At Abingdon Episcopal Church in White Marsh the bread making for communion is taken very seriously. The bakers are known as the Abingdon Bread Guild. For the past two decades the group, about a dozen strong, made up of both men and women, have for every Sunday and on special occasions made the breads for all communion services at Abingdon.
This is a job of love. Each member makes enough bread for the services in a month. They have their own favorite recipes. At Christmas a leavened gingerbread is made. To get the correct consistency a variety of flours are used such as wheat and all-purpose bread flour. Stone ground wheat flour is avoided. It crumbs, something you do not want Communion bread to do.
Some recipes help to prevent this must-not-crumb command. These use sugar and honey. Regardless of the recipe, each loaf is marked with a cross and scored so that it breaks neatly. The breads freeze well so there is no need for weekly baking which is accomplished in home kitchens.
However, o...