Week 8: Reflections

I am so glad that I picked learning how to bake rolls and bread for my learning topic this semester. I have so many family and friends who are naturals at this, and it has never come easy for me. Now, I feel so much more confident and am not afraid to try a new recipe. I also learned something valuable this week - it's ok to make a mistake. You just have to keep trying so you can figure out what went wrong. I was telling my mom on the phone about how well some of my baking as of late has turned out and she just started laughing. She made some cinnamon rolls last weekend, and they completely flopped! She still hasn't quite figured out what went wrong (she did use wheat flour instead of white - but she has done this before with success too). I told her it made me feel better because as I keep trying different typed of breads, I am sure I will not always have success, and that is ok!

I started off this learning experience by doing something I felt comfortable with, making banana bread. The yeast breads were scary to me because they had always been troublesome, so starting off with something easier was a good starting point for me. Because I had prior knowledge, I was able to rely on my long-term memory and make something successfully. I also made a small mistake (not greasing my loaf pan properly). I think this ended up being a good thing, because sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes.

Over the next few weeks, I did a lot of research and reading to help me understand yeast breads and this helped quite a bit when I was able to actually put into practice the things I was learning. Some of the things I read helped me figure out where I could have been making mistakes with the yeast before (not using the right kind of yeast, not letting it proof long enough, not letting the dough rise enough, etc.) With the amount of required reading I was doing for coursework, I was surprised I didn't find this extra reading to be tedious. I was intrinsically motivated because I really wanted to understand where I had been falling short so I could fix my mistakes.

When I finally got some practice baking bread, I was able to apply some of the knowledge I had gained from the reading. When my mom told me to add a little sugar to the yeast, I knew it was to help the yeast grow faster and fuller. When my sister said we needed to add some of the flour and other ingredients to the yeast mixture before the salt, I knew it was because the salt could kill the yeast if it came into direct contact.

Learning about the Zone of Proximal Development was really interesting because I could see it happening throughout the process. I started out with something I could not on my own, but through the help and guidance of my mom, I was able to practice and learn and even have success on my own. It was extremely helpful for me to be able to work with my mom. There were so may things that I learned by watching and helping and being involved with her, that I would not have learned by just reading a recipe or having her tell me how to do it over the phone. I knew what the dough should feel and look like, and I knew what the yeast looked like when it was ready. I could see that my mother has a real automaticity for baking breads. It comes so naturally to her, and I am starting to see that I can develop this too.

This week it has been really interesting to think about this process and about what I have learned and been thinking over the past several weeks (metacognition). It has really helped me to understand the principles we have been learning about because I have been trying to find a way to relate them to what I am doing in real life. Throughout this process, I certainly have not become an expert and still think of myself very much as a novice. However, I do feel that if I keep practicing, I might get there one day!

Week 7: Transfer to other types of rolls

I got some more practice this week making some rolls, but forgot to take pictures! :( The more I practice, the easier this is getting though, and I am really encouraged! The rolls I made this week were kind of a trial run for Thanksgiving, because I am in charge of rolls for the big day! My mom has made these rolls dozens of times, and the recipe is from her friend Kristy.

I felt very confident as I went through the process this time, because I knew what to expect from the yeast, and I knew what the dough should look and feel like. I was patient waiting for the yeast to double, and patient waiting for the dough to rise. I thought a lot about transfer as I was preparing the dough. Transfer is "defined as the ability to extend what has been learned in one context to new contexts" (HPL pg. 51).

It was amazing how much of the knowledge I gained baking the cinnamon rolls transferred to the rolls this week. A lot of the methods were the same, but the shaping was very different. This was definitely an example of near transfer, because the tasks were so similar. I hope to be able to transfer what I have learned to make some of my grandpa's wheat bread in the coming weeks.

Here is the recipe I used. Also, I let my rolls rise after shaping and baked them right away, but I LOVE the idea of freezing them like the recipe says, and then defrosting, raising, and baking when you are ready for them.

Make Ahead Butterhorn Rolls

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1/2 c. butter or margarine
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 tsp. salt
4 - 4 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. melted butter

Combine yeast and warm water; allow to stand for 5-10 minutes until it foams, then stir. Melt butter in pan. Add milk immediately and remove from heat (or melt butter and warm milk in microwave). Blend in sugar, eggs, salt, and dissolved yeast. Stir in enough flour to make soft dough. Cover and allow to rise until double (1-2 hours).

Turn dough (which is very soft and should remain so) onto floured board. Knead slightly to handle. Divide in half. Roll each half into a circle 12 to 14 inches in diameter. Spread circle with softened or melted butter. Cut like a pizza into 16 pieces (pizza cutter works great for this). Roll each piece loosely from large end to pointed tip. Repeat with second half of dough.

Place, pointed tip down close together on a buttered baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and immediately place baking sheet in freezer for atleast 2 hours or until rolls are firmly frozen. remove from tray and pack in heavy plastic bag, seal, and return to freezer (I skipped this freezing step).

Three to four hours before time to bake, remove desired amount of rolls from the freezer and place on buttered baking sheet. Cover lightly with clean towel and allow to rise at room temperature until double.Bake at 375 degrees fro 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 32 rolls.