"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."  ~Luke 6:36-38

I tilt my head to the right, a gesture I often use when I am evaluating something. Today, that something is a measuring cup filled to its brim with flour. Is it even? Is it a good measure, packed together, shaken down, but not quite overflowing? It is. Evaluation complete, I dump the contents of the measuring cup into a large glass bowl.

I am making soda bread, something I’ve done every Sunday afternoon since graduate school. Then, I viewed the activity as a sort of quiet rebellion from the never-ending list of books to read and papers to write. Making soda bread was a process that engaged my hands and body and not just my head. Now, I welcome this weekly ritual because it gives me the permission to step away from professional and personal responsibilities and contemplate my life and those I care about—all while my hands are sticky with dough.

I add liquid to the flour and begin to mix. As I work, I often think through a litany of people I am grateful for: “Dear God, thank you for Friend A, for their love and support; thank you also for the kindness of Friend B; and the understanding of Colleague C and the humor of Acquaintance D and the wisdom of Friend E…”

I continue to work, folding my gratitude into the dough. Hoping that these measures which I have measured will in turn be measured out to others—for they have already been measured out to me.

Sarah’s Brown Soda Bread Recipe:

2 cups of white flour

2 cups of wheat flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

1-2 ½ cups of buttermilk, oat milk, or plain yoghurt thinned to buttermilk consistency

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients, add liquid until a sticky dough forms. Kneed for 5ish minutes. Form dough into a circular mound and place in a well-greased 7-inch pie dish. Cut a deep cross on the top with a butter knife. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes and then drop the temperature down to 400 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes. The bread should be lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Let cool on a baking rack. This bread is particularly nice with Irish butter.