Making homemade bagels and butter is a fun way to learn science in the kitchen. Bagels teach how yeast helps dough rise and how baking changes ingredients, while butter shows how shaking cream causes fat molecules to stick together and form a solid.
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MAKING BAGELS
DOUGH
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 pkg dry active yeast
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 540g all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
LIQUID (for boiling dough)
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
TOPPINGS
- 1 egg white + 1 tbsp water, optional
- everything bagel seasoning, optional
- sesame seeds, optional
MAKING BUTTER
MATERIALS
- Heavy whipping cream
- Salt
- Jar with a lid
- Strainer
- 1 bowl (large enough to fit under the strainer)
METHOD
- Pour the heavy whipping cream into the jar until it is about half full. Set a strainer over the bowl for later use.
- Secure the lid tightly and shake the jar vigorously. After several minutes, the cream will begin to thicken and turn into whipped cream. If your arms get tired, ask a family member or friend to help shake the jar.
- Continue shaking the jar vigorously. After about 10 minutes, open up the jar to check the stages. First should be a soft cream. Second should be a more stable whipping cream. After about 5 more minutes, you will notice a solid mass beginning to form. Open the jar, add a small sprinkle of salt if desired, then close the lid and continue shaking. This entire process should take around 10-15 minutes total (times may vary).
- Once the butter has fully formed, pour the contents of the jar into the strainer. The liquid will pass through into the bowl—this is buttermilk. The solid mass left in the strainer is butter.
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How does this happen?
Heavy cream contains tiny droplets of fat mixed with liquid. When you shake the cream, the fat droplets bump into each other and stick together. Eventually, the fat separates from the liquid, forming a solid lump of butter. The leftover liquid is called buttermilk.