The Great Flour Crisis
Flour and yeast are missing on the shelves! In Germany, where I currently reside, and in the UK and Canada where my family report from — flour is difficult to source and yeast even more so.
It seems people have taken to either gardening or baking during this time at home. For those of us that live in apartments gardening is slightly restricted so it’s been primarily an uptake in baking. The question is — why…?
Comfort cooking
My comfort cooking, as with many people, is common to where I grew up and/or influenced by my childhood.
My go-to dishes generally consist of one dish meals such as shepherds pie, fish pie, veggie pie — basically anything with mashed potato on top is defined as pie in the UK! Over time I have expanded that repertoire to include Jamie Olivers lasagne with butternut squash, sweet potato Red Thai curry, veggie chilli, risotto, quiches, italian tarts, and more. And I have cooked all those and more during this six week (at time of writing) quarantine.
But now it turns out. I’m also a baker.
Comfort Baking
So how did this happen? How are people who do not identify themselves as bakers, suddenly baking? People I know are using their Thermomix daily to make bread dough, fresh rolls every single day. I, myself, have taken to baking almost every other day. Now my local store is out of flour and on Instagram Jamie Oliver is offering tips on substitutes if you cannot find flour. I found myself curious about why we are all suddenly drawn to baking, so I did a bit of research…
Psychology of baking
While there is no concrete evidence to support it, most people believe that comfort foods alleviate loneliness. People believe baking primes positive thoughts linked to social interactions or happier times. Which makes sense and explains why different foods comfort different people, we all had different childhoods or come from different regions of the world.
Childhood & nostalgia
Foods high in sugar and carbohydrates are more comforting because they are usually associated with childhood, and have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal. Perhaps reminding us of home, family, and/or friends, or sneaking a whole bag of cookies for a lunch when mum left us at home alone to fend for ourselves!
Self-expression & stress relief
Baking is also a productive form of self-expression and communication, something to share with loved ones, an expression of love. Creativity also impacts overall wellbeing.
“There is a stress relief that people get from having some kind of an outlet and a way to express themselves.” — Donna Pincus, Boston University
Alleviating sadness & increasing mindfulness
The core reason though is the idea that baking requires our full attention and therefore is the map to meditation and mindfulness. Because we have to measure precisely, focus physically on rolling out dough or kneading the dough, and we must be present. The smell, taste, touch, the tactile elements of baking create a need to be mindful, and thereby reduces stress and eases the presence of sad thoughts.
John Whaite won “The Great British Bake Off” in 2012, and claimed baking helped him deal with manic depression. The main idea is because you are focused on baking you can not be caught up in your own thoughts, and since you are doing something productive with a tangible outcome and something to share at the end of it, even better!
The oven cooked truth
I was feeling particularly low two weeks ago, it had been four weeks of quarantine and I found myself feeling nostalgic for friends and reminiscing of times spent at the biergartens of Munich. I found myself drawn to the kitchen and before I knew it five hours had gone by and I had baked muffins, brownies and thrown together a pie.
A supreme privilege to have so much in a time of so little, and I am grateful they are allowing meetings one-to-one in Munich now so I can share my baked goods with friends — it was also getting rather dangerous for my health!
So here’s the truth. While butter, flour and sugar are not so healthy for us as a sustained diet, they are bloody gorgeous and delicious under quarantine.
And if they alleviate the sadness and stress that is endemic to the situation we now find ourselves in — then let’s just bake.
Instagram: @raj.hayer
Recipes and Recommendations
- Here are some of the recipes I have tried and loved these past weeks
Cheese scones by BBC Good Food
White chocolate macadamia brownies by Nigella Lawson
Carrot cake muffins with cream cheese icing by Nigella Lawson
2. Some of the cookbooks I love are listed in my Kit “Love of Cooking”
Please just buy Nigella’s “How to be a domestic goddess”, the title says it all “The art of comfort baking!”
3. Friends and strangers alike are baking and the hashtags like #BakeCorona and #QuarantineBaking are trending, here are a few people to follow:
Jamie Oliver — I tried his rhubarb crumble and it was amazing
Beets Pulse and Thyme — recipes taste as good as they look — try the amazing flax bread recipe as a substitute for the flour
The Purple Carrot — crispy tofu is my new go to, religiously tested by Portia De Rossi!
The Happy Pear — everything is surprising, cheese sensation without cheese!
Michelle McKenzie Nutrition — it still matters even when baking!
Suzy’s Cake Angels — for baking inspiration, these photos will blow your mind
