Please don’t take offense at my Holy Jesus Homemade Crackers. They are your basic “unleavened” crackers, but with a message, at least to me and the gals I am in bible study with. We have been studying the book of Luke and last week we looked at chapter 12, verses 1-3, where it says,

1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered
together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples
first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For
there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be
known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the
light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on
the housetops.

According to Miriam-Websters dictionary, leaven is a “substance (as yeast) used to promote fermentation in dough or a liquid.” When you use leaven, such as the yeast in my homemade bread, you use 2 1/2 tablespoons of yeast that eventually works its entire way through approximately 13 cups of flour. Wow! It doesn’t take much leaven to affect and change the texture, smell, look, and feel of flour. While the outcome of leaven tastes yummy–once it is baked under high heat, leaven alone smells horrible and is unpleasant if ingested prior to baking. And so it is with us.

Jesus is warning His disciples to not be like the Pharisees who say one thing and do another, hypocrisy. He is calling His followers to be different, to not live in such a way that causes fermentation in their spiritual life, or to rot their relationship with God. Often the Bible uses leaven to symbolize sin. Leaven puffs up from within, much like pride puffs up within.

1 Corinthians 5:5-7 further explains the consequences of leaven,

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the
whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new
lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was
sacrificed for us.

So, bake some unleavened crackers, save money, and remember that something very tiny can ferment your life. Be careful what you allow into your heart (and sometimes your stomach!)

Holy Jesus Homemade Crackers
1 cup all purpose flour (you could use whole wheat too, but you’ll need a little more water if you do)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil or neutral oil

Preheat oven to 400. If you have a baking stone, put it in there to heat up; otherwise you can just use cookie sheets.

Put all ingredients in the food processor and give it a quick whirl to blend. While the processor is running, slowly add 1/4 cup of water. Let the processor run for a minute. You want to stop when the dough forms a fairly dry, only slightly sticky ball. After a minute, if you don’t have the ball, start adding water, a few drops at a time, while the processor is running. (Be careful here – you can go from ‘not a ball’ to ‘ball that is too wet’ WAY fast, especially if the kids are adding the water. Just add a little more flour if it gets too wet.

Roll the ball out, using more flour to dust the dough as needed, to about 1/4 inch thin or thinner. Cut the dough using butter knives, cookie cutters, or pizza cutter into any size or shape you like, but try to keep the crackers roughly the same shape so they will bake evenly. Place crackers on the ungreased cookie sheets or directly on the baking stone and bake for 10-12 minutes.

These crackers can be made with any flavor idea in mind. Our favorite is to add a bit of honey and cinnamon. We have also chopped up garlic and topped with Parmesan cheese and salt. Enjoy!

P.S. This is the Bible Study I was referring to earlier!

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