Various breads, such as croissants are a delicious and easily made addition to breakfast, lunch, or dinner. | Photo courtesy of Bethany Linnenkohl

In John 6:35, “Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” With the metaphor used, the sustenance that allows each one of us to live, grow and prosper is found in the bread of life — Jesus Christ — who died on the cross so that we all may live eternally. Not only is the bread of life representative of our salvation, but it also contains every moment, choice and day being rooted in Jesus Christ. Through time, the bread of life is what sustains and nourishes each of us.

Many of you may have seen your mother or grandmother make their own bread and you know that it takes time. Finicky yeast, accurate temperatures, lots of kneading and waiting can cause making bread a hard task to undertake and ends up avoided by many. With time, effort, patience and maybe a couple of practice batches, hot rolls will soon be popping out of the oven. For your holiday season this year, try sweet dinner rolls and a personal favorite, rosemary garlic rolls.

Sweet dinner rolls

Ingredients
-1/2 cup warm water
-1/2 cup warm milk
-1/3 cup butter, softened
-1/3 cup white sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
-1 package active dry yeast
-1 egg
-1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions
1. On the stove or in the microwave, heat water, milk and 1/3 cup butter together until the temperature of the liquid is approximately 110 degrees. Combine sugar and salt in a bowl. Pour the hot liquid into the bowl and mix well. Add in the flour and yeast and mix until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Mix in the egg. At this point the dough should be slightly sticky but should maintain a solid shape.

1. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Place dough in medium greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover with clean, wet cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place for one hour. After the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down.
2. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, brush 1/4 cup melted butter over entire round. Cut each circle into eight wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with a wet paper towel and put in a warm place, let rise one hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Optional: Brush tops of rolls with an egg wash consisting of one egg and a tablespoon of milk.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes until golden.

Rosemary garlic rolls

Ingredients
-1 1/4 cup warm milk
-1 tablespoon butter, softened
-1 tablespoon white sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
-3 or 4 finely chopped cloves of garlic
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-1 package active dry yeast
-1 egg
-2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
1. On the stove or in the microwave, heat milk and 1 tablespoon butter together until the temperature of the liquid is approximately 110 degrees. Combine sugar, salt, finely chopped rosemary and garlic in a bowl. Pour the hot liquids into the bowl and mix well. Add in the flour and yeast and mix until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Mix in the egg. At this point the dough should be slightly sticky but should maintain a solid shape.

1. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Place dough in medium greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover with clean, wet cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place for one hour. After the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down.
2. Divide dough into equal round balls. Place dough on baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Cover with a wet paper towel and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover dough, and brush tops with 1 tablespoon melted butter or an egg wash as mentioned in the previous recipe. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until browned. Remove from pans; serve warm.

The bread of life is meant to be shared!