Baking yeast breads isn’t just a satisfying pastime – it’s also a valuable life skill. We’re halfway through our screen-free summer life skills bingo with baking yeast breads with kids, courtesy of Kimberly at Wildflower Four. 

I have such fond memories of baking with my grandmother and of seeing the dozen or so loaves of bread rising on my grandparent’s kitchen table. The smell of freshly baked bread brings me back to their kitchen every time and to the love and warmth I felt there. I am so grateful to have learned the skill of baking and I hope to pass that skill on to my children.

My children love to help me in the kitchen. Baking is one of our favorite things to do, especially when we are stuck inside on a rainy day. It’s so satisfying for all of us to take a few simple ingredients and turn them into something hearty and delicious.

A couple of our go to baking items are yeast breads and quick breads.

Yeast Breads

Just as the name suggests, yeast breads are breads made with yeast, such as sandwich bread, French baguettes, dinner rolls, or pizza dough. They require mixing, kneading, rising, and baking, which means you need several hours to complete the recipe.

Once you become comfortable with working with yeast dough, you can add whole grains, seeds or herbs. The possibilities are endless!

No matter what shape bread you make or which ingredients you add to it, there’s nothing better than a piece of warm, crusty bread straight from oven, slathered with butter or dipped in extra virgin olive oil. And my children agree!

Quick Breads

Quick breads on the other hand, are not made with yeast, and therefore only require mixing and baking. Quick breads usually contain fruit and/or spices such as bananas, blueberries, or cinnamon. A quick bread recipe can be baked into large loaves, mini loaves or muffins.

I like to make quick breads even quicker by creating my own baking mixes with the dry ingredients of our best-loved recipes. This is a great project for kids to help with in the kitchen on days when it just too hot to turn the oven on.

Invite Your Children To Help In The Kitchen

It rained most of the day today, so I asked my children to join me in the kitchen. We spent the afternoon making two loaves of yeast bread and one loaf of applesauce bread.

My children helped read through the recipe to determine which ingredients and tools we needed. They searched the cupboards, drawers, and refrigerator for necessary items. They helped measure, pour, stir, and knead. We talked about fractions and chemical reactions. We enjoyed the fruits of our labor. It was a good day! 🙂

My favorite yeast bread is a modified version of a recipe that my oldest son learned to make in 6th grade. It is delicious and versatile.

Basic Yeast Bread {Makes 2 loaves}

Ingredients

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
6 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and tops of loaves

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar, yeast, and 2 cups flour. Mix until combined.

2. Let mixture rest for about 5 minutes until bubbles form on surface. Stir in 1 cup flour.

3. Stir in salt and olive oil until combined.

4. Add 2 cups flour and stir until combined. Dough will be sticky. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour over top of dough. Flip dough over in bowl and sprinkle another 1/4 cup over dough.

5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Adding a little at a time, use up to 1/2 cup of flour to keep dough from sticking to your work surface or your hands.

6. Let dough rest for 5 minutes.

7. Knead dough for 3 more minutes. Shape dough into a ball. Oil the inside of your bowl and place dough in bowl and turn once to coat it with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place bowl in a warm spot for 90 minutes. Dough should double in size. (Tip: If your kitchen is cold or drafty, turn on oven for 30 seconds. Place bowl in warmed oven for recommended time.)

8. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and using your fingertips carefully deflate dough. Divide dough into two pieces and shape into to loaves.

9. Place loaves on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise for 30 minutes.

10. Preheat oven to 375F. Remove plastic wrap from loaves. Make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts in each loaf with a serrated knife. Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

11. Carefully transfer loaves to cooling rack.

While the dough was rising for 90 minutes we made a quick bread recipe that my family has loved for years. My youngest daughter has a milk allergy and I recently modified the recipe to be dairy free and it’s just as delicious as the original recipe.

Applesauce Bread {Makes 1 loaf or 12 muffins}

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl mix dry ingredients.

2. Add applesauce and eggs. Mix until well combined.

3. Add coconut oil and mix well.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. For loaf: Grease loaf pan or line loaf pan with parchment paper and pour batter in. Bake for 45 – 55 minutes. For muffins: Line muffin tin with paper liners. Bake for 15 minutes. (To test if loaf or muffins are done, insert a toothpick into center of loaf or muffin. If toothpick does not come out clean, continue baking, testing every 1 – 2 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.)

5. Cool loaf in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to continue cooling.

The next time you decide to bake something, invite your children to join you! I promise they will enjoy it and you will be making wonderful memories together!

God bless and happy baking!

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Kim Sementa and her husband live in Connecticut where they are raising their five children and running their small business. She helps Catholic moms make the most of their time and their budget by sharing large family life hacks, money saving tips and faith-based encouragement at www.WildflowerFour.com.

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Enjoy this post? Check out the remainder of the Screen-free Summer Life Skills Bingo Series and play along!