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*Safety Check-In: The activities in this curriculum are intended for family-style use under direct adult supervision. Because every family’s home environment and children are unique, please use your best judgment to ensure a safe experience. Always verify materials—such as plants, food items, or chemicals—for safety and allergies before use, and keep heat sources, tools, and small parts under close adult watch. You know your children best; please adapt these activities as needed to ensure they are age-appropriate and safe for your specific family.
Looking for a playful, hands-on baking activity that your whole homeschool family can enjoy together? This family-style sourdough pumpernickel bread (served alongside a dip topped with charming spinach clover shapes) fits perfectly into a cell biology unit while offering meaningful learning across science and STEM. Younger children can help measure, mix, shape, and assemble the dark rye loaf, while elementary and middle school learners explore sourdough cells, cell parts, cell functions, and fermentation. Gather your ingredients and turn a traditional bread-baking project into a creative, multi-age homeschool experience.
Full Lesson Plans
Measurement in Baking & Cooking STEM Activity
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An activity-based learning extension exploring:
- baking & cooking with volume vs. weight
- american vs. metric measurement systems
- simple conversions & baking accuracy
- tie-ins to baking activities
Yearlong Sourdough Science Curriculum Bundle
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An activity-based learning extension exploring:
- cells & their processes
- prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells; types & examples
- cell parts, organelles, & parts of a nucleus
- cell parts related to sourdough
- tie-ins to the activity
In addition to the typical lesson plan, this 12 month inclusive plan includes sourdough tips, tricks, and notes, basic sourdough baking vocabulary explanations, themed plating ideas, and cozy recipe cards.
One Full Unit Study Lesson + 12 Monthly Themed Recipes
Begin any month, and choose the rhythm that fits your family best:
- The Year-Long Journey: Take it slow by spreading the core lesson out across the entire year, pairing it step-by-step with your monthly bakes.
- The Monthly Connection: Introduce the main concepts right away, then use each monthly recipe as a gentle review to help those big ideas settle in.
- The All-In-One Kickoff: Start with the complete core lesson in month one, and enjoy themed recipes as fun, ongoing practice all year.
Click here to see what’s included and how family-style learning works with our lessons.
What’s Included
Our curriculum is designed to foster genuine critical thinking through intentional lesson layout: a foundational introduction to core concepts, hands-on activities and play-based learning that puts ideas into practice, and a reflective discussion to synthesize the learning. Depending on the subject, features may include:
- direct connections to the featured activities
- new information & concepts
- visual charts
- practice pages with answer keys
- observation and design pages
- naturally integrated vocabulary
- warm and memorable images
- scaffolded learning
- connections to living books & stories
- higher-order discussion questions
- immersive and play-based learning experiences
- social studies units often include positive affirmations combined with play-based bilateral stimulation
Family Style Learning
Our activities are intentionally designed to grow with your family. Lessons are designed for elementary and middle school students, but toddlers and preschoolers thrive using the exact same setups, learning through play. Because learning goals develop in complexity over time, you get more bang for your buck—utilizing the exact same supplies across all ages and through many years.
How activities are used by age:
- Infancy & Toddlerhood: Focuses on hands-on sensory and play-based exploration (touching, feeling, experiencing).
- Preschool & Pre-K: Develops language, basic concepts, and descriptive vocabulary using the same activities.
- Elementary & Beyond: Expands play and sensory based activities into formal lessons with deep conceptual understanding.
Through direct sensory experience, younger children will naturally absorb basic vocabulary and be exposed to advanced language and learning alongside their older siblings.
Materials & How To
Click here for materials and setup directions.
Materials:
General:
- kitchen scale (digital, measuring lbs, ounces, and grams)
- measuring cups & spoons (including a glass measuring cup, showing ounces & cups)
- large mixing bowl
- mixing spoon or dough whisk
- damp tea towel
- clean counter or work surface
- bench scraper
- baking paper
- baking sheet
- bread lame or sharp knife
- oven mitts
- cooling rack
- bread knife
- serving bowl
- food safe four leaf clover punch tool or cutter
Ingredients:
- 1 c sourdough starter (240 grams)
- 1⅓ c black coffee, room temperature (315 grams)
- 2 c stone-ground rye flour (225 grams)
- 2 t salt (12 grams)
- ¼ c molasses (85 grams)
- 2 T cocoa powder (10 grams)
- 1 c whole wheat flour (120 grams)
- 2 c bread flour (250 grams)
- ½ c water (120 grams)
Optional Ingredients:
- Spinach dip
- Fresh spinach leaves
How To:
Sourdough Pumpernickel Bread Recipe:
- Combine the sourdough starter, room-temperature coffee, and rye flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Cover and let the mixture rest on the counter for 5–12 hours.
- Add the salt, molasses, cocoa powder, whole wheat flour, bread flour, and water. Mix well.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a damp tea towel, and let it rise.
- Complete one set of stretch and folds every 40 minutes, returning the dough to the covered bowl after each set.
- When the dough reaches about 1½ times its original volume, divide it into 2 loaves.
- Let the loaves rest for about 1 hour, or until they have increased to approximately 1½ times their size.
- Place the loaves on baking paper.
- Score each loaf with a bread lame or sharp knife and transfer them to a baking sheet.
- Bake at 375°F for 50 minutes.
- Transfer the loaves to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before slicing.
Serving Presentation:
- Transfer the spinach dip to a serving bowl.
- Use a food-safe four-leaf clover punch to cut clover shapes from fresh spinach leaves.
- Arrange the spinach clovers over the top of the dip.
- Slice the pumpernickel bread and serve it alongside the spinach dip.
Find our full lesson plans above for more guidance and depth of learning.
Additional Learning Resources
Click here for additional resources, activities, & lessons.
More Lessons & Activities
- Full Lesson Plans: Browse our available full homeschool lesson plans in every collection.
- St. Patrick’s Day, Rainbows, & Money: Explore related themed activities here.
- March Themes: Discover our March page for more activities in this collection.
- Themed Learning Extras: immerse yourself in our curated resources through music & meditations, read alouds & picture books, movie night picks, and additional free curriculum.
- The Year Ahead: Visit our Monthly Collections to get ready for upcoming learning.
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