When I used to bake for God (seriously)

The following is an article I read online @ Hub Pages ........

The Making and Manufacturing of Communion Wafer

If you are a member of a Christian church then you are probably very familiar with the Holy Communion and how the communion wafer is used as a part of that ritual. But do you know the whole story behind the communion wafer? Do you know who makes these wafers today? Do you even know what ingredients are in a communion wafer? If you’re interested in the story behind the communion wafer that you may take as a regular part of your religious worship then read on.

The Ingredients Used in Making a Communion Wafer

The communion wafer is (as anyone who has tasted it knows) a very bland food. It represents the body of Christ so it has big meaning but the food itself is very simple. The communion wafer’s simplicity is part of what makes it such a great ritual food. It is not the taste of the communion wafer that you focus on (since it barely has one) but rather the ritual surrounding the consumption of the Communion wafer.

The most basic communion wafers are made out of only two ingredients. They are made out of a combination of very pure wheat flour and water. Simple isn’t it? There are some communion wafers that may contain slightly more complex recipes. They may include yeast and some may even include salt to give them the tiniest twinge of flavor (a flavor similar to human tears and perhaps representative of the human condition of suffering).

The most special ingredient that is sometimes, but only rarely, used in the making of communion wafers is holy water. In some situations, holy water may be sprinkled over the dough that is to be used to make communion wafers. The holy water is then kneaded into the dough and the wafers are made.

Who Manufactures Communion Wafers?

There once was a time when only very special people were allowed to make communion wafers. According to the known history of communion wafers, the situation used to be that each local church would select a single baker to be allowed the right to make communion wafers. A special oven specifically designed for this purpose would have to be used by this baker to preserve the ritual surrounding the making of the wafers.

Over time, it became less and less specialized as to who was allowed to bake communion wafers. This began with the expansion of the right to certain orders of nuns who historically began to make communion wafers as a way to gain some financial profit for the church. As time went on and we moved into modern society, the task of making communion wafers began to fall on large industry manufacturers and moved out of the realm of sacred rituals that had existed previously with the independent bakers and the nuns.

Today there are several different large manufacturers that produce communion wafers as a major or minor part of their businesses. However, it is reported that one single manufacturer produces the communion wafers for over three quarters of the Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Lutheran churches in the United States, Canada, England and Australia. That manufacturer is The Cavanagh Company which is a family business located in Rhode Island.

Making Communion Wafers is a Hands-Off Business

What’s interesting about the manufacturing of the communion wafers, at least by this company, is that they pride themselves on the fact that the work of this business is done entirely by machines. They promote their product as “untouched by human hands” which supposedly helps to preserve the sanctity of the product despite the fact that manufacturing of communion wafers has shifted from being the work of nuns and bakers sanctioned by the church to being the work of a big business. And a big business it is; the company employs three dozen full-time staff members to help keep up with the demand for communion wafers that is coming in from all around the world.

Manufacturing Communion Wafers in the Declining Economy

There may be any number of reasons that The Cavanagh Company decided to get into the business of manufacturing communion wafers so many years ago but certainly at least one of those reasons was to make a profit as a business. So how is this business doing now that the economy has shifted and many niche businesses are losing money? Well, it turns out that this is one business that it’s probably a good time to be a part of.

According to news reports, The Cavangh Company is one of very few businesses that is actually reporting an increase in sales as a result of the downturn in the economy. When times get tough, more and more people head to church. With the economy facing tough times in all areas of the globe where communion wafers are served, there are more people at the church who are taking communion and that means a better bottom line for the communion wafer family business.

Some People Want a Return to the Past

Although most of the world’s communion wafers are supplied by this company, there are still convents and parishes that make their own communion wafers all throughout the world. There are some people who are pushing for a return to this way of making communion wafers. Reasons for this push include a desire to financially assist the church and a belief that the product is more sacred when created by these people. Although this push is unlikely to make a big change in the business of manufacturing communion wafers, it is certainly something that local people may consider doing. After all, we all want to put our money where our mouths are right?

End of story.......

I had to smile when I read this because their once was a time I made prototype communion wafers for a company that wanted to package them individually and send them over seas to American military bases.

The guy is charge was kinda a greasy kind of bloke, and I didn't trust him all that much, but I did like the thought of baking "God's Bread."

The greasy dude and I kinda had a falling out though because he thought we should bake wine into the wafers instead of water, and that way when the person placed the communion in their mouth....they would be receiving not just the body of Christ.....but the blood as well.

I bought a case of really good red wine and made samples, but after baking a batch, I felt convicted.

I am not smart enough to know if it was Polish Jesus, the Holy Ghost, or just my own musings, but I thought.....

"To hell with this....you simply can't combine the wine and bread, that's so cheating."

So I called the guy and told him (even though it wasn't true) that God told me that if we incorporated the wine into the dough....he (the greasy guy) would burn in hell.

Now as you can imagine, I delivered this information with a wise guy delivery, but the dude really got upset and started yelling.

I yelled back and the whole thing ended up with the guy burning me on payment.

Not only did he jilt me on my time, but on my ingredient cost as well.

It took me 1/2 a year to drink that case of wine.