Baking

He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast^* that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened. – Matthew 13:33
Cooking is an art.
Baking is a science.
I’m a utilitarian cook. I cook to eat. Getting dinner on the table is a chore for me and it showed. I’ve gotten better about it recognizing that doing a good job of getting dinner on the table for my family is an act of sacrifice and love for them. I’d rather show them that I love them than tell them I don’t think too much about their needs.
Baking however, is right up my tree. With the right combination of ingredients something absolutely magical happens. Once an understanding of the ingredients develops making flavorful substitutions becomes delightfully possible. I love substituting freshly ground nut flours for part of the wheat flour; adding deep dark chocolate and freshly ground dark roasted coffee. I once made a cheesecake that came with a warning label: made with chocolate, caffeine, full fat butter and cream cheese. It was gone by the end of the night.  I loved decorating cakes and seriously considered heading down the pro-path but life changed and quilting caught my attention in a way I never would have considered. Like my quilts the cakes leaned toward bold.
With all of that said I love working yeast dough. Yeast dough requires an investment of patience and time. Time to let the yeast proof. Time to let the dough proof. Time to let the dough rest before kneading. Time to knead. Time to proof once more before baking. It takes an understanding that in the cool dry of winter the dough will take longer to proof than in the warm humidity of summer. That a hot humid oven will develop that gorgeous, tasty crust.
The fascinating thing is that it only takes a little bit of yeast to get started. It’s kinda like salt – a little bit goes a long way. And yeast can be “caught” – meaning sour dough. Sour dough needs of continued nurturing: feeding, sharing, using.

A little bit of faith, a little bit of skill can take us a long way. Faith when exercised gets us through the tough times. Both of these require our commitment. Faith grows when tested., when we have to rely on God to get us through difficult times. Skill when exercised brings great beauty to our lives.  Skill takes time to develop.  Our first quilts are rarely great. Our 30th quilt can be spectacular. When we look back we can clearly see growth and progress. We have to be patient and wait and watch for the “proof”. Where have you grown in your quilting?

Happy Quilting!

Teri