bringing bread to life

One of the wonders of this "soup weather" is the bread that comes along with it. Lately, I've been doing a lot of experimenting with different flours, teff being my favorite, but there's something I just cannot ignore about wheat. Zeal has been asking to grow the stuff for a few years, and then gave up asking when I was always skirting the issue (for some reason the prospect terrifies me). Well, now he has renewed energy.

A few weeks ago, we picked up this video Bread Comes to Life while at the library. It's been sitting in our library box this whole time not being watched, just forgotten about. Today after getting a reminder that it is now due at the library, we pulled it out for a go. We are so glad we did! This little gem of a video is intended for ages 4 and up and is a beautiful montage of music and imagery that really does bring bread to life. I was as mesmerized as Zeal as we were watching.

Here's the word from the people at Informed Democracy, the producers of the film:

This newly released 22 minute video (June,2003) narrated in verse by Lily Tomlin with music by George Winston, tells the story of bread from a garden of wheat to a loaf to eat. The program is for the early elementary curriculum, and its purpose is to inspire wonder and provide information about the food we eat as well as the process and the people who bring bread into the world. Whether it's buttering morning toast, pulling a sandwich out of lunchbox, or eating pizza for dinner, bread is a cornerstone of every child's diet. Yet many have never seen a field of wheat, mixed and kneaded a lump of dough, or tasted a loaf fresh out of the oven. Using live-action footage, time lapse-photography and animations, BREAD COMES TO LIFE shows the sowing, growing, reaping, threshing, milling, mixing, kneading, shaping rising, baking and breaking of bread in a garden and home setting as well as on a farm and in a large mill and a commercial bakery.

More information about the film, with companion activities, resources, information about the book and clips of the video can be found on the Bread Comes to Life website.

And guess what, it is based on a book, which we are now on the search for.

And so now I guess I will do it: plant a little patch of wheat, that is. And thanks to these people, we have a good start on what fun we can have with it. Here's looking forward to bringing our bread to life!