FOOD
The Transformative Bread Goddess
Baking as Ritual
My Italian grandmother was a supreme cook. Her kitchen resonated with excitement and celebratory glee. My grandmother’s kitchen was a holiday in itself–the smell, the feel, the sight of her energetic back at the sink preparing the celebration meal filled me with joy.
At Easter, she baked and presented what she called the “Easter Baby.” As we arrived for Easter dinner she held it up for all to see: biscotti dough baked into the shape of a robust female, a glowing white egg cradled in her womb space. I stare at it, bewildered. The “baby” had two large rounded breasts adorned with white frosting, a large, silver, sugared bead placed on each tip. Nipples. Why was she calling it a baby?
Much later I learned about the ancient tradition of baking cakes to the “Queen of Heaven” and I was able to make some sense out of this tradition. My grandmother, a devout Catholic had passed on a Goddess-tradition whose true origins were long forgotten.
For a time I embraced this custom at its surface level, as a ritual carried out to honor the divine force envisioned as female. I began to bake my own Goddess each year with my daughter, passing along my very own Goddess traditions. I have since arrived at a deeper understanding of the relationship between baking and the…
