Materials
3/4 teaspoon (3.5 ml) yeast 3/4 cup (175 ml) warm water 1/8 cup (30 ml) vegetable oil 2/3 teaspoon (3 ml) salt2 cups (500 ml) flour, plus extra flour for kneading and rolling dough
Electric frying pan
Spatula2 cooling racks Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing bowl Wooden spoon
Recipe printed on large easel paper and placed on a wall for reference
Instructions
1. Plan this activity for a small group.
2. Gather all bread ingredients and utensils and place on the table before you invite the children to the activity. Ask the children to wash their hands.
3. Introduce the activity by talking about the recipe, ingredients, utensils and new vocabulary words.
4. Allow the children to measure the ingredients into the bowl, using the directions on the recipe card:Measure the yeast into the bowl. Add warm water and mix until yeast is dissolved. (Before they add the water, ask children to predict what will happen to the yeast.)Add the oil. Allow the children to observe the separation of the oil and water mixture anddescribe what they see. Stir. Add salt and stir, then add flour and stir.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and allow the children to knead the dough until it is smooth.
6. Separate the dough into five balls (the size of large eggs). Cover the balls and let them rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Ask the children to predict what will happen to the dough.
7. While the dough is rising, the children can help wash the cooking utensils and clean the table area, getting it ready for the next steps. The teacher can also read the story, Sitti's Secret by Naomi S. Nye.
8. Back at the table, flour the table space in front of each child and give each a ball of dough. Remind the children that this is not playdough, and it should not be played with at this point.
9. Preheat a dry electric frying pan to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) in a safe, well-supervised area.
10. Let the children roll out the dough to about 1/8 " (3 mm) thickness to form a circle about 7" (17.
5 cm).
11. The teacher places one dough round at a time into the preheated skillet, cooks it on one side for approximately 30 seconds, then flips it and cooks for another 30 seconds on the other side. If dough is thick, increase the cooking time.
12. Remove the bread from the skillet and place it on cooling rack. Repeat the process for the other dough balls.
13. Allow the children to eat the bread and ask them to compare the Syrian bread to the bread they eat at home. Talk about the smell, taste and texture of the bread.More to doLanguage: Let the children "write" their own recipes. Provide pencils, paper and a sample recipe book. Include magazines with food pictures that can be cut out and added to their recipes.More science: Place a drop of dissolved yeast on a dish. Use a magnifying glass to look at it. * Provide a variety of breads from different cultures. Let the children compare size, shape, color and texture of the breads. Break off a small piece of each, cover them and allow them to become moldy. Ask the children to predict which bread will mold first. Make a graph to chart their votes. Develop another chart to graph actual results. Compare charts. Talk about the fact that certain ingredients may hinder molding.
