Junior Chef
Kids Cooking Lessons
12-15 years old
Lesson 3

In Kids Cooking Lessons today we will be working with bread dough and baking homemade bread. Centuries ago bread making was a daily or weekly event in most houses.

Baking Homemade Bread

Convenience has taken over but it still can’t replace wonderful homemade bread. Making bread from scratch can be time consuming but teaching your children the art will be well worth it.


White Bread
1/2 Cup sugar
4 Cups warm water, about 110 degrees
4 Tablespoons yeast or 4 packages of yeast
1/4 Cup shortening, melted
4 teaspoon salt
7-8 Cups flour

Dissolve 1 Tablespoon of the sugar in the water. It is important to make sure the warm water is an accurate temperature. If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast and if it is too cold, it won't rise. Add the yeast to the warm water and sugar mixture. Yeast should start to froth or foam.

In a bowl, add shortening, salt, remaining sugar and 7 Cups of flour. Stir together. Add yeast mixture and mix together to make a soft dough. Add enough flour to dough in order to create a ball. Take the ball out of the bowl and place on a clean and floured cupboard. Knead with your hands.

In a large clean bowl add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the bottom and swirl around to coat the bottom and sides of the bowl. Place bread ball in oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and leave in a warm spot in the kitchen. Let sit for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, with your hand, pound dough down and knead for one minute. Form into 2 loaves and put in two bread tins. Cover again and let rise 30 minutes. Then bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.