We live in interesting times. In these interesting times I sometimes find myself with routine and commonplace responsibilities. Like looking after grandchildren.
My goal today is to try and
educate my grandchildren. I want them to learn something useful.
I wait for a brief pause in
their chattering and say: Today’s lesson will be making bread.
They are ecstatic. We measure
out five cups of flour. Mainly whole grain flour with a smidgen of gluten
flour. I place 500 ml of water in the microwave for about 40 seconds. I guide
them as they add a tablespoon of dry yeast, a tablespoon of sugar and a
teaspoon of salt to the tepid water.
They can now do something
they love. Mixing ingredients. They continue whisking as I add a couple of
teaspoons of olive oil. They then pour
the liquid into the flour and stir it with a knife. We have to get the right
consistency. We want a ball of dough
that we can knead. If it’s too wet then
we will have to dip the ball of dough into flour. If the dough is too dry then
we will have to add water.
We finally get the dough at
what I think is the right consistency.
It is now time to knead. The kids love kneading. Well so do I. We help
each other to knead the dough. We roll
and roll the dough until it starts to develop some elasticity. So that it hangs together. I ask them to
imagine bubble gum bread. After about ten minutes we place the dough in a bowl.
On top we place some glad wrap and a tea towel.
I ask them were should we put
the bowl. They suggest in the sunlight where I normally put it. Time for a
quick science lesson. I talk about the yeast. An organism that lives and grows
in the dough. Yeast lives in water. It grows bigger and bigger then divides.
The temperature of the water affects the speed at which this occurs. Yeast eats
sugar and gives off gas as a by-product. The gas forms bubbles causing the
dough to become bigger. They think the idea of eating food followed by gas
hilarious.
A few hours later I say: Time
to attack the dough.
We punch it, assault it and
knock all the gas out of it. They find the idea of removing gas by punching is
very funny. I now divide and separate the dough.
Kay says: Her piece is bigger
than mine.
I immediately give her a bit
of flour from my lump. We all knead our
lumps of dough. None of their finished lumps look perfectly symmetrical and
neat. They all look better. Homemade and unique.
The lesson continues with
art. I ask them to make their roll look
beautiful. Decorate your roll. They all put their initials on their roll. One adds sesame seeds. The other adds poppy
seeds and an almond.
Kay says to me: Why don’t you
put your initials on your loaf?
Gertrude says: He doesn’t
know how to. He’s brain damaged.
I ask them to, without
playing, find a tray and a tin. They put their rolls on the tray and I put my
loaf in the tin. We now wait for the dough to rise for a second time. When it
doubles in size, we can cook it. I open the hot oven and carefully watch as
they place the tray in the oven. I ask them to look at the clock and tell me
where the big hand will be in twenty minutes.
The lesson continues with a
new topic: Why does a loaf of bread take longer to cook than a smaller roll? We
discuss this and after twenty minutes I ask them to stand back as I take out
the rolls.
The lesson continues with
plating up of food.
I ask them: What do you want
on your bread?
Gertrude knows that she
always has margarine on her roll. Kay knows that she always has honey and jam
on her roll. They both know how to prepare their roll correctly. The lesson
finishes when they eat their freshly cooked and buttered roll. They pass with
honours.
Basic Facts
Ingredients:
Flour: 3/4/5 cups. 250ml per
cup.
Tepid Water: Body temperature.
100ml of water per cup of flour.
Dried yeast: Tablespoon
Bread improver: Half teaspoon
Sugar: Tablespoon
Salt: Teaspoon
Oil: Tablespoon per cup of
flour. Nut Oil or Olive Oil.
Mix ingredients. Knead until
a warm dough.
Let stand until about twice
as big. About 2/3 hours.
Knock back.
Place in tins.
Let rise for second time. About
15 minutes.
Cook in pre-heated oven.
45 minutes at 175 Degrees C.
