Editing Baking (section)

==Cultural and religious significance==
{{further|Bread#Cultural significance}}
[[File:Lob Жаворонки 95.jpg|thumb|Bird baked from bread on the [[March equinox]] to celebrate spring and the [[Forty Martyrs of Sebaste|forty martyrs]]]]
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - BAKING MATZOT AT KFAR CHABAD.jpg|thumb|Baking [[matzah|matzo]]t at [[Kfar Chabad]]]]
[[File:Suore Benedettine intente a produrre le crocette di Caltanissetta.jpg|thumb|upright|Benedictine Sisters of Caltanissetta producing the [[crocetta of Caltanissetta]]]]

Baking, especially of bread, holds special significance for many cultures. It is such a fundamental part of everyday food consumption that the children's [[nursery rhyme]] ''[[Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man]]'' takes baking as its subject. Baked goods are normally served at all kinds of [[party|parties]] and special attention is given to their quality at formal events. They are also one of the main components of a [[tea party]], including at nursery teas and high teas, a tradition which started in Victorian Britain, reportedly when [[Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford]] "grew tired of the sinking feeling which afflicted her every afternoon round 4 o'clock&nbsp;... In 1840, she plucked up courage and asked for a tray of tea, bread and butter, and cake to be brought to her room. Once she had formed the habit she found she could not break it, so spread it among her friends instead. As the century progressed, afternoon tea became increasingly elaborate."<ref name=Simpson>{{cite book|last=Simpson|first=Helen|title=The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea: The Art & Pleasures of Making Tea|year=1986|publisher=Angus & Robertson Publishers|location=London|isbn=0-207-15415-5|page=16}}</ref>

The Benedictine Sisters of the Benedictine Monastery of [[Caltanissetta]] baked a pastry called [[Crocetta of Caltanissetta]] (Cross of Caltanissetta). They used to be prepared for the [[Feast of the Cross|Holy Crucifix festivity]]. The monastery was situated next to the Church of the Holy Cross, from which these sweet pastries take the name.

For Jews, [[Matzah|matzo]] is a baked product of considerable religious and ritual significance. Baked matzah bread can be ground up and used in other dishes, such as [[gefilte fish]], and baked again. For Christians, bread has to be baked to be used as an essential component of the sacrament of the [[Eucharist]]. In the [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian]] tradition, baked bread in the form of birds is given to children to carry to the fields in a spring ceremony that celebrates the [[Forty Martyrs of Sebaste]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lark Buns (Zhavoronki) Recipe for the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste - St. Nektarios Orthodox Church of Lenoir City, TN {{!}} Bun, Lenoir city, Orthodox|url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/116460340340925924/|access-date=2021-04-29|website=Pinterest|language=en}}</ref>

[[Jesus]] defines himself as the “bread of life” (John 6:35). Divine “Grace” is called “bread of the strong” and preaching, religious teaching, the “bread of the word of God”. In [[Roman Catholicism]], the piece of blessed wax encased in a reliquary is the “sacred bread”. In Hebrew, [[Bethlehem]] means "the house of bread", and Christians see in the fact that Jesus was born (before moving to [[Nazareth]]) in a city of that name, the significance of his sacrifice via the Eucharist. The Eucharist is often interpreted as a connection to the Holy Spirit, a symbol of God’s love, and an invitation to reflect that love in service to others, providing strength for living out one’s faith.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stadulis |first=Janet K. |last2=Lahiff |first2=Maureen |last3=Wiltse |first3=Lydia |last4=Assero |first4=Nancy |last5=Mannion |first5=James-Patrick |last6=Laughlin |first6=Gabe |last7=de Nolasco |first7=Iliana |last8=Engels |first8=Aaron |date=July 2024 |title=What Does the Eucharist Mean to You? |url= |journal=U.S. Catholic |volume=89 |issue=7 |pages=33 |issn=0041-7548 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref>