Zwieback Anyone?

Some things I have come to enjoy later in life. One of these is yeast baking. When I was younger, I was too busy and involved with children, work and studies. Baking with yeast is a process that can take most of the day, although I can do something else while the dough rises for several hours. While I'm mixing or shaping the dough, I listen to the radio or I often just enjoy the thoughts that arise when my hands are busy. Reminiscing is part of the aging process and I thoroughly enjoy it. As I grow older, I have more people to remember, some who have died before me and whose lives have inspired me and are still inspiring me.

Recently, as I was baking Zwieback (buns that consist of two balls of dough, one on top of the other) in preparation for spending time at the lake with some of our grandchildren, I thought of three wonderful women who were important to me at a certain time in my life. They encouraged and blessed me when I needed it. I remembered these three when I was working with yeast dough, because I associate them with that process. 

ANNA came to my aid when I left home and began my first job at a bookstore and printing press. I worked in the bookstore, preparing orders, clerking, and packing. Anna worked downstairs in the printing press. She was a beautiful woman with dark hair, thick and curly. Her brown eyes matched her hair and always seemed to sparkle. As a young woman, fleeing for her life from war-torn Ukraine during WWII, one of her eyes was severely injured and it was replaced by a glass eye. Anna did not let that dampen her spirit. 

We soon discovered that she knew my parents, having grown up with them in a Mennonite community in Ukraine. She took an interest in me and asked me some leading questions about my life away from home. (I had moved from Alberta to Manitoba right after high school and was temporarily living with some distant relatives until my parents and siblings could join me within a year.) Realizing that I was unhappy with my living arrangement, Anna encouraged me by listening sympathetically. She helped me by finding me a room to rent across the street from her house, within walking distance of my place of employment. It was a win-win situation. I no longer had to deal with family dynamics or a crowded bus, and I had caring people living across the street who took an interest in my life. 

Anna was at home on Saturdays, that was her day to bake and clean. She also gave part of that day to me to spend at their house -- not to help her clean, but to enjoy her fresh baking, have supper with the family and take some baking home with me. On Sundays she invited me to go to church with them. My weekends no longer stretched out endlessly. When she and her husband decided to go to B.C. on a holiday, she invited me to come along with them. They dropped me off in Calgary, where I took a train to Didsbury and spent a week with my family. Anna was an angel to me and she still inspires me to be generous and loving.

JOHANNA entered my life shortly after Hardy and I returned from Congo (where we spent the first 16 years of our married life). We moved to Ontario where Hardy had opportunity to work as copy editor with the Canadian Bible Society and I began my university studies.

Johanna baked Zwieback for every occasion and we always enjoyed them at church events that involved food. Johanna served God and the church with body, mind and soul. She conducted an after-school program for kids in the neighbourhood during the school year and in summer she ran the Vacation Bible School program. She encouraged our second daughter to be involved in these activities. Johanna's influence certainly must have had a part in our daughter choosing to become a pastor. Johanna also adopted an immigrant family and totally made them part of her life. While in her early seventies she went to university and eventually received a BA in psychology. 

Johanna taught me to bake Zwieback, generously sharing her recipe. She told me not to use butter because it made the Zwieback too heavy. She was right. I always use margarine and they turn out very light. When Johanna's husband passed away, she baked Zwieback for the occasion. She told me it was therapeutic for her (something I didn't understand at the time, but do now!).

GLORIA is the third person I want to mention with reference to Zwieback. She was the director at the retirement home where our daughter served as chaplain. It is her recipe for Zwieback (with a hint or two from Johanna) that I use. Whenever the home had a celebration, Gloria would bake large batches of Zwieback. I can still see her standing at the door, greeting guests as they entered. She was not tall but she stood very straight and carried herself with dignity. The retirement home published a recipe book as a fundraiser and Gloria's recipe is included. I always use it but substitute margarine for butter. For several years I volunteered as a devotional speaker at Parkwood Mennonite Home, gaining confidence in public speaking. Always, Gloria was my example of a woman who was a natural leader and used her gifts with humility and grace.

                                         Gloria's recipe (with some minor changes) 

Last, as is my habit, I have a book to recommend. It involves Zwieback and is "a Russian Mennonite Alphabet of Stories, Recipes and Historic Events."  Put it on your Christmas list as a potential present for your children or grandchildren!

The very last entry in this delightful alphabet book (Lisa Weaver, Julie Kauffman, Judith Rempel Smucker, CMU Press, 2011) states:

"Zwieback: A yeast bun with two parts -- a round roll with a smaller ball on top. They were often baked on Saturday to be eaten for Faspa on Sunday. When Zwieback is sliced in half and toasted in the oven ("twice baked"), it will keep for a long time. What a delicious ending to our Russian Mennonite alphabet!