Detroit’s Water War, Food Friday: Bread Baking, Teaching English Learners In Wausau

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When a wave of Hmong immigrants moved to Wausau, Wisconsin in the late 80s, many in the community struggled with how to accommodate so many non-native English speakers in Wausau’s schools. Veronica Rueckert and Rob Ferrett speak with the woman who spear-headed the district’s response. Then they bake fresh crusty bread for Food Friday and track the day’s news.

Featured in this Show

  • San Francisco Bread-Maker Shares His Love For Bread

    Baking bread might seem to be complicated, but a San Francisco bread-maker says anyone can make bread.

    Josey Baker just wrote a new book on how to make bread for people who’ve never made it before. The book is called “Josey Baker Bread: Get Baking, Make Awesome Bread, Share The Loaves.”

    Bread isn’t just a job for Baker though. He said he really loves making bread and that’s why he wrote the book.

    “I wanted to give other people … an experience like the one I had, which was falling in love with a new hobby,” Baker said.

    People shouldn’t be intimidated by making bread. Baker said all people need is bread flour, water, salt, yeast, a bowl, a loaf pan and some aluminum foil.

    Here are Baker’s tips for first-time bread-makers:

    • “You can’t rush bread,” Baker said. There’s no way around it. People have to wait for the dough to be ready. he said.
    • Meaure all ingredients by weight. Baker said it’s a much more accurate way to measure and it takes a lot of the guesswork out of making bread.
    • “Bake it bold,” Baker said. That means people should bake it darker than how most loaves of bread are cooked.
  • Detroit's Water Service Shutoff: A Human Rights Violation?

    Over the past year, the city of Detroit has cut water service to tens of thousands of residents in an effort to collect revenue lost in unpaid bills. Yesterday a group of Canadians trucked in hundreds of gallons of water to thirsty Detroit residents, saying access to water should be a human right. Is it?

  • Food Friday: Josey Baker Bread

    A bread enthusiast shares his advice for first-time bread-makers, as well as his favorite bread recipes, for this Food Friday.

  • Educator Looks Back On Her Work With Hmong Students In Wausau Schools

    Nell Anerson, of the Wausau school district, is credited with helping to build one of the best programs in the country for teaching foreign language-speaking students. She played an important roll in educating the wave of Hmong immigrants that created controversy in Wausau in the late 80s and early 90s. At the beginning of July she retired and now she looks back on her 30 year career.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Amanda Magnus Producer
  • Marika Suval Producer
  • Josey Baker Guest
  • Abayomi Azikiwe Guest

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