Tag Archives: Bread

Quotation Station

November 24, 2023 By in Quotation Station, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

I usually post a Quotation Station with Shabbat blessings for everyone on Friday, and today will be no different. However, this time, you’re going to receive a little more because Thanksgiving was yesterday, and I’m still experiencing an abundance of gratitude that I’d love to share with you. If you noticed that my post is late today, well, that’s also because of Thanksgiving and the days of preparation leading up to it!

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have noticed a post wherein I mourned the loss of my challah rising bowl. The unexpected destruction took place with my own hands as I lifted the bowl from the bottom rack of the dishwasher, knocked the edge against a plate, and then cringed when I heard the sickening sound of glass breaking.

I thought for sure the plate was a goner because my challah bowl was thick and sturdy. Unfortunately, a chunk of the edge of my beloved bowl was missing, and a crack had snaked up the side. I literally expressed my disbelief and grief aloud.

So, yes, I posted on Facebook because we all know how much misery loves company. What I didn’t expect was the outpouring of sympathy over the loss of my bowl. I was so touched. Better yet, my dear friend, Theresa Weber, offered me the option of one of two bowls she had on hand.

Flash forward to Shabbat services that week where Theresa allowed me to choose a bowl. They were both lovely, the type of bowls one hands down as a family heirloom. I chose the larger of the two because my challah recipe makes two loaves.

In addition to this heartwarming story, I’m going to share my new challah recipe with you. The dough in this recipe is more forgiving, more pliable, and I find that it meets my challah expectations. It’s a great beginner dough if you’ve never tried challah or bread baking. I tweaked the recipe just a titch, incorporating a little from the first challah recipe I shared on my blog, and I’m quite pleased with what I’ve achieved.

Heather Gibson’s Foolproof Challah

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a most wonderful day full of opportunities to express gratitude for all the blessings experienced throughout the year. Shabbat Shalom to everyone. Don’t forget that Shabbat is a weekly opportunity to express gratitude and enjoy fellowship.

Back in business!

Challah Lessons

November 6, 2023 By in Lightning Juice Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Writing for my blog took a backseat in my thoughts during the month of October. In fact, I also haven’t written anything toward my current WIP since I arrived at Shabbat services on October seventh to discover that evil had ramped up its game. What followed has left me dumbfounded, angry, but also with an overwhelming desire to speak truth. And not HL Gibson’s truth, but rather Adonai’s truth.

If you spend any time perusing my blog or social media, you’ll come away with a very good idea of who I am based on what I believe and how I write. Transparency on my blog is always my intention because I want to forge a connection with my readers. This is why my blog has a relaxed presentation that invites comments. I want to have a conversation with you rather than have you feel that I’m constantly trying to sell my novel, Realm, to you or preach at you about writing.

So, the purpose of this post is to help me build back to a place of peace. More than ever, people need to make strong connections to help each other through the dark days. I hope that you’re encouraged to do the same, especially if you’re one of the creatives. A return to art and the creative process is healing from the inside out.

I started by trying a new challah recipe that I’m sharing with you. The simplicity of making bread starts as a return to routine and the need to keep my hands busy so that my brain doesn’t overload. It’s always so beautiful as the dough comes together and, even though still raw, smells delicious.

The first rising time is best used for studying scripture and reading. Dividing the dough and braiding each half into loaves is a time for prayer for those who will eat the challah and anyone who comes to mind. The second rising time is when I organize other parts of my day into productive tasks. The beauty of the whole process is that I’m practicing the concept of laboring so that I can enter Adonai’s rest and experience true shalom.

Peace is the goal here, but bread is the reminder of what is important to me, and what’s important is peace. It’s cyclical! It’s also a reminder that family and friends are the true treasures braided into my life. Making the challah is a blessing because it occurs in my little home, where we’ve lived safely for thirty years with a parade of pets from the four-footed to the winged to the finned. (Although I still don’t have a horse.)

Most importantly, making the challah is a warning—yes, warning—to not mistake complacency for peace. It’s work to not become so content that I drift into decadence and laziness. The next step is indifference and forgetfulness, and every stage of that downward spiral is a bad place to be. It is a grave danger to ignore the truth, no matter how painful, because then we become useless to ourselves and others when we fall into the wrong belief that the evil taking place out there will never touch us.

Bread is life, and life must be fought for. I cannot always predict when and where the battlefronts will open in my life, but I can be prepared to fight that evil even if it’s through the simple task of baking challah. I will stare evil in the face and say, “You will not disrupt my process. Not today.” And then, in the name of Adonai, I will share the fruits of my labor, the work of my hands, with those I love, thus defeating evil.

Of Bread & Study

July 6, 2023 By in Writing Advice, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

While the words and story ideas haven’t been coming to me lately, and my fingers missed the sense of productivity that comes with typing or writing, I have perceived an overwhelming need to do something with my hands. And since most of us are familiar with what happens to idle hands, I have decided to bake bread. I’ve dabbled with it before, but this time, I want to explore the deeper, more complex world of bread baking.

The idea came to me when the writing began to dwindle, and that’s usually an indication that I need to focus on something else for a while. I’ve learned to pay attention to Adonai nudging me in a different direction as well as walking in faith that I’ll return to my writing with a backpack full of ideas gleaned from my experiences.

I knew I was on the right track with my decision when the following blog post by my editor, Kori Frazier Morgan of Inkling Creative Strategies, popped up in my inbox. While I strongly encourage you to read the entire article, the following passage made a deep impression on me:

But still, I hadn’t released myself from the task of writing until Kori’s next blog post arrived with more suggestions that I needed to hear.

“You have to do something other than write. If you assume that writing is your passion, and therefore, you don’t need anything else, you will instill a monotonous pattern into your life rather than a rhythm of creativity that lets you interact with the world in ways that inspire and invigorate.”

Backed up with Kori’s personal statement of:

“. . . I didn’t really have any hobbies. Writing is too much a part of what I do vocationally to be a hobby, and because reading is a huge part of what makes me a better writer, it’s not a hobby but rather a conduit for my work.”

That explained why my pleasure reading had become an uninspiring, boring chore. I mean, seriously, me not love to read. That’s unthinkable! But Adonai’s words through Kori’s posts provided the permission I sought to stop writing, and I freed myself from what had become my creative process ground between the millstones of fruitless drudgery.

Now, before you think that I have abandoned reading altogether, I still find that my non-fiction reading/studies to be quite productive, and since I also glean great story ideas from such reading, I’ve decided to embark upon a study with my friend and mentor, Dr. Sharon Stern, as we read The Rivkah Remnant by Dr. Rabbi Itzhak Shapira together.

I’ll keep you posted on how my new hobbies are progressing, most specifically bread baking. Recipes will be featured on my blog and archived under the section called Lightning Juice, which is about Gibson family life and where I tuck personal posts.

Please do not think that the randomness of my blog posts appearing on different days at odd hours means that I will not strive to offer you quality content. Nothing could be further from the truth. Think of my posts like an old friend arriving to sit on your front porch in the early morning with a cup of coffee, midafternoon with a glass of iced tea, or late in the evening with a glass of wine. We’ll still chat, and our relationship will grow.

In closing, I encourage you to obtain a copy of my debut novel, Realm. I’ve included links below to assist with the purchase. After you’ve read Realm and fallen in love with the story and characters, please remember to leave a review at BookBaby, Goodreads, or an online location of your choice. Thank you!

By Bread Alone

June 9, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

1433270193628Forgiveness is a tricky concept. It is easily applied to a situation when the transgression is minor. A forgotten birthday, a word misspoken in haste, a misunderstanding of perceptions; forgiveness is willingly doled out in each of these instances.

But what about the attempted genocide of an entire people? Or searching one’s own soul in an effort to release a lifetime of guilt? Who is responsible to bestow forgiveness to the offenders when these are the circumstances? Man and/or God?

These are the questions that trouble the minds of Reuben and Hannah Wise and Dr. John Welles after they dine together one January evening in 1955. All three are divided in their opinions concerning the particular events that generated their questions. While they remain polite toward each other, a wedge has been driven into their friendship, especially between Hannah and John.

I chose to have Reuben serve challah bread during the Shabbat meal to which he and Hannah invited John for two reasons. For one, challah is traditionally served during the observation of Shabbat. More importantly, though, the presence of bread during this significant meal drew attention to the many references of bread in the Bible as well as underscored the differences between the Wises and Dr. Welles.

The following recipe is the one I had in mind for the challah Reuben made in my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles. I hope you will enjoy this lightly sweet, rich, and delicious bread with your meals.

Reuben Wise’s Challah Bread

1 ½ cups warm water

2 tablespoon yeast

½ cup olive oil

½ cup sugar (or honey) (I used raw sugar)

3 eggs (2 for the recipe and 1 for the wash)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 cups flour (slightly packed)

In a Kitchen Aid mixer add 1 ½ cups lukewarm water and 2 tablespoons yeast. Mix gently and allow the yeast to foam.

Add ½ cup sugar (or honey), ½ cup olive oil, 2 eggs, and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well, approximately one minute or so. Add the six cups of flour one at a time and mix thoroughly with a bread hook. You may need to add ½ cup of flour if the dough is very sticky.

Remove from the mixing bowl and divide the dough into two halves. Divide each half into four pieces and roll each piece to about 12 – 14 inches in length. Braid the pieces of dough. (You can find instructions for braiding challah on the internet. I chose a four-strand braid for my bread.)

Brush each braided loaf with an egg wash (beaten egg with a little water to thin it). Place the braided loaves on a non-stick cookie sheet with parchment paper or a cooking mat on it and sprinkle liberally with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or slivered almonds. Let the loaves rise until about 1/3 larger in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the loaves for 23 – 25 minutes. Loaves should be golden and firm when finished.

This recipe can also be mixed and kneaded by hand.

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The traditional blessing over the bread as spoken by Reuben Wise:

HAMOTZI – Blessing Over the Bread

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, Ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.

hamotzi_0

Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe,

who brings forth bread from the earth.