by Ali Shaw I think the word "unprecedented" has gotten more air-time over the past three weeks than it ever could have imagined. Without the past to guide us in how to react to the circumstances that COVID-19 has brought about, I, like many others, am turning to comforting activities to pass the time between classes, daily walks, and naps. For me, that means reigniting my love of baking! When I was twelve I "interned" at a local bakery in Portland: St. Cupcake. Seeing that I was twelve and, ya know, not legally allowed to work yet, I'm pretty sure I wasn't much more than a volunteer in the kitchen, but you'd better believe that I proudly touted my intern status to anyone that asked. As an awkward kid with few social skills to speak of, watching endless hours of Food Network's Cupcake Wars and the TLC-smash-hit Carlo's Bakery while poring over cookbooks and decorating manuals took up much of my middle school free time. Though I claimed that my passion was entirely rooted in making sweet treats for my loved ones, I will admit that a huge part of it was (and still is) my insatiable sweet tooth. At St. Cupcake I learned from many a Portland confectionary professional while shocking them all when I'd casually mention that no, I was not a young twenty-something peer, but in fact, was going into the eighth grade. Alarming for some and amusing for others, I walked away from my three-week stint as a baker knowing that as much as I loved cupcakes, the sheer amount of dishwashing required to be a professional baker was enough to deter me from pursuing culinary school as my next steps. However, when Colorado's "Stay at Home" ordinance was announced last week, I looked around my partner's house and decided that there really wasn't anything more comforting that I could provide to her and her family than some warm homemade treats. I'm a firm believer that carbs help any situation, so the first stop of the Baking Obsession Reunion Tour brought me to shoot my shot at the world of bread making. Denver, Colorado, nicknamed the Mile High City for its 5,000 ft above sea level elevation, may not have been the best choice to dive headfirst into the whiles of highly altitude sensitive yeasted doughs, but no matter: it's not like I had anything better to do over Spring Break! My first loaf was a classic French bread recipe courtesy of a class my partner's mom took eleven years ago. Most of us are our own worst critic and that's usually hugely true for myself in particular, but I must say, for a first attempt at a complex, seven and a half hour process: I think I did pretty alright! Next up on my baking journey, I'm upping the complexity (might end up being a big mistake) and trying out Bon Appetit's Best Bread Recipe with the help of my personal hero: Claire Saffitz. Currently, my first 'Poolish' is fermenting upstairs on our kitchen counter, and with any luck, we will have bread by Wednesday.
Though this time is scary and overflowing with unknowns, I'm trying to hang onto the light and the gifts that our isolation is bringing. For me: that's sharing bread with my Colorado family here, and taking lots of time to watch as many Netflix documentaries and Tik Toks as I want: sans self-criticism. We might be telling ourselves that "Now is the time to be our most productive! We have all the time in the world!", but, to me, that doesn't seem entirely fair. Of course, the extra free time is nice, but I do not see how holding ourselves to an idealized idea of what we could do with our time in quarantine is going to make this time any less trying. We are living through unprecedented times (see, there's that word again!) and with that, we must give ourselves grace to be overwhelmed, to be sad, disappointed, and lonely. With those feelings comes space to find the joy that certainly does exist within the walls of our homes, or even, our ovens.
1 Comment
Sarah Mahl
4/7/2020 05:23:03 pm
LOVE
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