When I was still working, before going into isolation, I found myself being caught up in the middle of toilet paper panic. I can remember when we first realised everyone was buying it and we couldn’t work out what was happening. The media hadn’t caught on yet. It wasn’t long before panic took hold on other products such as pasta, dog food and flour. This quickly spread to sugar, tea, coffee and most pantry staples. In ‘normal’ times pre corona virus, flour isn’t a big seller in these modern times of pre-packaged products, but suddenly everyone wanted flour, yeast, sugar and icing sugar.
It seems that everyone is a baker now. People that haven’t baked before are now whipping up gourmet delights such as cakes, slices and more complicated meals. I’m not being critical. I think it’s great. I love to see that people are going back to simpler times and overlooking packages and baking from scratch themselves. I started to really think about this when I saw that a baker on Instagram @missfoodwis put out the challenge to people who were isolated in their homes, to start baking. People were missing being able to go their favourite cafe or restaurant and started to yearn for baked goodies.
“So I propose we all bake….lets make a nice game and bake together, united by the hashtag #BakeCorona, because we will bake it, we will beat it. With every cake, biscuit and Swiss roll,” @missfoodwis wrote to her audience.
I read somewhere that the hashtag was shared about 600 times, at the time of writing this post. People who had never before baked anything, were sharing the hashtag and photos of their masterpieces – pastries, slices, cookies, bread and many more goodies that they would usually eat at the cafe or the restaurant. I probably live in a bit of a bubble but I hadn’t heard of the hashtag #bakecorona. I had noticed that people were proudly posting photos of the goodies that they were baking. They were even posting photos of their failures…..and there seemed to be lots of those.
Even though I usually follow a fairly healthy diet, I have even been baking myself during isolation,after not having done much baking at all in the past twenty years. I soon realised that “what we bake we eat”, so haven’t been doing as much recently. When my children were young, I baked everything. I wouldn’t have dreamed of buying bakery products or even a packet of biscuits. But after they left home, I didn’t do it much anymore. After all there were only two of us, and we didn’t need to eat all those cakes and biscuits. And then there was just one, and I definitely didn’t need the extra calories. My theory about this baking phenomenon, is that many of us are feeling stressed at the moment, and baking takes us back to better and less complicated times, times in our parents and grandparents kitchens. Good and uncomplicated times, with no threat of corona virus. Baking brings us comfort, and we certainly need to feel comforted right now.
My feeling is that it’s not just me who’s been feeling this way. Since being forced into isolation, the community seems to have been changing the way they live and changing their priorities. Many people have started doing what would have been thought of by many as ancient arts and crafts, before corona virus. People who have never grown vegetables before are now planting seeds and growing their own vegies. We have more time on our hands, and being used to a life that is jam packed and busy, many of us are feeling the need to fill those hours with something that is productive, and also comforting.
I really do hope it continues, when we come out of isolation and are able to start living our lives again. I would love to see society slow down a little and become more simple, but I have a feeling that most of us will jump back onto that merry go round of ‘busy-ness’ and there will no longer be time for these things that right now are bringing us comfort.
As for me, I haven’t made any decision yet about my plans after isolation. I’m not looking that far ahead. At the moment, I’m still enjoying being at home and doing everything possible to keep safe. I haven’t got to the stage yet, where I’m feeling bored with being at home. I feel that perhaps the boredom may not come as I have plenty in my life that keeps me busy. I plan to just go with the flow and not rush into any decisions.
I would love you to check out my other blogs: Best Bookish Blog and Tracking Down The Family
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Hi Jen, I have noticed the trend towards home baking and although I did make some healthy version ANZAC biscuits, like you there are only two of us and we don’t need the extra temptation of delicious baked goods. There is something comforting in kneading bread and smelling delicious aromas from the kitchen. I hope that for those who have turned to the ‘ancient arts and crafts’ as you suggest continue post CV. At the moment we are all living in a bubble and many are making lifestyle changes for the better. Let’s hope they continue when life returns to some new version of ‘normal’. xx
It would be lovely to see a more simple lifestyle continue after isolation Sue
I love baking – yet I don’t eat sugar (other than in its fermented form lol) but the baking clears my head and centres me…it always has done. I’m suffering at the moment because usually I send excess baking into work with my daughter, or to the volunteer job my husband does so at the moment, I can really only bake once a week. I did flirt with the idea of making my own sourdough starter, but that was just a step too far & I’m not that committed.
I agree Jo, sourdough is a step too far. I’m one of those rare people who doesn’t like it at all.
I hadn’t heard of the # either…I have done some mighty fails this lockdown lol…and some amazing baking. I have shared but didnt use the #.
Oh I have plenty of fails too Bree.
Hi Jen, I left a comment earlier so just popping back to say thank you for linking up at #MLSTL. I baked some Chocolate Mars Bar Muffins this morning as huge treat for my husband’s birthday. I don’t usually bake but after reading your post I’m blaming you LOL:) xx
That’s funny Sie. I just saw your puffins on insta. They look so yum. We’re not eating any more baked goods. Too many unnecessary calories
Hi Jennifer – I was astounded when the flour and sugar disappeared from the supermarket shelves. The thought of people buying mountains of flour to bake miriads of cakes just seemed ridiculous (and greedy). It’s nice to see the stock reappearing on the shelves again (at last). I haven’t bought into the baking thing myself because there’s only two of us to eat it all and I don’t need all those extra calories!
I’ve always seen baking as a way we express love to others, so not having anyone to share it with (other than my husband who’s also watching his weight) takes away any motivation for me to make cakes – which is just as well seeing there was no flour available!
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 😊
Hi Leanne, the whole stockpiling saga has had me puzzled. As if in our lives of plenty we would ever not be able to buy what we want. Until stockpiling became a thing!
I have only just been able to buy flour here Jen , so my cooking has involved more savoury recipes that I haven’t made for years. I mentioned it in a recent post, I seem to be cooking things out of a sense of nostalgia, of different times, maybe with rose tinted glasses. I did make scones last weekend for the first time in ages and loved the whole structure of it. Your post is very interesting, as I’m not bored either! I’m loving the time at home and I also wonder how people will change once restrictions are lifted, and hope they keep some of these new parts of their life. #mlstl
Thanks for visiting again Deb. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post. We have flour on shelves now but no yeast. We always make home made crumpets in winter so we’re eager to get the yeast.
Hi Jennifer, I read an article that spoke about how baking brings comfort during the pandemic. With the extra time gained from not going anywhere, I learn to bake as in to learn a new skill that produces consumable results. I don’t want to do crafts that create materials that just sit there and collect dust. Unlike other people who “stress bake”, I only bake a new recipe once a month and I’m mindful of the calories. #MLSTL
I feel the same about crafts Natalie. Also like you, it’s just the occasional baking being done here. If I had family still or could give it away, I’d do it more often
Unfortunately we can’t get flour as it is all being used to bake bread. The best we managed was cornflake cake nests for Easter. We have plenty of toilet paper in the shops which is more essential.
It was such a relief when the toilet paper started appearing again
Those things have disappeared from shelves here in Pennsylvania too. I was surprised and share some of your insights. When I was younger, before having children I would bake to cope, but then I would eat what I made. I have struggled a bit now, between cravings for carbs, things like homemade brownies and bread and cookies. I was going to bake bread and bought 2 five pound bags of flower at the beginning of lock down and then had shoulder surgery, so much for kneading bread! Even as things like toilet paper, napkins and Kleenex have begun to be in stock, the flours (plural) tend to be low in supply or not there at all. It will be interesting how that changes as life is phased back to pre-pandemic. Blessings, Michele
Thanks for visiting Michele. We are in interesting times for sure