Teaching our children about healthy foods should start at an early age! As they grow and begin to develop their own habits tastes, and personalities a healthy style of living should be at their core. You can make this easy by teaching your child about the food groups, about what makes a healthy meal, and good drinking habits. Here are a few ideas to teach them about bread.

1)     Show children white flour and wheat flour. Explain how each are processed, and explain how the wheat flour still contains the parts of the wheat that are good for us.

2)     Make a bread collage – clip pictures of “good” whole grain, seeded, artisan and whole wheat breads.

3)     Visit a local bakery

4)     Play Hansel and Gretel hid and seek – let the children hide but have them leave a bread trail.

5)     Read the story of Little Red Hen

6)     Weigh different grains used for making bread.

7)     Involve their senses – homeschool education is at its peak when all of the senses are involved – blindfold them and let them feel the different grains of bread.

8)     Go to the grocery store and let them look at all the different types of bread. Have them point out the ones that are “healthy” breads.

9)     Make Bag Bread

3c flour / split with whole wheat and white/ use bread flour for best results

2 pkg of yeast

¼ c sugar

1 ½ t salt

1 ½ c warm water

4 tsp vegetable oil

In gallon size plastic zipper seal bag, place 1 ½ c flour dry yeast and salt. Close. Let the children mix the ingredients by shaking and working the bag with their fingers.

Add the oil and warm water to the ingredients in the bag. Reseal the bag, and demonstrate to the children how to mix the ingredients. Gradually add the remaining flour until the mixture forms a stiff ball.

Grease your hands with a solid vegetable oil. Remove the dough from the bag and place on slightly floured surface. Knead about 4 minutes. Small air pockets that appear as bubbles will form under the surface of the dough when it has been sufficiently kneaded. When they appear, let the children observe them.

Let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Grease two bread pans. Divide the dough in half. Shape into two loaves. Place each loaf in a greased bread pan. Cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise for an hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

10) Share your bread with a neighbor or friend!