I got a message yesterday that stopped me in my tracks.

⭐

🔥

Her name is Patt Stanaway. She’s 75 years old, a retired special education teacher from Michigan, and she’s been a member of this community since January 5th. In two months, she’s made 170 contributions to this community. Her activity grid is solid green. She shows up every single day.

Last week she took the Crust & Crumb Kids Academy pizza recipe from the Recipe Pantry into a classroom of children in Detroit.

Here’s part of what she wrote me:

“Today they thought kneading the dough was the best ever. At first, they were so gentle and I said no, put your body into it. Every five minutes they wanted to touch the dough to do the poke test. When one kid poked his dough he said look, it was ready. Pure joy when they saw their pizza. Was it perfect? Nope. But everyone said they loved everyone’s pizzas. The kids ate one piece and wanted to take the rest home to show it off.”

She also wrote this, and I want to be honest with you — it humbled me:

“At times I thought to myself, what would Henry do? You are a great teacher and I see your passion. I could see you getting to these kids’ level and guiding their hands, explaining the whys.”

Patt — you didn’t need me in that room. You had it. Thirty-plus years of special education teaching, a lifetime of knowing how children learn, and the instinct to let a kid put his whole body into kneading dough and figure out the poke test for himself.

That’s not my method. That’s yours.

But I’ll tell you what that message meant to me.

When I added the Crust & Crumb Kids Academy section to the Recipe Pantry, I was thinking about our members who bake with their grandchildren on weekends. I wasn’t thinking about a retired special ed teacher carrying these recipes into a Detroit classroom and watching a kid take his pizza home to show it off.

That’s bigger than what I imagined. That’s what this community can do when the right person picks it up and runs with it.

The Crust & Crumb Kids Academy section lives at pantry.bakinggreatbread.com. Personal Pan Pizza, Soft Pretzels, and Bread in a Bag are there right now.

More is coming.

And Patt — yes, we’re making Star Bread. Fall. I’ll have it ready for you.

~Henry

@Patt Stanaway

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