Question

Baking has been a part of human culture for a long time. Archaeologists have found bread from 14,000 years ago. The charred crumbs they discovered suggest that the bread was made by mixing wild grains with water and cooking the dough on hot stones. While ancient people didn't have all the ingredients and tools we have now, they still made many kinds of bread, some of which were advanced for their time. Chapati (chuh-PAH-tee), pita, and naan (nahn) are all examples of foods you can bake. Baking these treats can be challenging. It can also grow your skills in ways that have an impact far beyond the kitchen.​

2

Baking helps students practice practical math skills. Bakers use measuring skills to follow recipes. To double or halve a recipe, bakers multiply fractions in real life. Even calculating baking times requires mathematical skills. Science, too, is illustrated in the baking process. The Maillard effect happens when the sugars and amino acids react to heat and turn brown and develop flavor. Fermentation occurs when warm water and sugar are added to yeast. When you're baking, the kitchen is like a science lab!

3

Not only does baking grow school skills, but it also grows life skills. Perhaps the most important life skill developed in baking is patience. It can be difficult to wait for a loaf of bread to cool or focaccia (fuh-KAH-chuh) to rest, but patience is the secret to making these dishes delicious. Students also get to practice problem-solving when they are baking. When an issue arises, bakers have to think quickly to make sure their hard work and ingredients don't go to waste.

4

Learning to bake can help students grow in many ways. It helps them learn math and science as well as helping them build skills for everyday life. Most importantly, baking brings people together to eat the delicious foods you make!

​What is the author's purpose for writing "Baking to Grow"?


to inform readers about skills that are developed through baking​

to tell readers entertaining stories of baking from all over the world​

to persuade readers to learn about baking instead of another skill​

to share with readers how long baking has been part of human culture

Answer 1

to inform readers about skills that are developed through baking

The passage explains how baking teaches math and science (paragraph 2) and life skills like patience and problem-solving (paragraph 3), showing the author's goal is to inform readers about these benefits.