B​aking therapy: white country bread recipe

A​s a person that loves being out and about in the community, this social distancing thing has been very difficult. The worst part has been trying not to mentally check out, or binge watch TV.

For me, one way to fight this has been by taking daily trips to the local market (practising social distancing) for fresh fruits, vegetables, and other supplies to bring home and cook. And it has become obvious that people are buying up basic supplies like sandwich bread.

N​o bread at the local market

N​o bread at the local market

N​o bread at the market? No problem. This is a great opportunity to hone my bread baking skills. Not only is this a very easy recipe but it's also good therapy. As we carefully measured the ingredients, it allowed us to talk about something other than the news of the day; looking in the mixer with anticipation to see how this gooey mixture moved slowly from water and flour to a shiny stretchy dough ball.

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Looking on with anticipation

We then transferred the dough ball into a large bowl to proof. Don't rush it here! It takes a little time. (Yes, we kept walking by the bowl talking about how good it smells, maybe even taking a peek or two.)

A​most ready

A​most ready

T​he great thing about baking bread is that it makes the whole house smell so good. To be honest it was very little work, but we found ourselves talking about what we were going to eat with our fresh baked bread, and how we would make different shapes and sizes over the next few days. I would call this a flavorful distraction from the stress of the day.