Cooking With Kids1: Math & Chemistry

An adventure in the making. Nerve racking (what if they get hurt); frustrating (they work at their own pace, not yours); character building (you must hold back from taking over, they are cooking you are teaching); patience building ( bite your tongue and explain it one more time, demonstrate it one more time); exhausting (for me not for them they're energized [just like the bunny] they're taking dinner home to Mom & Dad. "Look what we did."). But an absolute mind blowing experience all around. And the kids are learning real world experiences that you can't learn on paper.

There's math in action, especially those dreaded fractions: teaspoons, tablespoons, 1/2 cups, cups, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup. And then when your cutting meat and vegetables there's halves, quarters, eighths, and that's just for starters.

When the meal is done there's division. The food must be divided into x amount of servings, maybe I should have seen should have say algebra and not division. ( In my case we divide into family's' mine and theirs then into servings.

Then there's that totally mind numbing geometry. We cut into cubes, triangles, strips, rings (who says they get to use my sharp knives I bought them a lettuce knife to use and it works great for the most things I cut the other stuff, other wise that's where the nerves come in & biting tongue {calgon take me away} & deep deep calming breaths and watch them like a hawk searching for it's prey), ovals and so on.

And finally you've got chemistry. The interaction of the ingredients. Liquids turning into solids as in cakes, cornbread, jello, and ice cream. and solids turning into liquids as in smoothies, melting ice cream, malts, jelly when you heat it the same for peanut butter it turns to liquid when you heat it

Now bread making that is pure chemistry in action.

Now you take a warm liquid and add a solid with a little sugar to feed it then stir until dissolved. Wait a few minutes then check your mixture see the bubbles, now we're cooking, we've got reaction. Add your liquid to some dry ingredients to make a very wet dough (don't put your hands in it yet it's way to sticky). Now we add more dry ingredients stirring and adding more dry ingredients, just until the mixture pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl. Now the fun begins, because you get to sprinkle some flour on a clean dry flat surface. Take the dough out of the bowl (yes you can use your hands now {you did wash them first didn't you}) and place it on the flour. We know we've already got chemistry working in our dough and what we're doing next , well let's say it's a little wake-up call (do not wash your mixing bowl you will need it again).

We're going to get a little push-me-pull-me action going. We're going to flatten our bowl of dough into a round disk about 1 inch thick or so. Now take the heel of your hand (back where your hand meets your wrist) and you're going to knead (push) the dough forward then fold the dough over onto itself and turn it 1/4 turn (when you look at the face of a clock starting at 12 the 3, 5, 9, and then 12 again would be 1/4 turns) then knead (push) the dough again, fold it over and turn 1/4 turn again. Keep this up until the dough is the dough is smooth and elastic (your recipe will state how many times to knead it and/or for how long).

Now you want to form the dough into a ball, and put some butter on your hands and rub them together. Now rub your hands gently all over that ball of dough, adding more butter to your hands if necessary. Next rub the inside of your mixing bowl with butter. Go ahead and use your hands if you want they already have butter on them. Place your buttered ball of dough inside your buttered mixing bowl. Now loosely cover your bowl with plastic wrap or a slightly dampened kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm area (not inside a hot oven or on top of a hot stove, or a hot burner) and let rise until doubled in size. (This is a good time to clean up after yourself.) This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour or so (check your recipe for rising times, cause it varies greatly for each recipe).

Now that your dough has risen you get to punch it down (yes I said punch) take your fist or your fingers and punch the dough (to deflate it only punch the dough once or twice) then depending on the recipe you either let the rise again or you get to shape your dough into rolls, loaf, or any other shape you desire (dough is the ultimate play-dough) or use it to make pizzas'. Now be sure and butter your hands again before you start to playing with the dough and also butter the baking pan the dough is going in. Be gentle with your dough it's not quite down working yet. After your dough is formed and in there respective baking pans cover them with plastic wrap or a slightly dampened kitchen towel again, and let rise again (yes, again but this is the last time) until doubled in size. (If you are making pizzas' you do not have to let the dough rise again, you can start making your pizzas'.).

Now bake according to recipe instructions, but check it before it's baking time is up. My bread always seems to get done before the timer buzzes. If the bread is golden brown in color it is generally in my case done. Check the bread to see by taping it gently with your finger (be careful it's hot {I said it was hot}) if it sounds hallow it's done. (By the way, have I mentioned how good your home now smells. Fresh baked bread has a aroma like no other. Inhale it to your hearts content. You created it.) Now after you've gotten your bread out of the oven, butter the top of your bread for a soft crust if you so desire.

Now take a warm roll or a slice of warm bread and butter it to your hearts content and enjoy. Nirvana. A drizzle of honey over the butter is also nirvana. Like I said bread is pure chemistry.

Now grab some kids yours, the neighbors, nieces & nephews, or your friends kids, cousins, who ever just grab some kids and get cooking. Wonder what my great niece and great nephews are doing this weekend?

My Garlic Casserole Bread

1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

2 packages Active Dry Yeast

1 cup warm milk

2 Tablespoons softened margarine

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar, divided

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons minced garlic, can use roasted garlic

4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups unsifted flour

Measure warm water into a large warm bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar; stir until dissolved.
Add milk, margarine, sugar, salt, and garlic.

Stir in 3 cups flour until well blended, about 1 minute. Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough. (Dough will start to pull away from the bowl.)

Sprinkle a little flour on a clean surface and knead the dough 3 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball.

Spread butter over the dough. Butter the inside of the mixing bowl. Place the dough into the bowl.

Cover; let rise in warm place free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.

Punch or stir down. Shape into rolls, 2 loaves of bread, 3 pizzas' (12 inch), or a loaf of focaccia bread.

Place into greased pans or pizza stones.

Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 35 minutes.

If making pizzas' do not rise again, just start to make your pizzas'. If you want you can precook the pizza dough 10 minutes before you make your pizza.
If making focaccia bread, with your fingers indent the surface of your dough then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with additional chopped garlic, and a little paprika, salt and pepper. You can use garlic powder on this if you desire or any seasonings you wish. If using fresh herbs use sparingly.

Bake at 375 degrees about 35 minutes for loaves and 25 minutes for rolls, or until golden in color.

This is a quick easy bread to make with your kids.

Hey anyone in the mood for spaghetti, this is the bread to serve with it.

Chief Cook & Bottle Washer