Leonard knows a thing or two about crumbly Communion bread. Once at a religious retreat, he baked biscuits for the Eucharist. All over me. All over the church. You can be too creative.
Congregations usually stick to more substantial dough.
Leonard says his divinity school students often use flat pita bread because it's easy to pinch off and dip into the wine. Other churches, including Greensboro's First Lutheran on Friendly Avenue, use bread baked by members, or less frequently, small wafers for dipping. Lutherans believe in Real Presence, says the Rev. Brady Faggart, the church's retired senior pastor. That doctrine holds that Christ is present during Communion in a way that's beyond understanding, he says. Many use the same kind of loaf-bread a family might serve with dinner.