The Beauty of Baking

With my blog title literally including the word "sweet", what other things come to our mind when we hear that word? Sweetness comes along with snacks, cakes, muffins, brownies, pies and so much more! What is the sweet-filled process of creating such delicacies? Baking! 

What is it about baking that makes it so delightful? I love to cook in principle, it's recently been my new hobby since the pandemic began. It's just so satisfying to be able to create something delectable that everyone enjoys! Recently, I've been really into baking and I'm writing this article to convince you to get your oven started and start baking too!

It's a relaxing and stress-releasing activity

Whenever I bake, I find it as a time to unwind, relax, and release the pent-up stress over daily life. It just has a relaxing effect that substantially improves relaxation and stress reduction for me. It's been proven with science too! Kneading bread, for example, has been proved to lower anxiety and help prevent and manage depression. I personally get a little too rough when kneading, I let out all the frustrations I have on that lumpy piece of flour. No one's judging you anyway, so might as well multi-task and knead that bread to its senses as you're creating the best sourdough ever. 

It also creates a rhythm, from weighing ingredients to having the mixer running in the background to frosting the bread. You must follow a set of instructions religiously and that's a very comforting activity for an organizer and type-A person like me. Baking might be a relaxing way to decompress for those who need it, it works for me and it might work for you too! 

It makes your appetite better

There is a reason why desserts are saved for last, it's so we have something to look forward to after eating the main course. It's like a reward system, and having something to look forward to makes your experience a lot more enjoyable. As we age, our palates change and vary. Baking stimulates the senses, so it's a fantastic way to get elders to eat more and try new foods. My grandmother loves it when I make her favorite oatmeal cookies! She usually eats bland food recently due to age, but she never turns down something I baked and it is more than my pleasure to serve her only the best treats I can create. 

The texture of the flour, the aroma of baked goods, and the sight of the frosting being applied all assist to excite the senses and create a healthy appetite. 

You're in control of everything

Did I mention that I'm kind of like a Type-A person? I just love to be able to do things in my preference. I love being in control, and baking allows me to do just that. Aside from the essentials, you'll have total control over how much of one taste you want and may even add a brand new ingredient to the mix to improve the flavor if desired. Who cares if I want to add more buttercream frosting? Or if I want an overfilled scone with strawberry jam? It's my craft, my food, and my process! You have total control over how a recipe is altered. Everything is under your control!

It allows your creativity to shine

Lastly, baking allows your imagination to go wild! I love taking risks and being completely unconventional and it shows when I bake. I once made a blue velvet cake, using blue coloring instead of red and it looked out of the world! When it comes to baking, you have complete creative control, whether you have the ideal idea for decorating cupcakes or building a unique cake. It is not required that creativity be obvious, you are totally free to experiment with different combinations of components! A blue velvet cake? A cheese-flavored muffin over blueberries? All cool! The sky is the limit when baking, go nuts!

So where is the beauty in that?

I have this belief that things can be done poorly, as long as you're enjoying it. That's why I wanted to focus on the process of baking rather than its results! When I was first starting, I made the most horrendous chocolate pudding ever. It was mucky, had a weird texture, and the taste? I don't want to remember actually... But I loved the process as I made that terrible chocolate pudding. Does it taste bad? Yes. Is it somehow edible? No comment. Did I enjoy the process? Definitely. 

Most people get intimidated by baking because they always think that the result has to be good but the truth is, in baking or in any hobby, in particular, you don't just start as magically good at it. It requires practice and patience, which is often recently, forgotten by most. 

The beauty of baking is not only in the creation, the results that came out of the oven. The beauty in it is the process, the time you spent measuring the ingredients, the hours of waiting for the dough to rise, the shaky hands when piping the cake... because all of these are your efforts, your sweat, and your dedication poured into a baking pan to create something. There is beauty in perseverance and patience, and that's what baking is all about.