As the deep cold began to settle in last week, we welcomed a group of Hazen students and teachers into the warmth of the Community Room at the Food Hub for an all day baking workshop as part of Hazen's "Winter Wellness' program. Reeve Basom from CAE and Martha Machia from Salvation Farms planned the day in partnership with Hazen's community schools coordinator, Vaiva Velzis. 

Martha Machia leads the Hazen Baguette Workshop in the Community Room at the Food Hub | Reeve Basom

Students shake jars of cream into butter while dough rises | Reeve Basom

With a full day, a great kitchen space, and a baking expert (Martha!), the group was able to work through the full process of making baguettes from scratch.
While dough was rising, students shook jars of Butterworks Farm cream into butter and then added flavor with herbs, garlic, and honey. Several different kinds of bread were sampled with the butter, inviting more learning about the science of bread and helping kids get familiar with local bakeries like Elmore Mountain Bread, Patchwork Farm & Bakery, Baker's Bench, and Manghis' Bread. 

There was also time for touring the Food Hub and the Vermont Food Venture Center to learn about the food systems work of both CAE and Salvation Farms. We discussed how Just Cut and Salvation Farms products fit into school nutrition programs. Lucky timing provided a chance to taste some delicious plant-based protein morsels from Andrew Wild, a producer client at VFVC with his company Mighty Mudita. Students were also able to check out the Cabot Visitor's Center at the Yellow Barn. 

At the end of the day, the Food Hub smelled deliciously of fresh bread as gorgeous baguettes emerged from the Community Room ovens and students headed home with their artisan loaves to share, or not.


 

Delicious baguette loaves fresh out of the ovens | Reeve Basom

Thank you to everyone who helped make this day possible and we look forward to continuing to explore the potential of our new Community Room space to host place-based education activities!