I still vividly remember the first time I attempted to make little Russian Prosphora loaves. When I handed the bag of finished bread to Fr. George, I said, "I was a little stressed out this past week."
He responded with a smile. "Well, that's obvious."
Truly, our inner state can show in our outer creations. Lord have mercy!
This past year, I visited a fellow Matushka to learn the mysteries of the little loaves. She surprised me when she pulled out some special stamps. How beautiful!
The priest uses five loaves for each Divine Liturgy, and one of them is for the Theotokos. So on special feasts, she takes the time to make separate loaves with the image of the Theotokos.
You see the three little deformed loaves below? That's what was leftover after rolling and cutting out the Holy Bread. She makes one wee loaf for each of her children. My children call these "testers" - to tell me if it turned out ok or not. "Mama, did you make a tester this time?"
The tops rise separately from the bottoms. It's not pictured, but they rise under a very wet dish towel. I was shocked at how wet!
Before placing the tops on, the bottoms get quite a water brushing. And then they really do have to sit for at least 10 minutes to glue together before baking.
I am beginning to learn that I better not try to make prosphora if I'm stressed out. And more importantly, that I need to ask for God's help as I'm going. And really mean it!
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