Stuck at home and looking for ways to de-stress? Baking is the perfect solution. Not only can you eat the results, but it gets your mind off your worries.
With the way the world is today and most of us practicing as much social-distancing as possible, stress levels are understandably high. There’s only so much you can do inside your home before you get bored and start overthinking everything. But there is one thing you can do to distract yourself and relieve some stress: baking.
As long as you have some basic ingredients, you can make a ton of different baked goods and not have to head to the grocery store. Eating the results of your work isn’t a bad thing, either. But besides the benefits of making your own food and focusing on something that isn’t coronavirus-related, the act of baking can be a great stress reliever.
I find that the best recipes for stress relief are ones you make with your hands. Always wanted to make bread but never had the chance? Now’s the perfect time. Put the bread maker aside and knead the dough yourself. Whether the bread comes out good or not isn’t even the point. The act of punching and kneading the dough can be very cathartic.
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Any kind of cut-out cookies are also a great option. If I’ve learned anything from baking for years, it’s the utter joy of beating the crap out of cold dough with a rolling-pin. Don’t go wild, but a few hits won’t hurt anything.
Rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookies also keep your mind occupied and away from stressful thoughts. You can’t think about the world when you’re trying to decide if your dough is the right thickness or not, or if you should use the heart cookie cutter or the star.
But don’t feel like you have to make something with a lot of steps. You aren’t on The Great British Bake Off. If you have a brownie or cake mix in the house, that’s perfect. For me, even ten minutes of baking can make a difference. And then you have brownies when you’re finished! What other indoor activity gives you those types of results?
If you are an experienced baker and have the tools at home, piping frosting (whether for a cake or not) is incredibly relaxing (at least to me). Something about the precision of it takes my mind off everything else. Use a store-bought frosting you have in your pantry or make a simple one yourself.
Even if you don’t have a piping bag and tips, you can either find instructions on how to make a parchment paper version or just snip the corner off a Ziploc bag. You won’t achieve any elaborate stars or flowers, but you can make a design or write your name. Get baking!
Do you find baking to be a stress-reliever? What kinds of things to you make? Let us know in the comments below!