Meet God with your hands in dough.
From God’s provision of manna in the wilderness to Jesus’ miraculous multiplication of loaves, bread functions throughout Scripture as a sign of God’s presence and provision. As a professional baker and practical theologian, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the connection between the dough that clung to my hands at work and the bread blessed and pressed into my palm at church, ultimately seeing that they both were tangible reminders that God was with me and that God cared.
The Bake & Pray™ method focuses on learning breadmaking in terms of liturgy rather than recipe, allowing the rhythms of rest and repetition to shape the baker as the baker shapes their bread. Whether a sourdough master or scared of yeast, Bake & Pray™ will open your eyes to God’s gift of bread in a new way—you’ll never bake or break a loaf the same way again.
Bake & Pray: Liturgies and Recipes for Baking Bread as a Spiritual Practice
Weaving baking science and technique together with theological reflections drawn from a wide range of Christian traditions, this book will:
teach you how to incorporate bread making into the rhythms of your busy life
reveal the ins-and-outs of bread baking while unlocking the spiritual parallels woven into each loaf
provide breadmaking liturgies and historical recipes to bake through a variety of liturgical holidays and seasons
show how to incorporate baking as a form of prayer in our lives.
As you follow the steps to bake bread―whether you are a lifelong baker or intimidated by the thought of yeast―you will learn something about the character of God and the life of faith. In Bake & 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.
Order Bake & Pray from any of these retailers!
Video Companion
Need some visual support as you learn to bake bread?
Check out the Bake & Pray™ video companion. These six video lessons pair with the lessons in the book, providing you with additional guidance as you learn to read the needs of your dough.
Bake & Pray™ Workshop
I developed the Bake & Pray™ method in 2016 as a way to teach others to meet God through the process of baking bread. In the years since, I’ve led workshops and retreats at churches, schools, and retreat centers all over North America. There’s no greater joy than seeing the look on someone’s face when they realize that they can make a loaf of bread!
My signature Bake & Pray™ Workshop is available in four different formats:
2-hour virtual event
3-hour in-person event
Full day in-person retreat
3-day in-person retreat
Learning to bake bread is all about learning the relationship between tension and rest.
During the Bake & Pray™ workshop, we learn how to slow down, get out of our minds and into our bodies, and bake bread as a form of prayer.
This workshop is perfect for youth groups, small groups, church wide retreats, leadership teams, and clergy rest and renewal.
“Kendall exceeded our expectations! So informative, so fun, and completely hands-on. We laughed and several times teared up over the beauty of the One who is the Bread of Life.”
—Beth Moore, speaker, author, and Bible teacher
Find an instructor near you.
Can’t bring Kendall to your church or school?
Our Bake & Pray™ facilitator training program allows home bakers to learn the ins and outs of teaching the Bake & Pray™ method, providing them with a license to lead workshops and retreats.
Email an instructor directly to learn more about their pricing and availability.
Eastern North Carolina: Coleen Starling
Virginia: Maria Niechwiadowicz
New Jersey: Allison Hampson
Toronto, Ontario: Anne Pietropaolo
Southern California: Tabitha McDuffee
