Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle
For members of the Hofstra Bread Society, baking bread is a labor of loaf. The club, currently run through the Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College, centers around anything and everything related to bread, from baking it to discussing its larger societal impacts.
“Bread is such a unique food. It’s integral in holding communities together on [different] levels,” said sophomore sustainability studies major Natalie Correa. “There’s so much history behind it.”
Last fall Correa co-founded the club and currently runs the whole operation. Having had a passion for cooking as early as middle school, Correa learned how to bake bread when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and now hopes to pass along the skill to others.
“I love sharing that skill with people … especially with the common mindset of the typical American college student not really knowing how to cook,” she said.
“If you can get free food and you can learn something, especially a life skill, definitely come. This is something that you can use ongoing,” Correa added, encouraging people to join the Bread Society.
Their first event of the spring semester, held on Wednesday, Feb. 9, saw members making pretzels and casually debating topics like what defines bread. Questions like “is cake considered bread?” sparked conversation.
“It’s so interesting how we get this instant community around bread. Everyone feels like they belong,” said Nicholas Lucchetto, a freshman geography major, of his first event with the club.
In addition to the types of bread baked, Correa hopes to globalize Hofstra Bread Society discussions, exploring ideas of how bread differs and shapes communities and traditions around the world.
Correa also noted that she’s fascinated by bread’s impact on modern culture, from religious texts to pop music to the language we use every day.
“It’s so interesting just thinking about terms like ‘let’s get this bread,’ ‘make that dough’ or ‘let’s break bread together,’” she said.
The club hopes to continue offering a wide variety of events from baking-based ones to meetings outside of the kitchen. Last semester the Bread Society held a Thanksgiving potluck and an “Aladdin” movie night, discussing afterward the influence bread can have on someone’s livelihood and the narrative of a film.
“What I like most about the club is it’s always so laid back. It’s something that you can just go to and have fun and meet people and do something you normally wouldn’t be able to do,” said freshman political science major Kelly Barnes. “It’s very much a community-building thing.”
The club hopes to expand into an official, university-funded organization. While non-Honors College students are already welcome, Correa says they want to become as accessible as possible and share their love of bread with the community. They’re also looking for people to help form a club executive board and for other clubs interested in collaborating.
The Hofstra Bread Society hosts their next meeting on National Banana Bread Day, Wednesday, Feb. 23, with more club information found on their Instagram, @hofstrabreadsociety, or by email at [email protected].
“Natalie knows what she’s doing. She’s the right person to be leading this, and I’m so glad she put in the effort toward it,” Barnes said.
