Let It Rise!

Today was one of those rare but wonderful mornings when the kids got up pretty early for school.  This resulted in us having breakfast early and having extra time until the bus would arrive.  Me, being as frugal as I am with my money, am even more frugal with my time.  So I decided to prepare some pizza dough--one for tonight's dinner and one to freeze for another meal.

As any good baker knows, the magical ingredient in dough is yeast.  In order for the yeast to become "active", it needs to be exposed to just the right temperature--105-110 degrees, according to my favorite cookbook. 

I got my water ready and tested it--just about right from what I could determine.  I got everything else ready in the mixer to pass the time while the yeast did its thing. 

Everything was prepared.  I had the flour, salt, and oil in the mixing bowl.  Everything had taken close to 7 minutes by my estimate.  But there sat the yeast at the bottom of the water.  Lifeless.  I looked at the top of the water and there were no signs of any action going on--no bubbles, no movement.  I looked through the glass and everything was murky, it was no help watching through that vantage point.  I was disappointed.  Here I had wasted a packet of yeast by not getting the water temperature right.  Then a thought came, 'Maybe if I microwave it just a little, it will be warm enough to make the yeast active without killing it.'  This plan didn't sit too well in my mind.  Then another thought, 'God works like this.  He wants me to have faith that He is going to do what He says that He will do, even if I don't see Him working with my own eyes.  I need to prepare for two batches of dough even though it looks to me like there may only be one.'

So I left the counter where the lifeless yeast was sitting and went into my cabinet.  I grabbed two bowls and sprayed them with cooking spray, put the dough hook on the mixer, and went back to the yeast.  I stood there for a couple of minutes...waiting.  And wouldn't you know it, up rise the bubbles followed by the yeast!  I couldn't help but praise God as I watched that starburst pattern rise again and again from bottom of the measuring cup.  My Father loves me so much that He created a cooking class just for me!