Leah Brooks - Baking with Kids: Make Breads, Muffins, Cookies, Pies, Pizza Dough, and More!

MAKE BREADS,
MUFFINS, COOKIES, PIES, PIZZA DOUGH,
AND MORE!

LEAH BROOKS

Photography by Scott Peterson

2015 by Quarry Books

Photography 2015 Scott Peterson

First published in the United States of America in 2015 by

Quarry Books, a member of

Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.

100 Cummings Center, Suite 406-L

Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-6101

Telephone: (978) 282-9590

Fax: (978) 283-2742

www.quarrybooks.com

Visit www.QuarrySPOON.com and help us celebrate food and culture one spoonful at a time!

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by the producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Digital edition published in 2015

Digital edition: 978-1-62788-158-6

Softcover edition: 978-1-59253-977-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brooks, Leah.

Baking with kids : make breads, muffins, cookies, pies, pizza dough, and more! / Leah Brooks ; photography by Scott Peterson.

pages cm (Hands-on family)

ISBN 978-1-59253-977-2 (paperback)

1. Baking. 2. Family recreation. I. Title.

TX765.B82956 2015

641.81'5--dc23

2014025588

Book Design: Laura H. Couallier, Laura Herrmann Design

Photography: Scott Peterson Productions, Inc.

This book is dedicated to Holly, for teaching me how to cook from the heart and helping me realize my dreams.

I ve always been happiest in the kitchen. In my early teens, there were quite a few afternoons when I came home feeling defeated after a rough day at school. It was a simpler time, when having a bad haircut or dealing with braces seemed like an insurmountable obstacle to hurdle. I found solace within the walls of my kitchen, in the basic task of making chocolate chip cookies.

I made the same recipe so many times that eventually I knew it by heart. I found the process of measuring, mixing, and baking to be wonderfully repetitive and soothing. It was therapeutic to know that if I just followed the steps, I would get a consistent batch of delicious, warm cookies. You might call it kitchen therapy.

I not only loved feeding myself this treat, but I also found even more pleasure in sharing those cookies with my family. I recall my mom telling her friends that I made the best chocolate chip cookies. It made me proud and gave me confidence. While good grades in school also made my parents proudwhich certainly boosted my confidencethe baking was a personal source of pride that helped me unwind from those stressful days at school.

At the after-school cooking program where I teach children how to cook, it is my goal to help my students find their own version of kitchen therapy. I dont often see children come into my kitchen visibly upset or gloomy, but on those rare occasions its wonderful to see their mood change as they immerse themselves in a recipe, and then smile when they see their finished product come out of the oven.

I hope that this book provides you and your family with the tools needed to create your own kind of kitchen therapy. Baking at home may seem time-consuming, but it functions as a fun activity that also provides wholesome alternatives to store-bought snacks. In this book youll find tips on how to include your child and make baking at home work with your familys busy schedule. Although it may seem daunting at first, the smell of fresh-baked goods wafting throughout your home will be worth the effort.

I am always so impressed and surprised by how capable children are in the kitchen. Young children often default to wanting the adult to help or do a kitchen task for them. Although parents are used to caring for and doing things for their children, I suggest urging them to try even the most challenging steps on their own at first. When children realize that they are indeed capable, they gain independence that ultimately boosts their confidence.

In this book, youll find helpful tips for including young children (ages 5 to 7) in the sections called For smaller hands. These are the techniques that I use when cooking with kids in my school to help remove obstacles and make otherwise difficult tasks seem less daunting. There are some tasks you would expect to be challenging for kids, where, instead of simply completing the task for them, you can suggest a different approach that will make the concept easier to grasp, and ultimately master. Before long theyll be showing you how its done!

In each recipe, youll find a list of ingredients and tools needed. Gathering all of your ingredients and tools before you begin making a recipe will help you get organized and be prepared for all the steps. There is a French phrase for this method, mis en place, which means everything in its place. If you do not have an ingredient, there may be alternatives available. When a less common ingredient is called for, the recipe will list alternatives when possible. But sometimes the less-common ingredient is important and cannot be omitted or substituted. Leaveners are an example of one of these key ingredients that cannot be substituted, because leaveners are crucial to the recipes success. Various types of flour called for in a recipe are examples of some common ingredients that can be substituted. White whole wheat flour, for instance, can be replaced with all-purpose flour without any negative effects. I welcome you to try new things, and have fun in the kitchen!

One important thing to remember when you are cooking with kids is that mistakes do happen. This doesnt mean that you should assume that things wont always work out when involving your kids in the kitchen; it simply means that you should try to keep an open mind about the end result. It might not be perfect in your eyes, but your kids will likely be proud of the result just the same.

I hope that you have as much fun making these recipes with your kids as I do making them with my students, friends, and family! Happy baking!

T he kitchen is a fun place to be, but it is important to teach children to listen carefully and be respectful while working in the kitchen. There are many potentially dangerous situations that can arise if proper safety rules are not established and followed closely. Before you start baking with your child, please read this chapter through from beginning to end.