Page 8 - FIS World Feb 2019

Fresh from the Oven
FISW students learn from a ‘Meister’
Exploring different materials of matter in the Bäckerei (above left and right)
We know the Bäckerei (bakery) is an essential part of German life and culture. We recognize how important fresh Brötchen (rolls) are to many family meals. And we all love the experience of walking into a real bakery, smelling the wonderful breads and seeing the beautiful pastries and cakes.
In January, Grade 3 students from the FIS Wiesbaden Campus had a fantastic opportunity to share in these delectable experiences when they visited the de Stalter Bakery in the lovely Rheingau as part of their Unit of Inquiry “How the World Works,” and their study of matter and changes of matter. The trip was purposefully timed so students could reference the experience and make connections in their exploration of properties and change of matter – and to flare their curiosity and wonder!
During their visit to the bakery, students were invited to step behind the scenes and into the kitchen of Richard Stalter, Meister im Bäckerhandwerk, a master baker. Mr. Stalter had
been hard at work since just after midnight and the smell of bread filled the bakery. Counters, mixers and ovens stood ready for students to begin their experiments, and murmurs of excitement filled the air: “Yum, it smells so good!”
“Wow look how big the oven is!”“You could cook a lot in there!”
Mr. Stalter showed the class different types of grains, and explained how the grain is ground until it becomes a soft powder – flour. He then had the children work with two different doughs, one with yeast and one without. “It was so fun to knead the dough,” said student Callum. “It was so sticky but as soon as you added flour it wasn’t as sticky.” The students made various shapes out of their dough and Mr. Stalter popped them into
the oven.
While students were hard at work in the bakery kitchen, Heidi Stalter was in the family kitchen preparing a delicious snack. Following their work with the dough, students enjoyed cake and apples, and then of course, the bread they made! The
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