The Pioneer Day holiday inspired me to refocus school a bit for this particular week. I decided to talk to the kids about what life might have been like in pioneer times. We discussed the trek across the country. We talked about the terrain they covered. We discussed how they traveled, by wagon and handcart. We talked about the dangers of the land and the dangers of illness, etc. We talked about what they might have packed in their wagons and what they would have had to leave behind. And we talked about what they might have eaten, and how they might have prepared it. Then we focused in on BREAD AND BUTTER. We talked about how yeast worked. We did a yeast experiment. We made homemade bread. We made butter from cream. We toured a local bakery. And at the end of it all...this is what the kids had to say.
Seth: Pioneers bought oxen and cattle. They made butter. They made their clothes. They brought blankets and rope in their wagons. They walked across America and they left where the bad guys were hurting them and went far away from them. Yeast makes bread rise. If you don't push the air out of bread, it will build a big hole in the bread.
Hannah: The Pioneers traveled across America. They made their own butter and bread. We celebrate them on Pioneer Day. They carried their supplies on handcarts or wagons. Yeast rises and if you don't knead the air out, there would be a big hole in your bread. (they steal ideas from each other, obviously...)
Here is our yeast experiment. All three glasses had cornmeal in them. The first had only cornmeal and water. The second had cornmeal, baking soda and water, and the last had cornmeal, yeast, and water. We watched them for 20 minutes. In the meantime...
We mixed up some dough:
And kneaded it. (I used to be a Kneader at Great Harvest Bread Company...I find kneading to be fun and relaxing. My kids enjoyed it as well. You could say that kneading is in their blood ;)
By this time, our glasses looked like this. We talked about how the second glass obviously had seen a chemical reaction, but no growth. The third glass had grown due to the yeast, and obviously...the first glass just looked like cornmeal in water. Easy peasy. They could really picture what was going on within the bread dough.
While we waited for the dough to rise...we took cream and put it in jars and shook it like crazy!
It turned creamy and thick...
Then suddenly, the butter separates from the whey...and makes a big thunk! Pour off the whey and you have homemade butter. (I did add a little salt to flavor it, but not a lot).
Before long, our bread was ready to go into the oven:
And finally! Bread and Butter! They look proud, right?
OK, onto the field trip. I scheduled a visit to a local bakery. But they didn't do tours for less than 20 kids. So I called up a bunch of friends, and they all showed up! Yay! We made quite the crew. But the kids were all really good. I think they had fun. I hope so, anyway!A funny note...when we were all listening to the tour guide, Brett, give us instructions on not touching things and trying not to get dirty...he asked if there were any questions or comments. Seth's little buddy, Alex, piped up with, "I can see China from here!" Man, kids rock!
The tour started with the kids seeing the big mixing bowls. They are huge! To give a little perspective...they are big enough that when I worked at this bakery, years ago...we decided to see if it was big enough for me to fit in with the lid on. It was. I know because I climbed inside and a customer came into the store, and I had to stay in there until the customer left. Nice. Anyway...they are big. Brett told them that sometimes he comes in and fills them up with Captain Crunch and eats until he's sick. They thought that was pretty funny!
He told them that he was going to make bread dough as fast as he could. In fact, he was attempting a world record.
Thanks to Heidi for this photo...I hijacked it off her blog! He made his blob of dough in 36 seconds! Using flour, water, honey, and salt. Of course the yeast is also a factor when they are making real dough...
Here is what a full batch of Honey Whole Wheat looks like:(another note...when I was working there...I could lift a 3/4 batch of dough from the bowl onto the table...by myself. It is not for the faint of heart, though...if the weight of the dough doesn't kill you...the smell of yeast as you pull the dough from the sides of the bowl will!)
Here they are separating the dough into loaves and kneading it. 
Onto the oven. When he opened the doors, Maxine yelled, "It's like a ferris wheel for bread!" The shelves inside the oven rotate around just like a ferris wheel. Bennet also noted that the oven felt about as hot as it is outside. hehe. It *is* pretty hot out there!
We can sure fill up a bakery!
Here are the breads rising and waiting for their turn in the oven!
And here's Bennet enjoying his slice. My kids wouldn't pose for a picture, but Bennet would. Thanks, Buddy!
Thanks to Beka, Amy, Jamie, Shauna, Angie, Shelly, Chantel and Heidi for bringing your kiddos and making it so that we had enough kids for a tour. It was fun!Next week: Weather!
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