Some find it meaningful to bake their own bread to be shared in the sacrament. If you wish to do this, you will find a helpful recipe below. (By the way, the photo above is only representative. Your bread may not look like what you see in the photo. If you follow this recipe, you won’t’ even knead it!)

As you prepare the bread, you may consider praying the following prayers at the appropriate time. This can be an especially meaningful experience for families to do together. 

A Prayer Before Beginning Bread Baking 

God of grace, as you gather the grains of wheat once scattered into one, so gather these ingredients to become bread and gather us together with all your people to become the body of Christ for the sake of the world. Be present in our baking and in this time of preparation to receive Holy Communion, which we know to be a foretaste of the feast to come, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

A Prayer While Stirring/Kneading 

God of love, you are present with us in each and every moment of our lives. As we stir and knead, help us to know your presence with us and name before you those with whom we wish we could gather, trusting that you will go to be where we cannot be in this time. We pray especially for [add names], through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

A Prayer When Placing Bread Into The Oven 

God of hope, we place this bread into the oven, knowing that in this time it will change from being dough to being bread. Help us to experience in this bread hope for our world, trusting that you are at work in ways that we cannot even begin to imagine, creating a future that is in many ways different than the one we can see before us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

A Communion Bread Recipe, From Luther Seminary In St. Paul, Minnesota 

Sift dry ingredients (important!) together three times: 

• 2 c whole wheat flour 

• 1 c white flour 

• 1 & 1/4 tsp baking powder 

• 1 & 1/4 tsp salt 

Stir in 4 tsp oil. Set aside. 

Mix wet ingredients together until dissolved: 

• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp very hot water (minimum of 180 degrees F) 

• 3 Tbsp honey 

• 3 Tbsp molasses 

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Dough should be slightly sticky. Do not knead. 

Divide into four balls and flatten each into a 1/4 inch thick disk. 

With a knife, score the top of each loaf into eight pie-shaped sections, so that the sections can be more easily broken off while serving. Alternatively, you could score a cross onto the loaf. 

Lay the loaves on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush the tops of the loaves with oil. Bake an additional 5-8 minutes. Let cool. 

Yield: four 8 oz. loaves. Each loaf serves 60-70 people, depending upon the size of the piece given. The loaves freeze well. 

About This Recipe 

Luther Seminary's communion bread recipe has been in use at the Seminary for more than 20 years. It is baked by Luther Seminary dining services staff and served as part of their weekly Holy Communion service in chapel each Wednesday. 

This recipe is known throughout the country as one of the best-tasting and easiest to make. In July 2003, Luther Seminary dining services staff baked an estimated 675 loaves and Fed-Ex-ed them to the ELCA's youth gathering in Florida for their mass Eucharist.