Few things are as therapeutic as baking. There’s something so soothing about mixing up the batter, popping it in the oven and pulling out a freshly made cake, cookie or pastry.
If you find yourself with a bit more time on your hands and in need of cheering up, now is the perfect opportunity to experiment with some new recipes.
If you do manage to get your hands on flour and eggs, here are some challenges to up your baking game:
1. Banana bread
2. Sourdough bread
I am truly basic. I made a sourdough in quarantine. pic.twitter.com/3ZYWv3drP0
— Sweet Baby Boi Adrian (@Autotrappic) April 7, 2020
Sourdough is the other type of bake that people have become obsessed with in isolation. Maybe it’s because a sourdough starter requires constant love and attention, so if you’re stuck at home all the time it’s much easier to feed it and not accidentally forget about it. Sourdough is made without yeast (perfect if your local supermarket has run out), instead the rise comes from using fermented flour and water mixture, or preferment.
3. Croissants
The pastry takes a fair amount of effort – you have to fold butter into different layers in a process called laminating – but the results will be well worth it. You might be a bit astounded at how much butter actually goes into a croissant, though.
4. Baked Alaska
5. Souffle
6. Macarons
7. Croquembouche
8. Baklava
9. Hot cross buns
10. Torta setteveli
Prue Leith’s recipe has a whopping 21 steps.
