Many people have taken to baking and cooking more at home at a staggering rate due to COVID-19. Over 273,000 posts on Instagram use the hashtag #quarantinebaking. Everyone seems to have taken up quarantine baking — especially bread making (some with roaring success, others an utter disaster) — but you can’t deny that baking is back.
Not sure if it ever really left, but I can give you a long list of people in my life that I never thought would pick up a whisk who are now self-proclaimed quarantine baking pros.
Why Quarantine Baking?
According to a CNBC article featuring Julie Ohana, a culinary art therapist (yes, they exist!), “When times are turned on its head we look for ways to cope. So the heart of the explanation is that cooking and baking bring comfort. Baking a loaf of bread, some cookies, etc. is so basic but fills such a void. When I’m in the kitchen, I know what I can expect. I’m in control of what dishes I cook and what our meal time will look like.”
Isn’t that what we all crave right now? It’s natural to want to control every situation, but we all know right now we don’t have that luxury.
Without getting political, it feels like it’s COVID’s world, and we’re just living in it. As someone who always cooked and baked growing up, I knew I gained catharsis from it, but I never really dug into the studied, psychological reasons why baking is an actual form of therapy.
How Quarantine Baking Benefits Your Mental Health
Let’s look at why quarantine baking — or, more properly termed, culinary art therapy (or CAT) — is beneficial to mental health.
It forces you to focus all of your energy and attention into one skill.
This way, you’re shutting out the rest of the world and completely enveloped in making sure that dough is just the right wetness, or that cake batter is beaten not too much or too little, but exactly enough to get that perfect rise in the oven.
It breaks thought patterns.
Healthline talked with Ohana as well, where she says, “Breaking those [thought patterns] is very helpful in being able to get control in anxiety attacks short term, and also teaches longer-term coping skills.”
It gives you a creative outlet.
The four-year-old I nannied put my coloring skills to shame, so I’ve never been one who enjoyed making art. However, give me a spatula and some frosting and watch the master at work. Quarantine baking gives you the opportunity to get as creative as you want.
Rustic apple tart? On days where I need to produce something in a flash, I go to this recipe because it’s meant to look messy. Three-tier LOL doll cake? On days where I have nothing but time, I enjoy making intricate bakes for my friends and family. You can do whatever you want with it.
Your creativity can also come in many forms. You can get crazy with colors, decorating, or crazy with flavors! I remember distinctly feeding my parents some of the most insane flavor combinations known to man when I was young and just starting to bake, and sometimes they actually worked! Sometimes.
You’re connecting with yourself, physically and emotionally.
This is similar to the first example of how you’re focusing your energy into one task, but the physical and emotional aspect of kneading dough with your hands, chopping nuts, etc., is another reason why quarantine baking makes a great outlet.
Is your partner pissing you off for no other reason than just breathing too loud? Attack that dough. Spare an hour-long fight about nothing. You’re just getting stir-crazy because of the stay-at-home order. Getting physical with that French bread just might save your relationship. You’re welcome.
It’s a great way to connect with other people.
Everyone seems to be running around all the time, on their phone, watching Netflix, or just not spending quality time with people. Turn the phones and T.V. off, step away from your home office if you have one and bake with the people you love.
Try Your Hand at Quarantine Baking
So, should everyone bake? Sure! This is a global pandemic If you haven’t tried at least one new thing since March, you’re not quarantining right.
You have to change it up. Break a pattern, take time to do something just for you, whether it’s baking or putting together a weird mythical forest creature puzzle you found in the very back of the shelf at Target.
People finally have the free time to explore new outlets now, so take advantage of it. Who knows? You may even find a new calling!
