BAKING IN THE TIME OF COVID

by Sandy Robson

photos by Members of COVID Comfort Facebook Group

One of the positive trends to emerge from the global pandemic has been a renewed interest in cooking and baking. People who had never picked up a paring knife or dusted a cake tin were getting busy in the kitchen. There were even shortages as we began stocking our pantries and demand soared for items, including flour and yeast. And in this hyper-connected social media age, we reached out to our online community for help tracking down essentials, sharing with each other which stores had what supplies on hand. And then came sourdough… the bread you could bake without yeast! It became a hot topic online, as did bread baking in general.

Flat bread

Arlene Rolston Administrator, Non-profit, Board Director

Sourdough loaf

Wendy Sears, Event Organizer

Fig bread

Mirella Trozzo Baker, Entrepreneur, Community Fundraiser

Cinnamon bun

Lawrence Sauter, Baker

If you’ve seen an influx of sourdough starters on your Instagram stories, you’re not alone. Over the past three weeks, Google Trend searches for “bread” have hit all-time highs, #breadmaking has garnered nearly half a million posts on social media and grocery stores are facing flour shortages.

– Louise Johnson “The science behind why everyone is suddenly baking bread” Globe & Mail, April 8, 2020

As the days progressed and we sought comfort, and something to keep busy with, online food groups sprang up across Canada and the US (and I am assuming worldwide), including a group called COVID Comfort, started by event planner and Nanoose local, Wendy Sears. From her first post on April 4th (and there were over 70 additional posts that day as invited friends jumped in) membership in the group has grown to over 600. Members posted photos, shared recipes, inspired and cheered each other on… and made me hungry!

Months later, as we are still finding our way through this time of COVID, and the days of summer are gone, we will once again be tucked inside our homes. So, it’s back to kitchen and happily. Fall is the perfect time to get cozy, replenish the sourdough starter, put on the apron, and jump back into what is already a busy baking season in our part of the world. To top it all off, baking is good for you, and your mental health, and has become a form of therapy for many.

But what to bake? If you are looking for some inspiration, The Huffington Post has created a list of “25 Baking Recipes for SelfQuarantine and Self-Care” that includes: Dark Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Cake, Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars, Quadruple Chocolate Pudding Cookies, Overnight Cinnamon Roll Bread With Chai Frosting —note to self: do not write when you are hungry—and Blender Lemon Pie.

So, what is on your home baking list for the season? Is there some holiday favourite that your family loves? Something that brings back memories of time together; perhaps a recipe passed along through generations? Drop us a line… we’d love to know!

Mama’s Shortbread… my home baking must have for the holidays.

The first printed recipe for shortbread appeared in Scotland in 1736. Traditionally it calls for one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour (by weight), but there are of course many variations on that theme, from whipped shortbread, to those that add pecans, cranberries or chocolate.

I have a vivid childhood memory of being in my grandmother’s kitchen while she, and my mom and aunties, worked together baking up a big buttery batch. Passed down through four generations, from my great-grandma Taylor, our family recipe is just the basics, although we did go rogue and included golden yellow sugar rather than white… oh my!

1 lb salted butter

1 c. golden yellow sugar

4 c. all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Cream butter. Stir in sugar and flour. Mix well, then work with hands until it forms a smooth sturdy dough and form into a disk. Roll out one half of the dough at a time to about 3/8” thick. Use a cookie cutter or knife to create the shape of your choice—my go to cookie cutter for many years has been a holly leave— and transfer to baking sheet. I also press a candied cherry into each. Just keep reforming and re-rolling the dough until it is used up… I get about 60 of my holly cookies. Bake until golden (12-15 minutes) and transfer to cooling rack. The shortbread will keep for a couple of weeks stored in an airtight tin, but they never seem to last that long in our household! They also freeze well.

Happy Baking!