The Perfect Loaf of Bread

What ingredients are flavoring your life?

Once upon a time, a very thoughtful little girl named Rita (I know…fitting, right?) sat thinking about life and what she wanted to do with it when suddenly, an idea struck—bread! She wanted to make magic by creating the perfect loaf of bread.

Mind you, she had made bread many times before, but she’d never created what she would define as the perfect loaf.

Decided, she set about checking all the cupboards, digging and burrowing into even the dark, hidden places of her pantry where she didn’t really care to go— tossing out the old, identifying what was missing, and keeping the good. List made, she gathered up her baskets, put them in the cart, and off on a shopping adventure she went. It was an adventure because there were so many different places she had to go in her hunt to find all the ingredients she needed. Not that Rita minded—her love of shopping secondary only to her adoration of good bread!

As Rita went from shop to shop, she encountered many friends and family along the way. All asking what she was about, she told them of her decision to make magic by crafting and baking the perfect loaf of bread. Naturally, bread lovers one and all, each and every one had a suggestion, a recommendation, a sage piece of advice to guide her on her journey. Her list grew longer instead of shorter with every stop she made, and by the time she returned home, Rita was utterly exhausted. Baskets overflowed, jars and bottles spilled out and rolled this way and that—it was chaos in her kitchen.

A bit overwhelmed, Rita plunked tiredly down on a kitchen chair and despaired, her thoughts as chaotic as her kitchen. Where would she put it all? Where should she start? How would she know which ingredients to mix with which? How in the world was she ever to create one loaf—much less the perfect loaf—out of all this mess?

Shoulders slumped, sad little tears at the corner of her eyes, Rita slowly made her way upstairs to her room. Not even bothering to undress, she simply kicked off her shoes, crawled onto the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning a bright sun rose on a beautiful new day and with it, came a renewal of Rita’s determination to create order out of the chaos in her kitchen, to fulfill her goal to magically create the perfect loaf of bread.

But first—a nice hot soak in the tub with lots of bubbles and good smelly things mixed in was in order!

After the day she’d had yesterday, Rita decided a little pampering would go far in rejuvenating her spirit. Nearly eyeballs-deep in foamy white bubbles, rose scented candles burning, the hot water easing the ache in her muscles, Rita released a small blissful little sigh of joy.

Now this was perfect!

A smile curving her lips, she mentally walked through all the ingredients she had brought home and organized them into groups—those that complemented one another, those that did not, and those she knew were foundational. By the time the bubbles in her bath disolved down to her chin, she had mapped out the course of action to restore order to her kitchen.

More than ready to get started on her perfect loaf of bread, Rita completed her ablutions and was downstairs organizing in record time. Taking but a moment to survey her handiwork, she gave a stout nod to herself at the goodness of her plan and swift execution, then set about making her first loaf of bread. Though a tedious task, she carefully wrote down every ingredient, the quantity, and the order in which it was added. Baking the perfect loaf, after all, required precision and attention to detail.

Patience was also a key ingredient!

And so was perseverance, endurance, stamina—and hope (don’t forget hope!)—trust, faith and so much more.

Day after day Rita baked. The wonderful smells drifting out the window and down the street, knock after knock sounded on her door--expert after expert depositing an opinion with their every bite.

“Must be higher,” said this one.

“Must be more dense,” said another.

“Not brown enough,” determined a third.

“Overcooked,” declared yet another.

“What about the pinch test?” one demanded. “Did you pinch it to check the doneness?”

“Oh no,” her friend shook her head disapprovingly, “You must tap it not pinch.”

What about this spice? What about that spice? How much did you add? You need more! You didn’t add enough!

The cacophony of voices set Rita’s poor ahead awhirl, till one day she found herself once again sitting at her kitchen table, slumped in defeat, wondering—not for the first time—how all her good intentions had gone so awry.

A savory smell reached her nose. Rita glanced at the slice of bread on the plate next to her. Realizing she had been so busy serving all the people who came to sample and share their views that she’d not tried even a single bite of her own bread, she snatched up the slice and took a giant bite. Then, she froze.

Mouth full of bread, she sat, eyes wide and round in wonder.

This bread was wonderful!

She chewed once, twice, then paused. Soft, chewy, yet not overly so—she chewed twice more and stopped—and the flavor . . .

Rapidly chewing, she swallowed the rest in a big gulp; eyebrows nearly met her hairline in stunned surprise.

The flavor wasn’t bad. Not quite to her taste, but still not bad.

Suddenly, her eyebrows came crashing back down. She smacked the table with the palm of her hand. Chin set with determination, she quickly cleared away the remnants of bread and scrubbed her kitchen until it was sparkling and spotless. Then, retrieving all the notes she’d so meticulously made, she sat down and began to write out a new recipe. Only this time, she ignored all of the well-meaning and so-called expert advice she had received. Instead, she picked the ingredients she knew were foundational to basic success, then added the flavors and spices that appealed to her. Drawing upon her experiences over the past weeks, she determined which ingredients to add in what order and how much of each seemed right.

When she was finished, Rita hung a Do Not Disturb sign on the front door and baked herself a brand new loaf of bread.

The first one was pretty good, but she knew she could do better. Rather than trying to change too many things at once, Rita made a little change here, a little change there, baking a new loaf after each adjustment. Through her own careful observation and discernment, she kept fine tuning her recipe until one day she achieved what she had set out to do: magically create the perfect loaf of bread!

How did she know, you might ask?

Was it the right height, the right density, the right color? Did it pass the pinch and the tap test? And what about the flavor?

Well, truth be told, none of the experts actually knew what the perfect loaf of bread was . . . for Rita.

Only Rita could decide what ingredients, in what order, and what quantity resulted in the loaf that was perfect for her.

So, to answer your question: Rita knew the loaf was perfect the moment she took a bite, closed her eyes, and felt her whole being say yes.

And perhaps that’s the point. Who can say what ingredients, in what order, or in what quantity produce the most beautiful life? There will always be experts clamoring to tell you what the recipe should look like. But truth be told, only you can decide what the “Perfect Loaf of Bread” tastes like.

So let me ask you—

Where in your life are you letting others’ opinons decide your recipe?

What ingredients have you added because someone else insisted, but don’t truly nourish you?

If your days aren’t that mouth-watering bite of beautiful, what small adjustments could you make now to shift the flavor?

And when you finally taste your loaf, how will you know it’s perfect for you?