If You Can’t Meditate, Bake Bread
The act of making something every day can be a powerful form of anxiety relief
A recent comic by Luke McGarry shows a man in an apocalyptic hellscape, trying to get past a pair of armed and intimidating gatekeepers. “Please — grant me safe passage,” the man says. “I can trade medicine and precious metals.” To which the gatekeepers reply: “Ha! Fool! Don’t you know the currency of the future is homemade sourdough?”
You’re not just imagining it. Everyone is baking bread right now.
The search terms “bread,” and “baking bread,” have spiked to a 14-year high on Google Trends. You probably know a Bread Guy (or Bread Gal), and may even be one yourself.
But why have so many people suddenly become pursuers of the perfect olive loaf or French baguette during this pandemic? One explanation is that making bread can be an existentially healing endeavor. Stephen S. Jones, director of Washington State University’s Bread Lab, tells Wired that, over the years, he has received handwritten letters from three different people who, after visiting his lab, turned to breadmaking to cope with the grief of losing a child. He believes that baking bread is akin to a spiritual experience. “Bread is alive” and “you become one with this thing,” he suggests.
