Once upon a time, a congregation’s nuns would bake the communion wafers. They would mix equal parts white flour and pure water until a crepe-like batter formed; then they added yeast and salt. They would ladle the mixture onto a glorified waffle maker, rigged with flat griddle plates occasionally adorned with biblical symbols. They stacked the sheets into towers and they underwent a daylong drying process before cutting them into individual disks with a stamping machine.

What began as a ritual of breaking bread has transformed into the centerpiece of a religion. In this video, the filmmaker visits some of these nuns at a Carmelite monastery in the UK to explore how these communion wafers fill a certain kind of hunger.

If you are interested in more stories on belief, you might like Mysticism and Duality in the Peruvian Amazon.

If you like videos that give you insight on other places and people, try I Have a Small Heart (Japan).