Bread Baking Now and Then

What have people been doing for 30,000 years?

• growing wheat

• planting crops

• eating bread

• using yeast

The sequence of bread-baking by the ancient Egyptians is described in the passage. When ancient Egyptians first baked bread, what happened before the flour was mixed with water?

• A little bit of old dough was mixed in with the new dough.

• The grain was ground by hand on a millstone.

• The dough was placed in a pot and baked in a clay oven.

• Home bakers baked the bread they would need for the day.

Bread was the most important source of carbohydrates for ancient Egyptians because they did not have rice or potatoes. What conclusion does this evidence support?

• Ancient Egyptians did not borrow foods from other cultures.

• Ancient Egyptians had access to an endless variety of foods.

• Ancient Egyptians did not know how to grow rice and potatoes.

• Ancient Egyptians had limited dietary resources.

What kind of climate did ancient Egypt have?

• dry

• tropical

• wet

• cold

What is this passage mostly about?

• why ancient Egyptians used emmer wheat

• different types of flatbreads

• the development of bread baking

• wheat production in the United States

Read the following sentences: “Egypt gets little rain. Ancient Egyptian farmers relied on the annual flooding of the Nile River to irrigate their fields.”

What does the word “irrigate” mean?

• dry something out

• supply with water

• plant seeds in earth

• make rows in the ground

Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

Most breads today are made from four main ingredients, _______, flour, water, salt, and yeast

• thus

• also

• ultimately

• namely

What is yeast, and what does it do?

Describe the sequence by which grain ends up as bread in a store.

How has bread baking changed over time? Support your answer using information from the passage.