Life Lessons from Zwiebach

I've started a new family tradition - baking zwiebach (snowman) buns at Christmas.  For those of you who don't know what zwiebach is - its the best bun you'll ever taste - if they are built right.  My mom would bake zwiebach almost every week when I was young.  Some of you know what I'm talking about - the smell of fresh buns baking on Saturday morning while you're downstairs watching the Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Hour.  During the ads (no pvr back then) I would run upstairs and grab another bun or six.

Zwiebach were also a staple of faspa.  For those of you who don't know what faspa is, it was (and is) my favourite meal of the week.  Traditionally Sunday afternoon around 4:30-5:00, zwiebach, cold cuts, (remember liverwurst - key word being wurst) potato chips, cookies, pineapple squares etc. would come out on the table.  No scary vegetables and no better meal to enjoy as a kid.

My personal zwiebach tradition started last Christmas.  I thought it was time to make sure we didn't lose zwiebach forever now that my mom is turning 93 and no longer baking.  So I dug out the old recipe - you know the one where it says add flour till it feels right type of thing.  (who knows what zwiebach dough should feel like anyway?)  I borrowed the camp kitchens commercial mixer, and ended up with something more like zwiebricks than zwiebachs.  I don't think we finished eating all of them.

This year I decided to make everything at home.  After mixing and kneading (who knew kneading on the counter works better than kneading in the bowl?) my first batch "appeared" to turn out great.  Hot out of the oven they tasted glorious - but had a lingering taste I couldn't quite put my taste bud on.  As the zwiebach cooled down and after about five more buns slopped full with peanut butter I realized that they tasted too salty!  Not too, too salty, but salty enough that our local bird population has now experienced a traditional Mennonite bun - which is actually good because after all we are a Mennonite camp!

My second batch of zwiebach this Christmas turned out great.  I'm not sure if they will ever taste as good as my moms, but as a family we are making fast work of this batch filled with turkey leftovers and either gravy or salt and vinegar chips.  You're probably getting hungry reading this blog and are wondering if I actually have life lessons or if you should just stop reading and go to the fridge.  (I haven't even started on the peppermint cookies!)

The first lesson - even though I followed the recipe, I made a mistake and had to make the zwiebach again.  Its the same with life.  We will mess up.  No matter how hard we try to keep the rules and do the right thing we will have failures!  We need to keep trying and thankfully we have a God who loves us, forgives us and hasn't given up on us.  Paul writes in Phil 1:6, "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The second lesson - there are no short cuts in making zwiebach or in life.  Making zwiebach is a long process.  When it says wait for two hours to rise, it needs two hours to rise.  (Ken our cook here at camp actually uses the word "proofing" for rising - you learn something new every day)  Kneading all the lumps out takes time and effort.  Its the same with our life.  Life takes time.  Growing in Christ is a life long process.  How often have we prayed, "Lord please give me patience - now!"  We need to trust in God that He knows what is best for us and that His timing is perfect.


The third lesson - there are some scary ingredients in zwiebach.  My mom's recipe calls for a pound of fat.  You read that right - a pound of fat!  (I never once said these were healthy buns that help you lose weight, just that they taste great)  If you stopped halfway through the baking process and just started eating the ingredients by themselves, it would not taste good.  In fact I'm not sure I could sit down and eat a pound of fat - at least in one sitting.  There are also some scary parts in life.  If we just concentrate on those scary moments we can become overwhelmed or depressed.  But those scary moments are what makes us stronger and draw us closer to Christ.  We need to trust that God is in control.  Romans 8:29, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

The final lesson - I need to practice baking zwiebach.  If I only wait until next Christmas to bake zwiebach, I will have forgotten everything that I learned this year.  I will never be able to add flour until it feels right until I know what "feels right" feels like.  (if you read that slow enough it does make sense)  We've all heard the adage - practice makes perfect.  Its true.  I just have to think about Ken and his cinnamon buns here at camp.  I asked Ken if he just adds stuff till it feels right - and he does.  Ken's made cinnamon buns so many times, he knows exactly what he's doing because believe me, those are good cinnamon buns.

Our Christian walk needs practice and discipline.  We need to spend time regularly in prayer, we need to spend time every day in His Word.  As you look forward to 2016, may you have the courage to follow Christ more closely, spend significantly more time with Him and if you make lots of zwiebach, send some my way!

Bob "Ranger" Kroeker

That would be my mom's first selfie!