Bakewell Farm Presents “Bread for Each Other”

Local nonprofit Bakewell Farm (BWF) celebrated the benefits of healthy bread at the “Bread for Each Other” presentation during the Adams County Heritage Festival, held Sunday afternoon at the Gettysburg rec park.

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Volunteer Sarah Stokely at the “Knead to Know” station

The educational event included hands-on demonstrations coordinated by dozens of BWF volunteers – each experts in some aspect of bread and bread-making. The theme of the event was “finding common ground; regional bakers, bread, and more.”

Monique Washirapunya, owner and pâtissière of Gateau Monique in Littlestown, displayed her cakes and pastries and talked about the importance of nutrition in desserts and snacks. She provided a recipe for single-bowl oat bars that could be made in advance, for instance for sporting or other events. The bars are “kid-friendly” and “allergy-friendly,” she said. Washirapunya said her products are made from local ingredients and that she worked with local suppliers with the goal of “bringing people together.”

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Jayne Hench displayed techniques of kneading dough using a “faux-dough” made from modeling clay and “slime”. Hench said kids enjoyed learning to knead and that it was a “relaxing thing to do.” The “surface tension is important; a taught exterior helps the dough keep its shape,” she said. “Be firm but treat the dough with respect; it’s a living thing.”

Outside the building Elisha Young, representing the Lion Potter in Gettysburg helped children make flatbread on a grill. The demonstration underlined the principles of bread-making, in this case without using any yeast.

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Young

During her presentation on “Whole Grain Truth,” Rayna Cooper, MS, RND, LDN, talked about the harmful health consequences of processed bread. She explained how flours, including rice, corn and wheat, began to be refined in the early part of the 20th century by removing the dark germ. The resulting breads were white, but the wheat germ that contains the nutrients were “stripped out.”

Cooper noted that procedures were then developed to return nutrients, including B vitamins and iron, back into the bread. Folic acid was reintroduced to processed bread in the 1990s.

But Cooper said the replacement process was not always successful and “we’re finding new conditions that are caused by refined bread.” There are “still areas where the refined grain is less nutritious.”

During the “Brick Oven Basics” presentation, Gettysburg High School physics teacher Eric Withers used the operation of the portable brick oven to explain physics principles, including conduction, convection, radiation, reflection, and refraction. Sixteen students from his classes attended the event with him.

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The Portable Brick Oven

“The oven was used as an illustration of physics,” said Marc Jalbert, BWF founder.

Kevin McGrath from McGrath Bakehouse in Mechanicsburg said that his bakery relies on small-scale production using whole grains, sourdough leavening, and brick oven baking. The brick oven, he said, is a “sustainable way of providing heat.”

Bread baking started thousands of years ago with sourdough he said. Although using sourdough sometimes “frustrates bakers,” there are many health benefits of using sourdough starter in bread-making. Sourdough “neutralizes acids and releases minerals,” he said.”

“A lot of people who are gluten-intolerant can eat sourdough bread.” Sourdough bread is also better for diabetic patients because it “doesn’t spike their glucose levels; Sourdough is the only bread some people can eat,” he said.

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McGrath

Jalbert said he was pleased with the event. “It’s working the way I hoped it would; a goal would be to repeat it next year and involve even more participants.”

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Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.

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