St. Ezekiel Bread Caprese Toast

One thing that makes the prophet Ezekiel so interesting is the way that God had Ezekiel live out his prophesies. Known as “action prophesy,” Ezekiel didn’t simply speak the oracles of God, he enacted them! Beginning with his call, Ezekiel physically ate the scroll which the Lord gives him in order that he may go to the house of Israel and speak God’s word to them. And when it came to prophesying about Jerusalem’s fall, getting the message across wasn’t as simple as preaching about it, he had to live it out bodily:

To act out the siege of Jerusalem, God first commanded Ezekiel to acquire a brick and enrage on it the city of Jerusalem. Then, Ezekiel had to set up all of the siegeworks around the brick. But the very interesting part comes next when he is commanded to symbolize the number of days of punishment by laying on his side, first on his left side for 390 days, then on his right side for 40 days, each day representing a year of punishment for Israel and for Judah, respectively.

So what about Ezekiel bread? Well this comes into the action prophesy, too. In Ezekiel 4:9 the Lord commands Ezekiel to eat a barley cake made out of “barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them.” Here, we have the foundation of what is now popularly known as Ezekiel bread because for 390 days, (while laying on his side!) he ate bread made of sprouted grains and legumes.

Ezekiel Bread

The company Food for Life has taken inspiration from Ezekiel 4:9 and developed their very own Ezekiel bread. They note how when combined, these ingredients form a whole protein with all 9 essential amino acids and 18 total, making it a nutritionally rich option, even if one is not required to eat it on one’s side (or as Ezekiel 4 goes on to say, cook it over human waste!). If you still have an appetite left, you might consider making your own Ezekiel bread—we will leave a recipe here in case you want to attempt it!

However, the ingredients can be hard to track down at your standard grocery store, and while sprouting your own grains and legumes isn’t difficult, we offer you a beginner option of simply buying the bread and enjoying this simple variation of how you might prepare and enjoy it in honor of Ezekiel’s summer commemoration.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 slices Ezekiel bread, toasted

4 slices mozzarella cheese

Handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered

Fresh basil, shredded

Salt to taste

Instructions

1. To begin, prepare your balsamic reduction. Heat the balsamic vinegar in a pan over medium-high heat and simmer for 10 seconds. Remove from the heat and let cool and thicken. It should have a molasses-like consistency. If it is too thick, add more balsamic vinegar and heat until combined or if it is too runny, simmer again for a few seconds longer.
2. Assemble the rest by toasting the bread and layering on top the mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Add a pinch of salt over top top taste. Alternatively, you could assemble the toast with mozzarella and tomato and roast in the oven, remove, and finish off with the basil, balsamic reduction, and salt after roasting for a caprese melt!
3. Slice the toast diagonally to cut in half, serve, and enjoy!