Of what use is flour? Every child knows that it is made into bread and puddings and pastry.
面粉有什么用处呢? 孩子们都知道, 面粉可以用来制作面包、布丁与糕点。
To make bread, we must mix the flour with some water, to which yeast or barm has been added, and a little salt.
在制作面包时, 需要在面粉中加入一些水、酵母以及少量盐分。
When these are all kneadedtogether with the hands, they form a tough and elastic mass of dough.
我们用手和面, 将这些食材均匀混合在一起, 就成为了结实而很有弹性的生面团。
This dough is left in a warm place for about twenty minutes, to give it time to swell or rise.
然后, 我们将生面团放在温热的地方大约二十分钟, 让它能够膨胀或者“发起来”。
Then it is cut into pieces, each big enough for one loaf, and these loaves are baked for about two hours in a hot oven.
随后, 将面团切割成块, 每一块都是一块面包的尺寸, 然后将它们放入烤箱中烘烤两个小时左右。
Have you noticed how porous or spongy good bread is?
你有没有注意过, 面包烤得好, 就能呈现非常明显的海绵状结构?
This is due to the fact that the yeast produces a kind of gas, called carbonic acid gas, inside the dough.
这是因为酵母在面团内部生成了一种名叫碳酸气的气体。
The heat of the oven drives this gas out of the bread;
烤箱中的热量将气体排出面包之外,
and as it makes its way out, it forms little holes and passages or pores in the bread.
于是, 面包中便形成了气孔或气道。
Yeast is a very curious substance.
酵母是一种非常有趣的物质。
It is really a cluster of plants; but each plant is so small that we cannot see it without the help of a microscope.
实际上, 它是一簇植物群；然而, 每种植物都太过微小, 借助显微镜才能看到。
These plants grow very fast in the dough;
这些植物在面团中迅速生长,
and as they grow they produce a great deal of carbonic acid gas, which makes the dough rise.
在这个过程中, 它们会生成很多碳酸气。面团之所以能够发起来, 原因就在于此。
When you eat the bread, what good does it do you ?
吃面包有什么好处呢?
The gluten goes to form your muscles or flesh,
小麦淀粉能够形成你的肌肉,
the lime hardens your bones, and the starch warms your body and gives you strength for your work.
碳酸盐可以加固你的骨骼, 而淀粉则带来了身体所需的热量与体能。
So bread, you see, is a good food, as it contains nearly everything that you need to nourish your body.
因此, 面包是一种很好的食物, 因为它几乎包含我们身体所需的各类营养。