St. Ignatius Rhodope Kolaks

History

As we mentioned in our larger post about St. Ignatius of Antioch, he is best known because of his seven letters that we wrote on his way to his execution in the Roman arena. Ignatius’ sentence was clear: death by beasts, a fate that he shared with many other Christians of his day under Emperor Trajan. Yet Ignatius did not shy away from this reality but instead begged that no one would keep him from it! In doing so, he likened himself to a loaf made up of fine wheat that must first be crushed and ground to be made into flour, baked, and after all this offers a pleasing aroma. He writes in his epistle to the Romans:

“I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by [beasts’] teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread…. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life.” “Within me is the living water that says, deep inside me, ‘Come to the Father!’ I no longer take pleasure in perishable food… I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ … and for drink I crave his Blood, which is love that cannot perish.”

In Bulgaria, St. Ignatius’ Day is celebrated with great festivity. This is in part due to the fact that they commemorate the saint on December 20^th (while the Lutheran church observes the October 17^th date). This date also marks the beginning of the Bulgarian New Year festivities, which include their own superstitious customs (such as determining the family’s fortune for the year by whether the first guest through the door is a lucky or unlucky person and tossing a corn/nut mixture into the stove to ensure success of the harvest that year), but some traditions grew out of the Christian feast day “Ignazhden,” or Ignatius’ Day.

Rhodope Kolaks

In Bulgaria, the foods eaten on Ignazhden are to be meatless. As a result, breads stand as a popular feature of this day, including the round cakes called Rhodope Kolaks. The cakes were prepared early in the morning, one for each member of the family. These “rings” most closely resemble an english muffin and, topped with butter and honey, are completely irresistible! When making the cakes, whether using store-bought or home-milled flour, you can remember the imagery that Ignatius used. While he was literally ground by the teeth of beasts, each Christian is refined and ground like wheat, whether by beasts or by other perils of this life. May we share faith like Ignatius’:

“Now is the moment I am beginning to be a disciple. May nothing seen or unseen begrudge me making my way to Jesus Christ. Come fire, cross, battling with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body, cruel tortures of the devil – only let me get to Jesus Christ!”

Ingredients

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon yeast

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

1. Heat the milk until it is warm to the touch but not hot. Add the yeast and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
2. Add in the salt and eggs and mix until combined. Next, whisk in the flour using a wooden spoon. Cover the dough and let it rest for one hour.
3. After an hour has gone by, mix the dough again and let it rest once more for 30 minutes.
4. After 30 minutes, heat your skillet or griddle over medium heat and grease the pan with a little bit of butter.
5. Spoon the dough out onto the pre-heated skillet, spreading out the dough on the skillet as best as possible to form english-muffin sized circles. Allow the cakes to cook for 1-2 minutes on one side, flip, and finish cooking until the cake is golden brown on each side and done in the middle.
6. Remove from the skillet and serve fresh with butter and honey or at room temperature for up to a week.

References:
1. https://www.omda.bg/public/engl/cook/Ignajden.htm