Many years ago, at the end of by bachelor’s degree, I decided that I want to skydive. Not once, but to learn how to do it really.

I took a course and there you learn the physics, the hows and what can go wrong (probably the worst class in the course) but the anticipation to start the jumps was stronger than any rational.

Before the first jump, you get acquainted with the parachute and how to fold it properly. It was hard and every 3 steps the instructor comes to count the ropes. By looking at them and if they are laid out correctly they  knew if you had  folded the parachute correctly.

Then the first jump came- you put on the parachute, sit on the floor of a small plane and wait. Wait for the instructor to call you to the open door. There you sit with your feet folded under the plane, feeling the wind and looking 10,000 feet down. After what feels like a lifetime, the instructor puts his hand on your shoulder and says GO. And you jump. Simply jump out of the plane down on the clouds. No parachute just the wheezing of the wind around your ears. After a few seconds you pull the button that opens the parachute and fly up into a balanced position and from there you navigate your way down. It was amazing. Every jump was breathtaking. It made me feel so small compared to the nature around me. Looking down at the houses, fields, ocean and having the birds around me. I loved skydiving and the mixed emotions of excitement, fear and adrenaline that only jumping out of a plane gives you.

The worst part was the second jump. That jump you have a parachute on that YOU have folded on your own. That’s scary. The first jump in a day you get a parachute from the rack and don’t think if the one before you folded it correctly….. But, before you go up for a second jump, you do the folding. Although you go through the same steps and someone always checks your work it is scary that you might have missed something….

Working with yeast has the same anticipation, demands the same patience and proper handling of the dough.

You prepare the dough, always handle the dough with care and respect, once rested you fold it, and roll it out, fold again and roll out. Some dough you add the butter during the folding stage and others you fold to give the dough more layers, softer texture, making it airy and delicious. The way you fold your dough will determine the type of dough you get.

Whether it’s a yeast cake or bread, the anticipation to see how the dough turns out, to see the air bubbles or flakiness of the dough never disappears. That is why I love yeast. You don’t just bake. You create.  Your patience and involvement turn flour sugar and yeast into amazing creations that rise and fill your house with amazing smells of heaven.