Bread Baking for Stress Relief

There are people who think that making something delicious in the kitchen sounds like a great way to unwind after a stressful day, and then there are those who think of stirring and preheating and measuring and decide that a delivery pizza sounds like a much better idea. Me? I'm a little bit of both. I don't always have a bad day and think, "I can't wait to get home and make something," especially when I set foot in my place and get a good, long look at my couch...which I could sit on oh-so-easily rather than trying to put together an evening meal.

That said, I have, over the course of the past year, discovered the fabulous art of bread baking, and for me, it is a total de-stresser. There's something fabulous about the feel of the dough, silky and pliable under my hands, and something really pleasing about the rhythm of kneading. I even love the smell of flour, which to me always seems to signal something wholesome and delicious.

Photo: Matthew Bendert

I've learned that the true art of baking bread is that the more you do it, the more intuitively you begin to work. There's a "zone," if you will, and you start to recognize what the bread needs at what stages. Recipes become less relevant, and you become, like bread dough, infinitely malleable. For someone like me who gets totally stressed out (even over little things), there's something freeing about working with my hands, from my intuition, and having something incredible to show for it. The smell of the bread baking in the oven makes me feel like I've done something extraordinary for myself--like I've done something to comfort and take care of myself, and that's before the first morsel has even passed my lips. It's aromatherapy, without those cloying florals and things that will make you sneeze.

I could go on and on about the joys of eating the bread, but I think I'll hold myself to just saying this: when I started baking bread at home, it was the first time I ever looked forward to eating a crust. The heel, which is mostly crust, now becomes a delicacy--a lovely, crunchy piece to savor rather than the bit that ends up in the garbage can once the rest of the loaf is gone.

Bread recipes abound, but I'm indebted to Beatrice Ojakangas, whose fabulous book of bread recipes has kept me busy for about 8 months as I try to work my way through all of them. I've kind of stalled with Oatmeal Sourdough. It is perfection, and I just keep making it again and again.

Never made bread before? Start now! It's not that hard! Go forth, make bread, and feel better.

Photo: Shannon Lieberman