The View From Here – Baked With Love And A Side Of Frustration
Guess what I did this weekend? I baked my own bread. From “scratch”. With love – as my mom used to say. Because as we learned on Friday, baking bread makes you feel good.
On Fridays we team up with the Canadian Mental Health Association Lambton-Kent for Feel Good Fridays, and this past Friday the idea was shared to BAKE BREAD to feel good.
Research shows, baking your own bread is good for your mental health. Mixing the ingredients, kneading the dough, watching the dough rise – can all be very soothing.
One study showed after people spent six two-hour sessions baking bread, all of them reported feeling happier, more creative, and having a sense of
achievement. 
They also reported that making bread made them feel more relaxed, less anxious and that they felt they had a sense of purpose.
I tried to make my own bread early in this pandemic. I found some yeast in the cupboard, which I’m sure, looking back, was not new.
This was the result. I know. Not pretty. (smile)
It was a little tough. Chewy comes to mind. But I tried.
So on Friday, when we learned about the value of baking bread and I did some research, I realized what I had done wrong. Probably had old yeast. Probably didn’t knead the dough long enough. And I used all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. Which isn’t terrible. But bread flour is lighter. I also learned the secret to a soft crust? Butter on the warm bread when it comes out of the oven.
Sunday afternoon, armed with newly purchased bread flour and yeast, recipe in hand, I was determined to bake myself some bread. Looking for that relaxed, less anxious feeling.
Let me tell you, I don’t think it relaxed me.
It started out pretty easy. But then as I started kneading it, and had piles of flour all around, it led to a pretty big mess pretty fast. The dough was sticking to my hands. I had to stop and rewind the YouTube video for instruction. Looking at my dough, comparing to the one in the video. Not even close. (smile). 
I was determined to keep going though. Even if my frustration level was growing by the minute trying to make this work.
But as I kept going, and saw it coming together – rising like it should, smoothing out after kneading it, I was feeling pretty good. I was bragging to my husband and kids. “Look what I’ve done!”
The bread actually rose OVER the edges of the loaf pan which made me laugh out loud.
But the end result made me smile. And slicing it for dinner did give me that sense of accomplishment.
After a rough couple of weeks, trying to get back to feeling like myself, this little project really did make a difference. And everyone absolutely loved it! Just a loaf of bread, right? Just some flour and yeast, an egg and some sugar. A little bit of time and patience. So worth it in the end. The house smelled amazing most of the day. The cleanup wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be and it does give you an amazing sense of accomplishment.
Yes, you can go to the store and easily buy a loaf of bread. But it isn’t even close to the same.
It’s easy to get caught up in the world around us. The numbers, the cases, the fear, the what-if’s. Lord knows I do.
Find something that will help ground you, center you and take your mind off it. Like baking bread. Is there anything you’ve learned how to do in this pandemic? I’m still wanting to re-learn how to knit. Maybe knit some oven mitts to take my fresh baked bread out of the oven. (smile).
