From all of us at Jesuit Refugee Service/USA – Happy Thanksgiving! This year has come with many unexepected challenges, but we are thankful to our supporters, friends, staff, and mostly importantly, the refugees we serve for demonstrating supreme resilience.

As you gather (virtually) with friends and family today, and break bread, here’s a recipe you may want to try! The recipe comes from Daniel. He is a skilled oven maker who fled to Zimbabwe from violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Daniel learned to bake through a JRS Zimbabwe livelihoods program, he was able to take the skill he had brought and the skill he had learned to earn an income and support his family. Daniel now runs his successful business from his home and even sales wholesale to local shops. He also makes wedding cakes upon request.

ingredients

• 8 and a half cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• +/- 1 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of margarine
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of yeast

How to prepare

• Mix flour with the yeast in a big basin
• Mix salt and sugar in a bucket of warm water, Stir until completely dissolved
• Pour liquid into the basin containing flour mix with yeast and mix well
• After 40-50 minutes start making the form of the bread you want
• Wait for the dough to raise completely
• After putting the dough in the trays you have to light your oven at high temperature as you wait for the dough to rise.
• Then put the temperature to normal
• Control the temperature carefully and keep checking until it is completely baked.