Room 4 Masterchefs

Friday 29th June - Baking Day

Today we put our recent learning to practical tasks - we have been learning how to write, read and follow instructions carefully during literacy and for mathematics our focus has been on accurately measuring the mass and capacity of everyday objects using millilitres, litres, grams and kilograms.  What better way to combine these two maths and literacy components than with a session of baking.

We split the class randomly into five groups, each group with a parent supervisor. 

Each group had one 'baking' recipe to follow - either pinwheel scones, marshmallow truffles, savoury muffins, caramello brownie or jellybean biscuits.  These were all made prior to morning tea and 'plated' up ready for a shared lunch.

After morning tea, each group had the same pizza dough recipe to follow.  It was interesting to see groups put their own spin on the pizza dough - one group making individual mini pizzas, another creating a cheesy crust around the edge of their pizza.  Students were then able to choose their own toppings for their pizzas.  Several parents commented on the difference that it makes when children have control over what they are making - as many students surprised their parents (and teachers) with their choice of pizza toppings! 

Mmmmm- and they all tasted delicious!  Well done to all of Room 4 and a special thank you to all of our parent helpers who helped to make this such a successful learning experience.

We look forward to hearing about the cooking experiences of our students over the coming school holidays.

HAPPY BAKING EVERYBODY!!!!!

Pizza

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons butter

Milk to mix

1.   Turn oven on to 210°C.

2.   Melt butter with ½ cup milk in microwave.

3.   Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

4.   Add melted butter and milk, mixing together.

5.   Add more milk if required (get your adult to help you with this part).

6.   Roll out onto a floured surface until the dough is about 2cm thick.

7.   Place your choice of toppings on top of your dough.

8.   Cook for 15 minutes at 210°C.

As a variation, you can try 2 cups of plain flour and 1 cup of wholemeal flour with a teaspoon of mixed herbs added.

Savoury muffins and pizza



Toby, Kate, Hamish and Alex with their masterchef creations



Savoury Muffins

200g flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups grated cheese

1 spring onion, chopped

1 slice ham, chopped

1 egg

250ml milk

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon paprika

1.   Turn oven on to 210°C.

2.   Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

3.   Add grated cheese, spring onion and ham. 

4.   Mix lightly with a fork.

5.   In another bowl, beat egg and milk together.

6.   Add egg and milk to the dry ingredients.

7.   Gently fold the liquid ingredients to the dry.  DO NOT overmix!

8.   Grease 12 muffin tins.

9.   Spoon mixture into greased muffin tins.

10.        Sprinkle muffins with sesame seeds and paprika.

11.        Bake for 15 minutes at 210°C.

12.        Leave in muffin tins for 5 minutes before putting on wire rack to cool.

Special thanks to Maria for all of her expert advice.

Marshmallow truffles and cheesy crust pizza

Max, Abby, Connie, Emma and Lucy admire their handiwork

 

Marshmallow truffles

100g butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 packet marshmallows

½ tin condensed milk

2 teaspoons cocoa

1 packet malt or plain biscuits

coconut

1.   Melt butter, condensed milk, brown sugar, cocoa and vanilla.

2.   Crush biscuits in a plastic bag, using a rolling pin.  Crush about 10 biscuits at a time.  Then add biscuit crumbs to the melted mixture and mix well.

3.   Using wet hands, shape a spoonful of mixture around one marshmallow at a time, rolling into balls.

4.   Roll in coconut and put on a plate. 

5.   Once all are made, place the plate in the fridge to allow the truffles to set.

Fabulous team effort, creating the 'cheesy crust'

Thank you so much to Jo and Tavi for all of their guidance in following our recipes.

Jellybean biscuits and mini pizzas

Rubie, Jessica, William and Lucy with their superb creations

Mmmmmmm - delicious!

Jellybean biscuits

125g butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg

1 1/3 cups self-raising flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 packet jellybeans

1.   Turn oven on to 190°C.

2.   Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

3.   Add egg and beat well.

4.   Put mixture into a large bowl.  Stir in sifted flour and cocoa and mix well.

5.   Roll 2 teaspoons of mixture into balls.

6.   Place balls about 3cm apart, on lightly greased oven trays. 

7.   Press a jellybean into the centre of each ball.

8.   Cook at 190°C for about 12 minutes, or until firm.  Leave biscuits on trays for 2-3 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool.

 It was great to see this group using their initiative and choosing to make individual pizzas once their base mixture had been made.  These looked sooooo appetising!

Time for a little sample of
each recipe

 Special thanks to Deirdre and Fiona for their expertise and help in guiding our group.