I've been a fan of Kendall Vanderslice's work and writing for more than six years and Bake & Pray feels like the perfect encapsulation of so much of that work. From the prayerful, meditative approach to baking a simple loaf of bread, to the more involved and complex flavours of the recipes to accompany various feasts and seasons of the liturgical calendar, this book is a gift. The prayers and liturgies are beautiful and even the most complex of the recipes is easy to follow., with Vanderslice walking her reader through each step of the bread's or pastry's development.

The book Bake and Pray by Kendall Vanderslice teaches readers about baking bread as well as how to connect it to prayer in a spiritual way. "In Bake and Pray you will get not only a practical understanding of how to bake bread, but also receive a deeper appreciation for the ways God can shape you in the process." As you knead the dough, you are reminded of the patience and care required in both baking and nurturing your spiritual life. The rising of the bread serves as a metaphor for personal growth and transformation, symbolizing how faith can elevate and expand one's inner self. Each step in the baking process invites mindfulness and reflection, allowing for moments of prayer and gratitude.

There are 5 sections to the book which include:





Mise en Place



Basics of Bread



A Liturgy for Bread Making



Recipes for the Church Year



Prayers for Every Occassion 

"All throughout Scripture, bread serves as a sign of God's blessing. It marks God's presence and provision, as well as God's promises to us. Bread is a narrative tool God uses to tell us the story of God's work in the world."

Bread is made with four basic ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. You can add more ingredients to make countless bread varieties. In part four of this book the author will share some of those recipes. Have you ever considered how these four basic ingredients carry spiritual symbolism. Flour represents the foundation of our faith, providing the essential structure upon which everything else is built. Water symbolizes the Holy Spirit, which brings life and movement to our spiritual journey. Yeast acts as a catalyst for growth, much like faith that transforms and expands within us. Salt signifies wisdom and preservation, adding depth and flavor to our spiritual lives.

"When we approach bread making similarily –– as liturgy rather than recipe –– we understanad that our task as bakers is to create a set of coonditions for us to invite the yeast to do its work. As we repeat the rhythms, bake after bake, we come to understand those conditions more and more. We learn to pay attention to the breat ifself and how it responds to the many variables within our own kitchens, and we slowly begin to understand its needs not just with our minds but with our noses and our hands as well."

Throughout the book there is attention brought to each area of bread making.





A Liturgy for Bread Baking, with Attention to Transformation



A Liturgy for Bread Baking, with Attention to Temperature



A Liturgy for Bread Baking, with Attention to Strength



A Liturgy for Bread Baking, with Attention to Rest



A Liturgy for Bread Baking, with Attention to Spiritual Formation



A Liturgy for Bread Baking, with Attention to Weaknesses Being Made Into Beauty



A Liturgy for Bread Baking

Throughout section four, recipes for all of the religious celebrations are included. Bread baking becomes a sacred practice when we view it as an act of worship and mindfulness. Each stage of the process, from kneading to rising, mirrors the spiritual disciplines of patience, perseverance, and transformation. As we engage with the ingredients and the dough, we are reminded of the divine mystery at work in our lives, shaping and molding us into something beautiful and nourishing.

Bake and Pray conveys so much more than I can convey here, but you get the idea of what the author is trying to convey.

Bake and Pray is a gorgeous book. It does three things--provide fantastic baking knowledge, connect that knowledge to liturgy, and then give all kinds of delicious bread-based recipes for the liturgical calendar--and it does them in such a kind way. This book meets you wherever you are in liturgical or bread baking skills and gives you what you need to grow. It's a cookbook for sure, but it also shows the way baking can grow our prayer life. I loved this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tyndale Momentum for the advanced copy.

I have been experimenting with bread making, so I thought this book would give me some insight into the chemistry of bread making and improve upon my practical knowledge. Bake & Pray went well beyond my questions and answered many more.

Subsequent to baking, the author suggests an unusual premise for bringing prayer into everyday tasks, such as bread making. I’m sure that some readers will find the idea intriguing and some will not understand it. To me, it is suggestive of Brother Lawrence, who sought the Lord all day in his menial kitchen tasks as a monk. Surely, God is there, waiting to commune with us at any time, in any task. To some, this way of baking with the addition of prayer will be foreign and seem outlandish; however, the practice of acknowledging and communing with God all through the day, and especially during our tasks, builds a much more intimate relationship with Him.

The baker/reader is led by way of recipes and prompted to pray certain scriptures while completing the steps within a start-to-finish liturgy model with attention to temperature, timing and rest, strength, and shaping…asking God to raise us up, give us rest and strength, and mold us, much like the Biblical analogy of potter and clay. These lessons can be applied to our lives as we pray through “baking as a spiritual practice throughout the year”.

Throughout the book, the author continues building upon what has already been taught so there is no need to go back to previous chapters. It’s all there right in front of you with additional thoughts and purposes for making bread along with seasonal bread recipes and prayers for every occasion.

Chapters include the equipment needed, basics of bread making, liturgy on bread making, specialty bread recipes for the church year, prayers for every occasion, journaling pages and a glossary of baking terms.

I love that the coloring for the book is an off-white paired with bread crust colored light brown. This coloring carries over to the illustrations by Rosanna Tasker.

I received this book from the author/publisher free of charge, with no expectation of a positive review.

While baking an "ordinary" loaf of bread, Kendall Vanderslice will guide you through reflections on provision and prayer as she makes connections between the process of baking and the presence of God in our everyday moments.

If you are a regular baker, perhaps Kendall can inspire you to add a the practice of prayer to your baking routine.

If you are not a regular baker but want to learn, Kendall's instructions and gentle guidance to trust yourself and the process are a lovely way to begin.

If you have a regular routine of prayer, perhaps this book can help you to add prayer into your daily routine in ways you haven't considered before.

If you don't feel confident in how you pray, let Kendall guide you with the liturgy and breath prayers that are the foundation of this book.

If you appreciate beautiful cookbooks, this is a wonderful addition to your collection.

If you are trying to support others - just in a neighborly way, or in a particular time of need - you may appreciate the recipes and the gentle way that Kendall reminds us that even if it's not "perfect," it is still good. Plus, you'll have a loaf of bread to enjoy or share.

This book is the book I have been dreaming would be written for the theology of bread baking. This seems to be what the author, Kendall Vanderslice, has been spending her life leading to since she determined that the spirituality of bread baking was her calling.
I have been fascinated by the connections between bread baking and my faith for years and this puts my thoughts and internal feelings about it into words that I can share with other.
She said all the things I wish I could have said and helped put meaning around things I had only scratched the surface with.
I loved the invitation to consider each of the steps of bread baking prayerfully and then the recipies featured for the various parts of the liturgical year are wonderful.
It is beautifully illustrated, well written and inviting.
The directions are easy to follow and she gives realistic expectations on the difficulty of each bread.
I love the introductions to each bread and the context placed around them within the liturgical season of the church year.
I was able to be a part of a preview group for this book and was able to read it before its officical publication date. I wanted to be a part of this launch team because all of what the author had created and written up to this time made me know this would be good. Kendall did not disappoint!

This is a phenomenal book! I really love how the author has laid out so many thoughtful, paced breath prayers and liturgies to literally use during the process of mixing and baking bread. It's wonderfully concrete for me in a wild, traumatic season of life. I've also been meaning to get back to bread making but haven't had the mental energy to figure out where to start again. Vanderslice's years of expertise teaching workshops to bakers of all levels mean she provides a really excellent, set plan.

I didn't know before reading it that the book also includes recipes for traditional breads from around the world for different parts of the church year! I will begin with the basics in ordinary time and look forward to trying some more special treats to explore new-to-me traditions.

I already have numerous people I plan to buy a copy for! I could not recommend it more highly.

I've been a fan of Kendall's for years now, and have enjoyed participating in her digital baking communities. This book is next level. It's exactly what I have wanted and needed to liturgize my baking as a spiritual practice. Beautiful theological reflections, prayers, meditations, and recipes. I can't wait until my hardcover copy comes in the mail after release day and I can bake through the lessons slowly as intended.

I really enjoyed reading this book. As an avid amateur baker I need all the tips I can get on baking bread! Kendall gave some great tips and really brought you through the process of baking bread. She also incorporated Scripture throughout the book to pray while making the bread. I especially loved the end where all the prayers and Scripture were. As for the 4 stars I would have liked more history on the different breads instead of a paragraph or two. Other than that I enjoyed reading it!


Thank you to NetGalley and Kendall for allowing me to read this book!

I received an advanced readers copy and now I am even more excited for the release of this book!!
Unfortunately this is the worst formatted advanced copy I have every seen, it was missing graphics, side bar text was intertwined into the main text. Cookbook and devotional books--formatting matters. ** I know the real copy is beautiful and look forward to that**--but NetGalley please take formatting into consideration.

I learned so much about the science of baking bread. And I was touched the metaphors and scriptural references to bread. For me, turning weakness into beauty--scoring is what allows the bread to rise was deeply meaningful.
This is part cookbook, part devotional, and part guide to traditional feast days (many I had never heard of!).
Everyone from the beginner baker to experienced craft bakers will find something in this book for them. And no matter where you are in your spiritual journey you will find nuggets in this book that will inspire you and broaden your understanding of the sacred.
My favorite parts were the collect prayers about making, baking and sharing the bread. I like that Kendall highlights each one of these movements as embodied prayer.

Kendall Vanderslice is done a very good cultural mandate by conneting his job as a breadmaker with the kingdom of God. He will teach you how to incorporate bread making into the rhythms of your busy life. I like this book, hope you too.

A wonderful meditation on baking and praying. Baking is something I do a lot, and I never thought about combining it with prayer! I loved the images in this book. The stories the writer shared were heartfelt and quite vulnerable. I also liked the recipes. I definitely will be doing a lot of baking and praying! This book is a great gift for anybody who loves baking and who feels guilty for indulging in hobbies, especially because they feel it's time that could be spent with the Lord. This verse of scripture summarises it quite well:
1 Corinthians 10:31; So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

This book surprised me in every possible way. I’m not sure what I expected. A sort of devotional perhaps? This was so much more. Vanderslice really looks at baking as a spiritual practice which seemed really beautiful and obvious. I can’t wait to purchase a copy.