Baking Your Way through the Lockdown
I
Lead-in.
a) What
are the popular hobbies in your country?
b)
What can people do to pass the time at home?
II Vocabulary focus. Match
the words to their definitions. Use four words in your sentences.
1.
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shortage
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a)
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2.
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flour
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b)
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3.
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yeast
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c)
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4.
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lockdown
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d)
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5.
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show-off
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e)
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6.
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to
nurture
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f)
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7.
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novice
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g)
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8.
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to
rival
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h)
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9.
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to fail
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i)
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10.
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ethereal
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j)
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11.
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trial
and error
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k)
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12.
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craze
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l)
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13.
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to
leaven
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m)
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14.
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craft
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n)
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15.
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a
charm
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o)
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16.
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pestilence
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p)
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III Follow the link below. Focus on the words and expressions (study definitions), match the terms
to their definitions, solve the crossword puzzle, complete the quiz, chase down the correct answer to earn points, unscramble words and phrases (correct order of
letters), type in words to fill in the blanks, test your knowledge
of vocabulary.
IV
Match the images to the culinary words.
A.
Croquembouche - a decorative
dessert consisting of cream puffs arranged in a cone and held together by a
caramel sauce.
B.
Pain de campagne - a large round loaf
made from natural leavening or baker's yeast with a combination of white flour
with whole wheat flour and/or rye flour.
C.
Fondant flower - a creamy sugar
flower used for decorating a cake.
D.
Tiered wedding cake - a traditional
wedding cake with of multiple layers of different sizes stacked on top of each.
E.
Pastry - a type of sweet
cake usually containing something such as fruit or nuts.
F.
Sourdough starter - a combination of
flour and water, which is allowed to ferment by airborne yeast.
G.
Chapatti - a type of flat,
round South Asian bread made without yeast.
H.
Poilâne-style miche - very large rustic
sourdough bread, usually a round loaf.
I.
Brioche - soft, slightly
sweet bread made with eggs and butter.
J.
Macaron - a small, light
cake with two round halves made from egg white, sugar, and almonds, with a
creamy layer between them, which can have many different colours and flavours.
K.
Sourdough bread - bread made with a
mixture of flour and water that is left to ferment.
V
Look through the article. Five sentences have been removed.
Read the article and choose from the sentence (A-G) the one which fits each gap
(1-5). There is a sentence which which you do not need to use.
Dissertations will doubtless soon be
written on supermarket shortages during the pandemic. First disinfectant
disappeared, then toilet paper, frozen foods, pasta and rice. And then people
came for the flour and yeast. There are, apparently, no carbphobes[1] in
a lockdown.
Unable to publicise their ski slopes and
cruises, show-offs have instead posted snaps of burnished brioche, perfectly
whorled pain de campagne and glistening pastries. Pride in seeing a loaf emerge
from the oven is understandable – and eating one is a soul-filling pleasure,
the culinary equivalent of a grandmother’s hug. 1)__________________.
Be warned: novices are unlikely to
produce anything to rival a high-street bakery. But that is not the point.
Weekend runners do not hang up their trainers because they will never compete
with Mo Farah[2].
And you will not fail entirely, or not for long.
More than other culinary arts, baking
has an element of magic. 2)__________________. Yet with trial, error and time, anyone can
make them. And the wonder and grace of baking, as in so much else, often lie in
the simple things. A Poilâne-style miche, made from high-extraction
winter-wheat flour and two days’ labour, is a work of art and craft; but, when
made with love, so is chapatti (flour, water and salt, rolled thin and placed
on a stovetop).
Take, for example, sourdough – bread with a malty, complex, acidic
flavour – the baking craze of the
pandemic. 3)__________________. This
is the starter, a prosaic name for a galaxy of wild yeast and attendant bacteria
which, when combined with more of the same ingredients, left to rise and baked,
results in sourdough. Starters are today’s charms against the surrounding
pestilence.
4)__________________. The precise
combination of yeast and bacteria varies with location, so sourdough bread made
in one city will taste different from another’s. So too will loaves made by two
people chatting in the same kitchen, because those bakers will have different
microbiotic flora on their hands and in their mouths. With proper care and
feeding, starters can last indefinitely, subtly changing over time as the
bakers themselves must. 5)__________________.
A. But just as holiday pictures fail
to capture the real highlights of time off (wandering around without a
deadline), the true joy of baking lies as much in the process and
experimentation as in the finished article.
B. It offers a glimpse into the
workings of “cognitive behaviour therapy” that strengthens your problem-solving
skills in a somewhat manageable way.
C. Flour and water stirred and fed
for a few days with more flour and water will produce a teeming, bubbling,
leavening mixture.
D. Sourdough starter is an
expression of place and individuality.
E. To create a starter, then, is to
encourage and nurture life – a noble mission, especially in a virus-stricken
age.
F. A glistening croquembouche
suspended in its golden cage, a tiered wedding cake gilded with fondant
flowers, ethereal multicoloured macarons – all can seem as if they have sprung
from a fairy tale.
G. Even if we don't come out of it
immediately with a newfound ability to say bake bread, or mend clothes, or even
clean our houses, I hope we’re on the road to understanding how we can be
better at our lives.
VI Comprehension check.
Answer the questions.
1) What products and goods did
people buy in large quantities when a lockdown began?
2) What did show-offs post in their social networks
before the lockdown? What did they start posting during the pandemic?
3) Why is baking a good hobby
or pastime even for complete beginners?
4) Do people only
cook complex dishes?
5) What is the baking craze of the pandemic? What type of
bread is it?
6) What are the main ingredients of sourdough bread?
7) How does sourdough starter show individuality and
place?
8) Why do people like making
sourdough starters during the pandemic?
VII OVER TO YOU. Discuss the
role of baking as a hobby in your country. Is it popular a popular activity?
What do people bake most often? Share a simple recipe with other students.
