The Joy of Stress Baking

This is why everyone's baking, if you're confused. Also, some recipes if you're a baker!

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

Even though I love to, I normally only bake on special occasions. After all, it’s time consuming, and I don’t need three dozen cookies or an entire cake to eat by myself.

That’s all changed, with this pandemic. Now I’m baking up a storm and super grateful my neighbors aren’t so germ-phobic they won’t take some so I can’t eat it all by myself.

Everything that usually keeps me from baking is why baking is saving my sanity right now. Baking can be fairly straightforward, but the yummiest things are often labor and time-intensive. You use a ton of bowls and spoons, so you have to wash a ton of dishes. Breads might take multiple rises, each taking hours if you’re in cooler weather. And you have to concentrate when you bake. You can’t just chuck a bunch of things in a pot, correct the seasoning later, and call it stew. You’ve got to measure, tick off each ingredient, make sure everything is present and accounted for, or the recipe might not work.

Which is why those of us who know how to bake immediately started baking. Yes, it’s comforting to cook. But baking is work. Delicious work, but work nonetheless. And I’d rather focus on batter or dough than focus on a pandemic.

So, if you’re not a baker, why not try? Just follow the instructions, which I know is easier said that done. Also, obviously, ingredients can be hard to come by, and don’t risk your life to get some bread flour. But if you’ve got ingredients, why not push yourself?

Here are some recipes I love or I’ve been trying, and you can see my instagram for pics and more!

I love this focaccia recipe, and there’s a helpful video if you’ve never made break before. It’s not super authentic, but it’s SO oily and delicious.

This donut cake is super straightforward and delicious. If you don’t have buttermilk, there are a ton of cheats to make your own.

These ciabatta are a bit fiddly because the dough is super wet, but you’ve never had a better sandwich or garlic bread than with the results.

I recently made these hot cross buns (with dried cranberry and mango because I didn’t have currants and peel). These are a little more labor intensive than the other recipes here, but totally worth it!

I’m making these peanut butter and jelly bars next, because they look delicious. Tune into my instagram to see how they go! ;)

And if you make any of these, let me know how it goes! xo

As always, feel free to share this post:

Or to sign up if you want more like this straight to your inbox!