Mental Health

This is what I do, started years ago. It helps not only for the reasons you mentioned but also you have to plan ahead, making sourdough and such requires days of planning beforehand to get your starter ready, then the various proofing times and such. So it also creates a routine.

Baking requires math as it is a science, figuring out percentages, times, temps and how that all works together to get the results you want.

Once you have the few materials you need it is also cost effective and a good way to make/keep friends. Bread, or other baked goods, are some of the oldest foods known to man and people love getting free fresh baked bread. I bake two loaves at a time, one for me and one for whomever I happen to run into that day. Pretty much people start asking you to bake something for their party or whatnot and you can either do it or don’t.

There are limitless options with baking, every culture has their traditional baked goods or you can come up with your own. I spent three years on my chocolate chip cookie recipe, they are magnificent. It takes me three to four days just to make them and even though I don’t bake them often people still talk about them.

Seriously, if you have an interest then I would recommend this route. Sounds like you would start by doing it all by hand, I did that too, it was years before I bought a stand mixer, but a word of advice, once the tennis elbow starts to show up after a year or 3 then supplement with a mixer so you don’t permanently injure yourself.

*Edit to fix errors above and add below;

If you have any questions shoot me a message, I can help you get a list of what you’d need for the price point you’d want it in, where to start and what to do etc. I do more sour doughs, cookies, muffins and pizza doughs kinda guy but I’ve done a bit of everything.

It is a worthwhile hobby that is soothing, at times violent but also rewarding. Not only do you get amazing bread but so does everyone else in your life that you’d like to share that with. The appreciation from others gave me confidence to keep going. Not many people would turn down a fresh baked loaf of bread, it is one of the most basic things in food for all history in almost every culture but also incredible to be able to make something to the best of your ability. It’s like golf, you are really just playing against yourself in the end. The ingredients and tools are so basic so the limit to how far you want to take it is on you.

Here are some of mine; Sourdoughs

Chocolate Chip Cookies