Bread

[Didymus]

I was learning how the bread to be offered during liturgies is baked the other day and what the pattern on it means and was wondering how this might differ between traditions.
Could some people please explain what their Church's bread looks like and what the significant features mean?
Thank you.
~~~
The Coptics bake round bread which is stamped with a circular stamp (as God is eternal).
In the middle of the circle is a cross on a square with four crosses little crosses in its corners (showing how the Gospel of Christ's death and ressurection would be preached in all the world).
To each side of the square there are two more little crosses on little squares (totalling 12 for the Apostles, ie 2x4+4).
Around the edge of the circle there are some words in Greek (Holy God, Holy Almighty, Holy Immortal).
The bread is pierced five times (to represent the five wounds of Christ).
An odd number is offered and each number has a meaning. (If an even number is baked then the baker gets to keep one!)

Of course there are also prayers and other details to go with this but I was just speaking of what the bread actually looks like right now.
~~~
So may I please ask how other traditions bake their bread?

[Αριστοκλής]

Here ya' go!

http://www.prosphora.org/

(I use, and give for gifts, the first Byzantine stamp shown under Prosphora Stamp Central. And our Pani's recipe).

[Didymus]

Thank you that seems most helpful 

[Thomas06]

Here ya' go!

http://www.prosphora.org/

(I use, and give for gifts, the first Byzantine stamp shown under Prosphora Stamp Central. And our Pani's recipe).

Thanks for that link.. I didn't know there were that many different designs!

[Tamara]

Thanks for that link.. I didn't know there were that many different designs!

I know Fr. George Aquaro personally. He is a wonderful Antiochian priest in so Cal. He is of Italian background and he continues to study the ancient designs of bread stamps from all of the Orthodox cultures. He is also the same priest who wrote the book on the evil eye, Death by Envy.
He taught me how to make prosphora and helped me refine my bread-making skills.
He continues to make bread stamps for feast days (Artos bread). I have several of these stamps but I still haven't tried the Artos recipe yet. His interest in the subject of liturgical bread recipes and stamps are helping us to reclaim our Orthodox heritage.
He is also a very cool guy if I can say that about a priest. 

[Thomas]

His Artos recipe is great, although best suited for small parishes or parishes that have less attendance at Litya or Atoclasia services. I have made it several times for our parish with great results. In Greek Parishes I have seen the Loaves as large as Green Style Prosphora loaves.

However, I can not vouch for the Artos stamps, I ordered mine  last November through our parish books store and have yet to get one of the three I ordered.  Father does note on his website that is has a delay of unspecified time, probably because now that he is a parish priest with his own parish he has too little time to spend making the stqmps.  I hope to get mine soon and when I do I will let you know how well they work.

Thomas

[Aristibule]

I'm unhappy with that website's page on "Western Communion Hosts" - most of it not being Western by any stretch, but simply some Modernist abuses. The local canons of the Western church (in Braganza) required the bread be whole, white, wheat, leavened, and round. So - one can either find the 'flat' hosts after those requirements made by Charis Bread for AWRV parishes. Our WRITE uses small Western hosts which are similiar in size to the Syrian qurban - they are about the size of a 'dinner roll' and are marked with a large cross (though I've seen some marked with the small seal IC XC NIKA.) In the Medieval period, there were also seals (still extant) used in Sarum and other local uses in Britain that had images of the Crucifixion, of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other Saints as well.

[Tamara]

His Artos recipe is great, although best suited for small parishes or parishes that have less attendance at Litya or Atoclasia services. I have made it several times for our parish with great results. In Greek Parishes I have seen the Loaves as large as Green Style Prosphora loaves.

However, I can not vouch for the Artos stamps, I ordered mine  last November through our parish books store and have yet to get one of the three I ordered.  Father does note on his website that is has a delay of unspecified time, probably because now that he is a parish priest with his own parish he has too little time to spend making the stqmps.  I hope to get mine soon and when I do I will let you know how well they work.

Thomas

He was assigned to a larger parish that had a priest who caused some turmoil. He has been very busy with calming the parish down. The bishop has visited several times to help him with the situation but sometimes episcopal visits can be demanding of a priest's time too. Many of his parishioners are immigrants from the middle east and believe me...they can be very demanding on the time they require from their priest.  Especially if they need to be calmed down LOL!
Fr. George speaks some Arabic and looks like an Arab too with his Italian appearance so he has been a good fit for them. But he said it will take some time to restore order and peace.
You could try emailing him directly in case your order was misplaced when he moved.

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