Loaves of Fun: A History of Bread with Activities and Recipes from Around the World
INTRODUCTION This book is about the history of bread But what you might not know is that the history of bread is also the history of civilization Reading this book will be like taking a trip through history and throughout the world You'll learn how important bread has been in the making and breaking of civilizations both ancient and mod ern Virtually every culture in history has had its own approach to eating from the Chinese way of eating with chopsticks and the Moroccan way of eating with the left hand to the European invention of utensils knives forks and spoons The favorite foods of different cultures also vary greatly in Greece squid is popular in India beef is forbidden in France frogs legs and snails are consid ered delicious and in Italy pasta is served nearly every night The one thing that's common to virtually every culture in every period of history is that all of them have or have had some kind of bread with nearly every meal But the kinds of bread vary as greatly as the cultures themselves You can see evidence of this in the French baguette the Jewish challah the Indian chapati and the Middle Eastern pita to name just a
If there's anything the recipes in this book teach you I hope it's that you can experiment freely in the kitchen and try different ingredients That's how the OmanSan and the civilizations that followed went from having plain wheat bread to having many of the same fruit and nut breads you find in the bakery and grocery store today Sometimes you might end up with something that doesn't taste very good but I ll bet that more often than not you'll love your own bread creations and your family and friends will too
KITCHEN AND COOKING TIPS Safety 1 The kitchen is a pretty safe place but it’s not a place to play There are certain things you must be very careful of all utensils especially knives elec trical appliances and outlets including mixers and toasters never ever put anything metal in a toast er cleaning solutions which are often stored under the kitchen sink and anything else that looks like it might fall on you cut you or shock you 2 Never use the oven or stove without a grown up’s permission and help Fires can start before you know it and it's important to have someone with you who can handle an emergency You'll need an adult for all the recipes and activities in this book 3 Make sure you have a fire extinguisher and or a big open box of baking soda handy in case there is a fire baking soda will put the fire out if you pour it
SSS D SO NII III Baking Tips 1 The best way to mix bread dough is with your hands Not only is this the safest way but it's also the most fun Use a large bowl Throw all the ingredients in according to the directions and mix them up with your hands make sure you wash them first 2 Measuring ingredients is also really easy All you need is a measuring cup and a measuring spoon or a collection of measuring spoons of different sizes Before long you may be able to measure ingredients just by pouring them into your palm or into a cup You can practice this by measuring an ingredient with a measuring spoon or cup first then pouring it into your hand if it's a small amount of dry ingredient like salt or yeast or into a coffee cup or glass Soon you'll learn what a tablespoon of sugar looks like in your hand and you won't have to get out the measuring spoons at all 3 Never use ingredients that smell or look different than you know they should Flour can grow rancid and turn brown milk can curdle eggs can rot and
