Doing some quick math, former building aide Elizabeth Cimini figured she’s being doing her special bread presentation to the third-grade classes at Dutemple Elementary School for nine years – and she has no plans to slow down.

“I think the first or second time I did it was for the current seniors at East. I was the building aide then and noticed that I was making copies that tied into a story about bread baking. I told Ms. Vartabedian – now Mrs. Marasco – that I was a baker and would be happy to talk about it to both third grades,” Cimini said.

As part of her presentation, Cimini makes a challah, since a braided loaf is always impressive, along with another loaf of a different style.

“I make two loaves of each bread and slice up one of each for speediness of distributing and bring the other loaves uncut,” she said. “That way, students can see what they look like. The challah uses the old-school method of proofing the yeast.”

She brings in pre-measured yeast, flour and sugar and adds the warm water at school. Students get to watch the foaminess as the yeast gets to work.

“I bring the glass around so everyone can sniff the mixture. One year, when I wasn’t watching closely enough, the foaming yeast started to overflow the glass. Luckily, an observant young lady called my attention to it,” she laughed.

Of course, the most popular part of the demonstration is when the students try both breads. Before the taste test, Cimini provides a brief overview of bread making and how it has evolved over time.

During this year’s presentation, Cimini passed around pieces of orange bread and challah. In a clear landslide, the challah was voted class favorite, receiving more than 30 votes out of a possible 40.

After the bread was tasted and judged, students asked Cimini about her baking background and posed other food-related questions.