Simple Bread Science

Simple Bread Science

Getting your kidos to help you cook is the best! One way to engage them is to turn it into a science experiment. My favorite “experiment” is to make bread, since everything that goes into the dough has a purpose. To help get you started, I’ve outlined “what does what” in bread, in its simplest form.

Yeast – Yeast is actually thousands of tiny plant-life microorganisms! When we warm them up, give them moisture, and food, they grow and give off a gas called carbon dioxide. The gas is what makes the dough rise. Pretty cool right?

Flour – Flour has something called gluten in it. The gluten gives the bread its structure by trapping the gas produced by the yeast.

Liquids – Liquids give us different crusts. Water creates a harder crust and milk will make a softer crust.

Sugar – Sugar is what the yeast eats so it can grow and produce carbon dioxide. It also helps the crust brown and adds flavor.

Salt – Salt controls the growth of the yeast. We need just the right amount!

Fats – Fats, like butter, make the bread soft.

There you have it! Share this simple chemical reaction with your kids its fun! They might not even realize they are learning a bit of chemistry, which is the best way to teach them.