Rick Claus Bakes Bread To Benefit Local Charity

NanoSonic president Rick Claus tried his hand at making something other than nanocomposites. Instead of a laboratory, he worked in his own kitchen, mixing a little sugar, some flour, liquid and an important ingredient - baker’s yeast – that contains about 25 billion cells in just one gram. The result was a malleable dough that was shaped into loaves. All those cells in the dough converted fermentable sugars into carbon dioxide and ethanol – which made the dough expand or “rise” resulting in a delicious concoction that we call bread. The story of Rick’s baking event and his photo were featured in a wonderful local publication, Flavours Magazine, that provides a resource for finding, eating and enjoying locally-produced products around Giles County, Virginia.

Rick’s bread-baking, in addition to providing food and good smells, was also for a good cause. He was one of five bakers pitted against each other in Giles County, Virginia, for the “Loaves and Wishes” competition. The bakers created their favorite breads that were first judged and then auctioned to raise funds for a local charity, Community Foundation of the New River Valley. The breads created were judged by local food industry representatives, Shaena Muldoon of The Palisades Restaurant and Connie Kim of Kalbee Restaurant.

“Loaves & Wishes” takes its theme from the parable of “Loaves and Fishes” where a great many people were fed a full and nourishing meal created from a small basket of bread and fish. The premise of this event was to ‘nourish’ the local community through a culture of giving.

As an aside, baker’s yeast is often used in laboratories for chemical and biological research because it’s widely available and easy to culture. Sometimes it even makes the labs smell like baking bread.

Read the article in Flavours Magazine.
Photo of Rick Claus by Flavours Magazine.