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Yeast: The Fungus in the Bread

8th grade nonfiction passage about yeast and bread dough: 269 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction yeast and bread dough 269 words

Yeast: The Fungus in the Bread

A loaf of bread rises because of a living thing too small to see. Yeast is a fungus, a single-celled organism that is related to mushrooms and molds, and baker's yeast is sold dried in packets, where the cells wait in a resting state.

The process begins when a baker mixes the yeast with flour and warm water. The moisture and gentle warmth wake the cells, and they begin to feed on sugars from the flour. As the yeast feeds, it gives off carbon dioxide gas and a little alcohol, a process called fermentation.

Wheat dough is stretchy because of a protein in the flour called gluten. The stretchy dough traps the gas in thousands of tiny bubbles, and as the bubbles grow, the dough puffs up and can double in size, which is called the rise.

Then the dough goes into a hot oven. The heat makes the gas expand one last time, and then the dough sets firm, so the bubbles become the holes you see inside a slice. The heat also stops the yeast, drives off the alcohol, and browns the crust.

Yeast is useful in other foods, too. Sourdough bakers keep a mixture of flour and water called a starter, in which yeast and helpful bacteria grow together, and a spoonful of the starter is used to begin each new batch of bread. With regular feeding, a starter can be kept alive for years, and different kinds of yeast give breads their own flavors.

People have used yeast for baking and brewing for thousands of years, long before anyone knew that it was alive.

Questions

  1. What kind of living thing is yeast? in the text

  2. What wakes up the dried yeast cells? in the text

  3. What gas does the yeast give off as it feeds? in the text

  4. Why does the dough puff up? in the text

  5. What would probably happen if a dough could not stretch? think about it

  6. Why does a slice of bread have holes in it? think about it

Words to know

fungus
a living thing such as a mushroom, mold or yeast
organism
any living thing
fermentation
the process in which yeast feeds and gives off gas
gluten
a stretchy protein found in wheat flour
expand
to get bigger and take up more space
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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 · 258 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

A loaf of bread rises because of a living thing that is too small to see. It is yeast. Yeast is a fungus with just one cell. It is a cousin of mushrooms and molds. Baker's yeast is sold dry in packets. The cells rest there until they are needed.

A baker mixes the yeast with flour and warm water. The wet and the warmth wake the cells. They start to eat sugar from the flour. As the yeast eats, it gives off a gas called carbon dioxide and a little alcohol. This is called fermentation.

Wheat dough is stretchy because of gluten, a protein in the flour. The stretchy dough traps the gas in many tiny bubbles. The bubbles grow, and the dough puffs up. It can double in size. This is the rise.

Next, the dough goes in a hot oven. The heat makes the gas grow once more. Then the dough sets firm. The bubbles become the holes you see in a slice. The heat also stops the yeast, drives off the alcohol, and browns the crust.

Yeast is used in other foods, too. Sourdough bakers keep a mix of flour and water called a starter. Yeast and helpful bacteria grow together in it. A spoonful of starter begins each new batch of bread. With regular feeding, a starter can stay alive for years. Different kinds of yeast give breads their own flavors.

People have used yeast to bake and brew for thousands of years. They did this long before they knew it was alive.

▲ This passage · 269 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.5

A loaf of bread rises because of a living thing too small to see. Yeast is a fungus, a single-celled organism that is related to mushrooms and molds, and baker's yeast is sold dried in packets, where the cells wait in a resting state.

The process begins when a baker mixes the yeast with flour and warm water. The moisture and gentle warmth wake the cells, and they begin to feed on sugars from the flour. As the yeast feeds, it gives off carbon dioxide gas and a little alcohol, a process called fermentation.

Wheat dough is stretchy because of a protein in the flour called gluten. The stretchy dough traps the gas in thousands of tiny bubbles, and as the bubbles grow, the dough puffs up and can double in size, which is called the rise.

Then the dough goes into a hot oven. The heat makes the gas expand one last time, and then the dough sets firm, so the bubbles become the holes you see inside a slice. The heat also stops the yeast, drives off the alcohol, and browns the crust.

Yeast is useful in other foods, too. Sourdough bakers keep a mixture of flour and water called a starter, in which yeast and helpful bacteria grow together, and a spoonful of the starter is used to begin each new batch of bread. With regular feeding, a starter can be kept alive for years, and different kinds of yeast give breads their own flavors.

People have used yeast for baking and brewing for thousands of years, long before anyone knew that it was alive.

■ Harder · 291 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8

A loaf of bread rises because of a living thing that is far too small to see. Yeast is a fungus, a single-celled organism that is related to mushrooms and molds, and baker's yeast is commonly sold in dried form in small packets, where the cells remain in a resting state until they are needed.

The process begins when a baker blends the yeast with flour and warm water. The moisture and gentle warmth awaken the cells, and they start to feed on the sugars that come from the flour. As the yeast feeds, it releases carbon dioxide gas and a small amount of alcohol, a process known as fermentation.

Wheat dough is stretchy because of a protein in the flour called gluten. The elastic dough captures the gas in thousands of tiny bubbles. As the bubbles swell, the dough puffs up and can double in size, which is what bakers call the rise.

Next, the dough is placed in a hot oven. The heat makes the trapped gas expand one final time, after which the dough sets firm, so that the bubbles become the holes visible inside a slice. The heat also stops the yeast, drives off the alcohol, and browns the crust.

Yeast is useful in other foods as well. Sourdough bakers keep a mixture of flour and water called a starter, in which yeast and helpful bacteria grow together, and a spoonful of the starter is used to begin each new batch of bread. With regular feeding, a starter can be kept alive for years, and different kinds of yeast give breads their own distinctive flavors.

People have relied on yeast for baking and brewing for thousands of years, long before anyone understood that it was alive.

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 fungus, organism, fermentation, gluten and expand 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 3 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 "Yeast: The Fungus in the Bread"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 269 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.5. 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 3 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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