- Hello- I’m Herbert, a North Pole gnome. I love this time of year when all the things we love in nature have a special place in celebrations. A few days ago all us North Pole gnomes celebrated the Winter Solstice! It might be the longest night of the year, but we made some sun bread to remind us that the sun always pops back up and will warm our days up again soon. Even during the coldest winter days, I like to find sun beams glistening off icicles and making wonderful shadows (gnomes like to list two heights, how tall they are, and their tallest possible shadow! Try measuring you shadow at different times of the day and see if yours grows and shrinks during the day!). Another fun activity to do this time of year is to make your own sun bread. You can make whatever face you like on your sun bread using dough, us gnomes also like to add spirals and triangles along edge, since thinner bits of dough making the rays might burn. But, experiment and see what fun designs you can make to let the sun know you appreciate all the sun shine it sends! this recipe is from a human book, Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven, a great winter read for kids, especially while eating this bread! (even if little helpers make the sun slightly evil looking, he still tastes great! Little known fact, gnomes use their thick eyebrows to hold onto their hats! Eyebrow power!)
sun bread
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbs sugar
- 2 c flour
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 2 packs yeast
- 3 tbs milk
Instructions
- mix the milk with the yeast for 5 minutes until foamy
- mix eggs and sugar.
- mix flour and melted butter, then combine with eggs and sugar
- stir in yeast then knead for 9 minutes
- place dough in greased bowl, cover with towel and place in the sun for one hour (it will double in size)
- punch it down, knead for a few minutes and divide into two balls
- flatten one ball into a face for the sun, use the other ball as decorations, eyebrows, swirls and triangles around the sun, poke eyes and mouth using a greased wooden spoon handle
- cover with towel, place in sun again for an hour
- bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, rotating once if your oven is uneven
Notes
from the book sun bread by elisa kleven