Chas, I'm an earlier riser so I have often made bread and bagels and had the loaves out of the oven by 9:00. The baguette recipe I use does call for two risings before the final rise. So you need more time if you are starting the bread from scratch after you get up.

You might want to start the bread the day before and refrigerate. The dough needs a few hours to warm up so get up and take it out of the fridge two or three hours before shaping. You can always go back to bed for a while. Once you shape the baguettes they just take 30 to 40 minutes to rise (if your house is warm) and 20 minutes to bake.

~Ann

I've also made butterflake rolls or cinnamon rolls for breakfast and had them done before 9 am, so it's absolutely do-able.

I do use my bread machine to make whole grain breads too, I just let the machine do the work, knead and rise, then I bake the dough in the oven. So, you could set the bread machine to start in the morning, and it would be ready to shape, rise and bake the next morning when you want it.

Annie

You might want to keep in mind that communion bread is not for serious eating. Even if the loaf is presented in it's entire form and people tear off a piece, the piece is usually very small, less than the size of a quarter.
This is not snack time at church.

I am only saying this because there are many delicious breads that could be baked the day before, challah, for example, and still look and taste (even in a minute piece) wonderful and might save you the last minute hassle.

I have a very nice communion bread recipe, from my parents church (from the church cookbook).

Communion Bread

8 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pound butter slightly softened
Milk - enough to mix

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until finely crumbled. Add enough milk to make dough stick together, stirring just enough to mix, as for pie crust.

Roll out small portions to thickness of half dollar. Use a small bread and butter plate as a pattern to cut dough rounds. (You can tell this is an old recipe). Place on parchment paper that is cut round like the dough (they used typing paper).

Place on baking sheet, mark into small squares, cutting 3/4 way through the dough.

Bake at 300 degrees, do not brown. Cool, leave on paper till needed.

At the church, they marked it into small squares, that broke easily during communion. Probably got 20 or more pieces from each one.

I'm sure you could make it a square or rectangle or bigger circle. Our communion plates were round.

It has a good taste.

I thought communion bread was unleavened due to the passover meal they were celebrating.

It varies by church. Some use leavened and others do not.

/tricia

The Presbyterians I knew went with slightly leavened. I've seen churches use saltines and others use Wonder Bread.

I make the communion bread for our church and use a honey/whole wheat recipe that is actually called altar bread. It does have yeast. I've found that if I roll it out and use a biscuit cutter, the minister than can figure out just how many each little cake would serve. Our church is quite small, and the 'cakes' are broken into very small pieces. When I make a batch it is stored in the freezer at church.

I love having scraps left over as I can then fashion a small loaf for myself that I love warm with good Danish butter. I love the flavor of this bread.

I have made bread for varied church functions and they were the ones asking and certainly aware of what I usually make. However I didn't originally realize that it was for communion. It is also possible that they are planning some 'break bread together' ritual that does not involve the sacrament and DW although on the Vestry, misunderstood the plan.

We have a Nice Little Old Episcopal church that is very liberal for the upper bible belt. I suspect that whatever this is was 'cooked up' by the lay minister: the only lay minister in the Carolina diocese. I will check with Her, or Father Mundia who is Kenyan (like our president ;- ) but speaks with a British accent.