WW – Lammas Painted Bread

This past weekend was so ridiculously hot, and life was so ridiculously interesting, that my thoughts of doing a Lammas ritual disappeared faster than the ice on the back of my neck. However, I wanted to do something to mark the occasion, and since it was time to make another couple of loaves for the eldest, I figured it was a good time to try my hand at painted bread.

After a relatively brief Google search, I realized there are about a bazillion different ways to paint bread, so I decided to wing it. First, as I said, I got the loaves of Peasant Bread in the oven. While they were baking, I took about one-eighth of a teaspoon of purple food coloring (specifically, Wilton Icing Colors, Violet), and mixed it in a small glass bowl (I used an oyster/custard cup). I mixed it with a couple of drops of hot water, until it was dissolved and looked like slightly thick watercolor paint water. When the bread was fresh out of the oven, I used a small, pointed paintbrush I stole… errr, borrowed, from the youngest (something like the ones on the right side of this package), and painted runes for prosperity, good fortune, protection, and wealth. I added a few spirals and swirls to make it a bit more magical, and then popped them back in the still-warm oven for about five minutes to set the paint.

Here’s the finished product –

Have you ever painted bread? Do you have any recommendations for the next time I attempt painted bread? Please shout out in the comment section. Oh, and definitely post pictures of your own painted bread loaves – I’d love to see them!