the power of song, create solidarity within the group. They allow us to cherish each other’s lives and feel blessed when we are all at the table together. It allows room for incredible intimacy to unfold.
One of the first questions a Southerner asks a newcomer is “Where do you go to church?” The church is a profound fabric of our lives. It would be hard to dispute this since there is a church on almost every corner in a Southern town. Sundays are when believers go to church, Wednesday nights are dedicated to Bible studies, and you’ll hear “I’ll pray for you” whenever tragedy strikes. We live by the Bible, which is exactly why the South is known as the Bible Belt. Prayers are said at the table, important decisions are made there, and the principle of family unity is repeatedly reinforced there.
Southerners are nourished and connected to our fellow human beings, and we give thanks to God for satisfying our soul. Fundamentally, we understand that the Lord our God provides sustenance for the entire world with grace, kindness, and mercy. He gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is everlasting. He opens his hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. The blessing is sacramental in the South; a way of bonding into a circle with a group of people over food and drink. It pulls everyone together in a thoughtful way.
Perhaps it is because I was born in South Carolina and grew up in a small town in Virginia, but I know that God is responsible for my many blessings. And that, my reader, includes you. You don't have to look like me, share my genetics, or even worship like me to be family. As humans, we all belong to the same flock. Food is one way to fuel the desire to stay connected and to make sure that our community stays nourished and strong.
At every meal, God, I am reminded of the many ways you feed my heart. Thank you for the other kinds of bread, the kind with which you nourish my very being.
Amen
Rosemary Thyme No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme chopped
1 1/4 cups room temperature water
1/4 cup olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, rosemary, and thyme. Stir in water and olive oil with a wooden spoon until dough is well-mixed and flour is fully incorporated. The dough will be wet and uneven.
Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm spot in your kitchen for 10-18 hours. The dough will double in size and be puffy.
Dust a clean work surface with flour and dump the dough out from the bowl, using your hands. Fold the dough over a few times so it's a bit more stable. Gather the dough into a ball by gently stretching the top and pulling the ends underneath the loaf.
Brush a piece of parchment paper with a bit of olive oil. Place your dough onto the parchment and cover with a damp kitchen towel or paper towel. Place in a warm spot in the kitchen and let rise for an additional hour to hour and a half.
30 minutes before you plan to bake your bread, place a large Dutch oven with lid or (other heavy, lidded, oven-safe pot) into your oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Make sure your pot and lid can be heated to 500 degrees.
When you're ready to bake your bread, use a serrated knife to cut one or more slits in the top of the bread dough. This allows the bread to expand when it hits the heat of the oven without cracking, makes it look beautiful, and gives you nice craggy edges along your cuts.
Take the preheated Dutch oven out of your oven. Lift the dough loaf by the corners of the parchment paper and lower the whole thing into your Dutch oven, parchment and all. Cover with the lid and re-insert into the oven.
Lower the heat to 425 degrees and bake, covered, for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Place the loaf on a wire rack to cool.
