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Bread Flour and Cake Flour Are Not the Same

5th grade nonfiction passage about kinds of wheat flour: 237 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction kinds of wheat flour 237 words

Bread Flour and Cake Flour Are Not the Same

Walk down the baking aisle of a grocery store and you will see several bags of white flour. One says bread flour, another says cake flour, and a third says all-purpose. They may look alike, but a baker will tell you that they behave quite differently. The reason is protein.

All wheat flour is made by grinding wheat kernels. Wheat holds proteins that join together when flour is mixed with water. Kneading, which means pressing and folding dough, helps those proteins link up into a stretchy web called gluten. Gluten acts a little like a net of rubber bands, and it traps the gas made by yeast, so the dough can rise.

Bread flour has more protein than the others. Its dough makes lots of gluten, which gives bread a strong, chewy texture and lets loaves puff up tall. Cake flour is the opposite. It has less protein, so it forms only a weak web, and the cake turns out soft and tender. All-purpose flour sits in the middle, which makes it a handy choice for cookies, pancakes and many other recipes.

Bakers also change how much they mix. A pie crust or muffin batter is handled gently, so that gluten does not get too strong. A loaf of bread is kneaded for a long time to make plenty. Picking the right flour and the right amount of mixing helps every recipe come out well.

Questions

  1. What is the main reason the flours behave differently? in the text

  2. What is gluten? in the text

  3. What does gluten do to the gas made by yeast? in the text

  4. Which flour has the most protein? in the text

  5. Why does cake flour make a soft and tender cake? think about it

  6. Why are muffin batters handled gently? think about it

Words to know

kernels
the seeds of grain plants such as wheat
kneading
pressing and folding dough over and over
gluten
the stretchy web made when wheat proteins and water mix
texture
how something feels or chews, such as soft or crunchy
tender
soft and easy to bite or cut
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 219 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Walk down the baking aisle of a store. You will see bags of white flour. One says bread flour. Another says cake flour. A third says all-purpose. They look alike, but a baker will tell you they act very differently. The reason is protein.

All wheat flour is made by grinding wheat kernels. Wheat has proteins that join together when flour meets water. Kneading means pressing and folding dough. It helps the proteins link into a stretchy web called gluten. Gluten is a little like a net of rubber bands. It traps the gas made by yeast, so the dough can rise.

Bread flour has more protein than the others. Its dough makes lots of gluten. That gives bread a strong, chewy feel, and the loaf puffs up tall. Cake flour is the opposite. It has less protein, so it makes only a weak web. The cake turns out soft and tender. All-purpose flour is in the middle. It is a handy choice for cookies, pancakes and many other foods.

Bakers also change how much they mix. A pie crust or muffin batter is handled gently, so the gluten does not get too strong. Bread is kneaded for a long time to make plenty. The right flour and the right mixing help a recipe come out well.

▲ This passage · 237 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Walk down the baking aisle of a grocery store and you will see several bags of white flour. One says bread flour, another says cake flour, and a third says all-purpose. They may look alike, but a baker will tell you that they behave quite differently. The reason is protein.

All wheat flour is made by grinding wheat kernels. Wheat holds proteins that join together when flour is mixed with water. Kneading, which means pressing and folding dough, helps those proteins link up into a stretchy web called gluten. Gluten acts a little like a net of rubber bands, and it traps the gas made by yeast, so the dough can rise.

Bread flour has more protein than the others. Its dough makes lots of gluten, which gives bread a strong, chewy texture and lets loaves puff up tall. Cake flour is the opposite. It has less protein, so it forms only a weak web, and the cake turns out soft and tender. All-purpose flour sits in the middle, which makes it a handy choice for cookies, pancakes and many other recipes.

Bakers also change how much they mix. A pie crust or muffin batter is handled gently, so that gluten does not get too strong. A loaf of bread is kneaded for a long time to make plenty. Picking the right flour and the right amount of mixing helps every recipe come out well.

■ Harder · 241 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

Stroll down the baking aisle of any grocery store and you will encounter several bags of white flour. One is labeled bread flour, another cake flour, and a third all-purpose. They may appear identical, yet an experienced baker will assure you that they behave quite differently. The explanation lies in protein.

All wheat flour is produced by grinding wheat kernels. Wheat contains proteins that bond together when flour is combined with water. Kneading, which means pressing and folding the dough repeatedly, encourages those proteins to link into a stretchy web called gluten. Gluten works somewhat like a net of rubber bands, and it captures the gas produced by yeast, which allows the dough to rise.

Bread flour contains more protein than the others. Its dough develops abundant gluten, which gives bread a strong, chewy texture and allows loaves to puff up tall. Cake flour is the opposite. It contains less protein, so it forms only a feeble web, and the resulting cake is soft and tender. All-purpose flour falls in the middle, making it a convenient choice for cookies, pancakes and countless other recipes.

Bakers also adjust how much they mix. A pie crust or muffin batter is handled gently so that the gluten does not become too strong, whereas a loaf of bread is kneaded for a long time to build plenty. Selecting the proper flour and the proper amount of mixing helps every recipe turn out well.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put kernels, kneading, gluten, texture and tender on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Bread Flour and Cake Flour Are Not the Same"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 237 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.9. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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