Hunger continues to rise in the region

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New USDA numbers out this fall rank Vermont
14th highest in the nation for hunger.  Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Hunger affects more than 1 in 10 Vermont households – that’s nearly
27,000 households that are running out of food or don’t have enough food for an
active and healthy life. 
With more layoffs and Wall Street uncertainty expected this
year, area food shelves say the problem will only gotten worse.  We check in with leaders at organizations
across the state, including Christine Foster with the Vermont Foodbank, Melinda Bussino with the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center, and
Joanne Heidkamp with the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. (Listen)

Also, one Vermont
company that has found a unique way to combat hunger is King Arthur Flour.  Through its Life Skills Bread Baking Program,
they’ve taught more than 85,000 school children how to bake bread. In turn,
they’ve shared this bread with shelters for the homeless and local food
kitchens.  And now instructor Paula Gray
teaches us how to make a loaf of whole wheat. (Listen)

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Here It Is! The Basic Bread Recipe

Makes
2 loaves (Alert!!! This recipe takes about 3 1/2 hours to make.)

2 cups warm water (or 1
cup warm water + 1 cup warm milk)

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup)
sugar

1 packet Red Star Active
Dry Yeast

2 cups King Arthur 100%
Organic White Whole Wheat Flour

1 tablespoon salt

4 tablespoons vegetable
oil (or ½ stick soft butter)

4 cups King Arthur All-Purpose
Flour, plus extra for kneading

 

In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar,
yeast, and 2 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour. Cover mixture with
a clean towel and let stand 10 minutes until bubbly.

Stir in salt and vegetable oil (or butter,
if using).

Stir in King Arthur All-purpose Flour, 1
cup at a time. When the dough holds together and all flour is mixed in, plop
dough out onto a clean, floured surface.

With a little flour on your hands, knead
the dough. As you knead, sprinkle your hands or the work surface with just
enough flour to prevent sticking. After 5 minutes, take a break and let the
dough rest.

Scrape out the mixing bowl, and grease the
bottom and sides.

Knead the dough for a few more minutes. It
should feel springy and smooth. (When you lightly press into it with your
fingertips, it will bounce right back.) 
Put dough into the bowl and turn the dough over once. Cover the bowl
with plastic wrap and a clean towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place
until double in size, about 1½ hours.

Gently deflate the dough, and turn it out
onto a floured surface. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 loaves.

Grease a baking sheet; put your loaves on
it. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a clean towel and let the dough rise
again for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Carefully remove plastic wrap and slash the
tops of the loaves with a sharp knife. Bake the loaves for about 30 minutes
until the crust is golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the
bottom. Cool the bread on a rack. Enjoy!

© The King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. – 2006

 

 

AP Photo/Alden Pellett

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