Saint Anthony the Great Orthodox Church

Saint Macrina Sisterhood is a fellowship of women in the church in which to grow spiritually with one another, care for the church and its parishioners, and provide community outreach to those in need. Nancy Smith serves as Coordinator and Rose Vranes serves as Treasurer, Vita Lundblade is Vice Coordinator, and Laura Farris is Secretary.

The sisterhood is responsible for baking the Prosphora and Litia bread. Classes for baking this bread are held periodically. Prayer and Icon for Breadmaking

By Hand or Mixer:

· 5 c flour

· ¼ tsp salt

· 1 pkg dry yeast

· 2 c warm water

Dissolve yeast in ½ cup warm water. Place flour with salt in bowl. Add yeast that has been dissolved in ½ cup warm water. Mix well adding 1 ½ warm water. Kneed 15-20 min until smooth.

Bread Machine:

· 3 c flour

· 1 tsp yeast

· 1 c water

· ¼ tsp salt

Place all in bread machine & put on Dough cycle.

Separate dough into 4 sections. Make 4 round loaves. Dip seal into flour and press hard on each loaf. Cover loaves with white cloth and let rise 45 min to 1 hour. Take a sharp knife and cut around the seal (about ¼ in deep). When ready to bake, prick with a toothpick around the top 5-6 times. Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Wrap in clean cloth while cooling so crust will soften.

Learning to make a Traditional Russian Food to prepare for Great Lent

Some members of the sisterhood enjoyed fellowship together while learning how to make 2 types of Blini for the recent Blini dinner we had on Forgiveness Sunday. With 4 very different Orthodox backgrounds, it made for day of grace and friendship we will always remember. Below are the recipes Larissa Moore, Jamie Armstrong, and Jennifer Baine humbly interpreted from Master Blini chef Zhanna Kovaleva's "from-scratch" process. They may require some doctoring since we probably didn't get everything exact.

Fluffy Blini:

1 ¼ c milk
1 ¼ c water
- Combine and warm in microwave slightly, then add
2 2/3 T sugar
2 pkgs yeast
1 2/3 c flour (all purpose)
- Mix with blender, adding flour gradually until it is a consistency of a thin yogurt or really thin pancake batter
- Let sit covered in a warm place until doubled in size. (about 30 min), then add
¾ - 1 c sugar
1 egg
1 T vegetable oil
½ c flour
- Mix and add flour until it is about twice as thick as it was before, a little thicker than pancake batter.
- Add grated apple or pumpkin if desired
- Fry in greased pan like a pancake.

Thin Blini:

4 eggs
Pinch of salt
¼ c sugar
1 ½ c milk (if sour milk, omit vinegar & baking powder)
1 ½ c water
¼ tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp vinegar
1 2/3 c flour (all purpose)
- Blend until consistency of thin pancake batter. Fry in small round skillet like a crepe.