Advent Art: Santa Lucia Day Baking

When I thought about my Advent Art project, I wasn't thinking that so much of it would be baking.  I wanted to branch out, to try other artistic mediums.  I've been making Advent breads and cookies for over 30 years now.

Here's a photo of the page of the 1980 Bon Appetit magazine where I first saw the recipe for Santa Lucia bread:

Maybe I need to broaden my thoughts about my creative projects.  On Sunday, my spouse and I went to our friend's house.  She suffered a devastating house fire, and on Sunday, we went to the house that she's renting while her old house is being restored.  We helped her sort through possessions and figure out where the salvaged items would fit into her new place.  When we left, her rental house felt more like a home than it has since she moved into it.

I didn't take pictures of that process, but I did take pictures of this morning's Santa Lucia Day breadbaking.  I started last night, so that I'd be further ahead this morning:

 This morning, I got the dough ready to be braided:

The bread braids before baking:

And after baking:

The Bon Appetit issue showed this photo layout of holiday breads:

Somewhat different than mine, I guess--but I've got a kitchen of tasty bread nonetheless!

For a more traditional meditation on the feast day of Santa Lucia, see this post from 2009, where I conclude, "So, happy Santa Lucia day! Have some special bread, drink a bracing hot beverage, and light the candles against the darkness. "