I love cooking. Baking I'm ok with, but my biggest love is really cooking. If you aren't a baker, here are some reasons from a reader why you might want to start baking- there are so many benefits!
I love baking. Many people don’t trust me when I say that I’m an emotional baker, because to many others who haven’t baked, baking seems like this whole process and ordeal. I like to liken it to art. While some people find painting or watercolor to be their solace from stress, the creation aspect is the same through baking; putting your effort and practice into finally making something you can share with people is a reward in itself.
I am an emotional baker in the sense when I feel sad or mad or even when I am very excited, my first instinct goes toward flour and dough. I put that apron on and suddenly am in this flow state of bliss. Whether it’s the process of rolling, kneading, or taste-testing my own baked creations, there are very many joys to be had in baking.
Over time, as I have moved between baking in a studio, to a bakery, to just home baking, I’ve realized there are many benefits to be had with home baking also. Without further ado, here are a few reasons I have found for you to pick up baking as a hobby.
The way it smells
There is a whole market full of people looking to enhance the way their homes smell through essential oils, active woods, and candles, and while these are all great ways to diffuse a sweet scent through your house, I have found no better fragrance than freshly baked goods. Maybe this is the way I grew up, but as the people around me always baked on weekends or on holidays, I’m used to associating the smell of freshly baked bread and cookies with my friends and family’s homes.
As such, I feel like one of the best ways to make your house a home and smell like it too is to bake. This smell has been proven to help increase comfort and happiness, decrease stress levels, and just improve moods in general. This has been used to the benefit of enterprising realtors, who have started baking cookies during house viewings.
Moreover, it is a perfect way to impress your friends. You can bring your baked goods in an airtight container to a friend’s place, or to someone’s house you’re trying to impress, and by opening the jar just at the right time, you’ll often get a conversation starter out of it. Baking just puts everyone involved in a great mood.
Ingredients
When it comes to baked goods, I find that even while some people might proclaim that they’re not particular, that’s often due to convenience. I have found all of my friends when starting on their baking journey, unanimously discover that certain ingredients they’ve never liked in their baked goods. I, for example, don’t quite like nuts in anything, and I realized that only when I started baking and someone pointed it out to me that I never seem to put any nuts in my goods. Other people who would prefer whole grains and less sugar may not find store bought items like that easily, but with home baked goods you can use ingredients you consider ideal.
It’s quite a wonderful thing to be able to simply bake whatever you want, and I’m a big fan of experimenting and finding what you like. When it comes to ingredients also, I realize that many people get into cooking simply because they like baked goods and want to control what goes into them.
These people are more practical bakers than emotional bakers, and before I got into baking I will confess, I didn’t know that there were so many practical aspects to baking. These people will bake in a calculated way, and find joy in knowing that they’re not putting complex, hard-to-pronounce preservatives in their cookies and cakes.
Reducing costs
Another thing that drives new bakers is the horrendous markup that many grocery stores put on baked goods. In fact, baked goods are often the highest marked-up item in the whole store. You will find that a cookie baked using normal off-the-shelf ingredients totals only around eight to ten cents, and most stores will send them for upwards of two dollars. That’s why many people’s first businesses are baked goods since you can make a lot without too much upfront costs.
In this same vein, baking is also something you can do in bulk and it sells incredibly well. Turning your spare time into a little baking experiment is a great side hustle that a lot of people turn to, especially when they’re not too happy with their current job and might want some side cash to save up before quitting.
It’s therapeutic.
Like I said up top, baking is a form of self care to the extent that for many it feels like a type of therapy. While I certainly don’t tell my dough clusters all my problems (I leave some secrets to myself), it goes beyond just feeling nice. Baking is good for your emotional health. In fact, the act of baking has shown in studies to be an effective combatant against depression and anxiety, and especially with the pandemic dragging into its third horrible year, baking can be a new kind of release for those now used to handling more on their plate at any one time.
With those kinds of results, you may find you save on therapy, which can run you upwards of 150 dollars per session, and honestly, I used to go to my therapy appointments just for the cookies anyway.
Moreover, baking as a couple or family activity is incredibly popular, and especially when you have children, it teaches both precision, determination, and being clean in the kitchen. My mother used to say that if you bake together, you’re likely to stay together.
Like with everything, baking is a great way to spend time with the people you love collaborating to form something. It’s simple too, and as long as you follow formulas you will get what you want, making it a perfect low-pressure weekend activity.
Conclusion
Now that I’ve given you four fantastic reasons to pick up baking, maybe you’ll want to clear up sometime this weekend and make sure to have a cloth ready for things to get messy. Of course, as with everything, you have to consider if you have the time and space, but if you’re going to be scrolling through Instagram or watching something useless on Netflix anyway, chances are, you can make the time.