Kindness Bread

Mother Holle is a classic Grimm’s fairytale in which a mistreated step sister falls down a magical well to a fairy realm in where she is rewarded for being kind to Mother Holle with gold. (There is of course also a “bad” sister who does everything wrong and is punished in proper Grimm fashion.) The moral of the story is that “industrious children are rewarded and lazy children are punished” although I like to view it in a more modern sense- that kindness is rewarded.

Nerd alert- Mother Holle is cataloged as AT 480 in the International Folktale catalog, under “Supernatural Tasks.” It is one of a large number of folktales that focus on the industrious/ lazy dynamic.

For this project we decided to focus on kindness and some of the kind tasks that the girl completes: she helps the bread, the apples and Mother Holle by shaking out her feather quilt. All of this came together in a “Kindness Bread” that is meant to be shared. Its shape is based on a classic pan di epi, but it is instead shaped like the feather of Holle’s quilt. Conveniently, the bits of the feather tear off easily to be shared! The bread is an apple challah, calling back to the apples and the bread that received the girl’s kindness. We wrote various acts of kindness on parchment and tucked them into the points of the feathers before it rose. As you eat the bread you receive a kindness prompt. Last, a little gold leaf reminds you that kindness is its own reward.   

Kindness Bread

I used a gluten free challah for this recipe, but you can use your favorite challah or brioche recipe. (Mine is from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple ) You could also really use any tear and share type bread you prefer to the same end.

Ingredients:

• one batch of your preferred dough mixed and proofed once
• one granny smith apple peeled and diced
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)
• 1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
• egg wash
• parchment paper cut into squares
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1 tsp orange juice
• edible gold leaf (optional)
• edible marker (optional)

Method:

Make your bread according to you recipe and complete the first proof. Peel and dice the apple and mix with the cinnamon and sugar. Write “kindness prompts on the parchment paper. (It does need to be parchment so it doesn’t get charred.) Some ideas are: “Be kind to nature” “Do something nice for a friend without them knowing” “Make your mom smile”

Flatten out your dough into a skinny rectangle and spoon the apple mixture in a line down the center. Roll it into a log and seal the apples inside.

Now, you are going to make 45 degree angle cuts with kitchen shears. The cuts should go to around a 1/2″ from the edge of the bread. Each section should be an inch or two wide.

Place the cut log of dough on a sheet of parchment and flip every other section over the center so that you open it up like a stalk of wheat (or a feather!)

Shape your sections a little now, pointing the tops and making sure you don’t have any apple filling exploding out. You can make additional shallow cuts into the sections to make them more feather shaped. Make sure you have a nub at the bottom to be teh shaft of the feather.

Place the bread onto a baking sheet and curve it slightly into a feathery shape. Roll up your parchment prompts, fold them in half and sick them into the points of the dough. Brush with egg wash. Cover and allow to proof for the second time. (This usually means doubling in size- check your recipe for time)

Cook according to recipe. Mix the maple syrup and orange juice in a small bowl and heat very briefly in the microwave. When your bread is finished cooking, remove from the oven and brush with the maple glaze. Dot on some edible gold leaf if using. Once cool, you can draw on more feathery marks with an edible marker if desired. Let everyone pull off a section and read the prompt they get.

Enjoy!