Let’s go back to when it all started.
Back to the time when people were confused as to what to call it. In January 2020 the WHO tentatively referred to it as the novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease. The official names COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 were announced the following month.
I think I remember glancing at an article about it in December 2019. Definitely heard a whisper of a virus in late January 2020, though I didn’t think anything of it at the time. But come mid-March 2020, my manager had sent around an email letting us know that we could work from home amid growing concerns of the rapidly spreading virus, and I’ve been doing Homeoffice ever since then.
So why did I wait one and a half months—until May 2, 2020, to be exact—to make my first bread?
Because it was near bloody impossible to get flour back then.
Germany recorded its first confirmed case on March 8, 2020. In the following weeks a partial lockdown was announced, restaurants were closed, schools were shut, travel was restricted, and the word Homeoffice entered the vernacular.
The world as we knew it was changing fast, and people sought to quell their anxiety by stocking up on pantry staples and bog rolls. During lockdown, going to the shops was the highlight of the day. Unless you were looking for flour and had gone to four different stores, but to no avail.
True, the supermarkets weren’t completely out of flour—you could sometimes find cake flour (equivalent to Weizenmehl Typ 405 here) or rye flour (Roggenmehl). However, all but for a light dusting on the shelves, there was never a trace of all-purpose flour (Weizenmehl Typ 550). You could find some on Amazon, but back then they were going for exorbitant amounts. I contemplated buying a kilo bag of flour for 25€. The fomo was real.
Thankfully, I held out, and on that fateful April 25, 2020 I spied this on the supermarket shelves. I sent a photo to my flatmate to share the excitement.
But why #quarantinebaking?
I think it’s because of baking’s low barrier to entry. All the things you need to make bread you would most likely already find at home, and they’re all very affordable. Salt—check. Water—check. Yeast—probably. Flour—depends. Time—plenty.
Especially with a beginner bread recipe that takes less than three hours, which is what I started with, baking seemed an inviting project for an evening.
You also get instant feedback with baking, unlike with learning an instrument, for example. After a few hours, your bread is baked, and you can assess and determine how you could improve next time.
And there’s something magically therapeutic about kneading dough. You can really get into zen mode with this practice that has spanned centuries. Apparently the first bread ever made was around 10,000 years ago in Egypt. Here’s a topic to delve into at a later date.
But the real reason why baking is the supreme pandemic hobby? You can eat it. #stresseating
So, without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, chuck your googlies on my very first loaf.
