Dear Skye,

Every weekend, I make pizza dough. I love watching the dough bubble and rise.

I asked my friend Mel Darbyshire why that happens. She’s head of baking at Washington State University’s Breadlab. There, scientists and bakers work together to develop grains that make super bread.

It turns out bread rises because it contains yeast.

Yeast is a microscopic, single-celled fungus. Like all living things, yeast needs energy to grow and reproduce. It gets that energy by eating sugar.

When I make pizza dough, I mix together warm water and sugar. Then I sprinkle a packet of yeast over the top and … » More …

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