I Taught Myself to Bake During the Pandemic

Like everyone else in the world, the pandemic made me quite bored. When I was tired of doing school work, I wanted to find something fun and relaxing to do. I’ve never really had a hobby or something I really enjoyed doing, so it seemed like the perfect time to try something new. 

During quarantine, I tried a lot of different things, but nothing really seemed to stick until I tried baking. 

My whole life, the only time I ever baked was with a box mix. I was never one to try to bake something from scratch- it wasn’t really something we did in my family. The first time I baked something from scratch was interesting. It was a definite fail, but I persisted and kept trying.

After a while, I started getting really good at it. I was initially nervous about baking because I hate failing. I knew there would be a lot of trial and error trying to get the hang of baking from scratch. I was afraid if I failed too many times I would feel defeated and give up, but luckily that wasn’t the case at all.

Although you’re bound to fail a few times, and not everything turns out the way you’d like, baking is still so fun. Every time I am stressed or bored, I look up recipes either online or in one of my four baking books. 

I still try new things all the time- if they don’t turn out well, it’s fine, but it’s an added bonus if they do. I have made so many delicious recipes ranging from breads, to cookies, to cupcakes, and cakes. 

To me baking is a science, and science and math are my favorite subjects. I love when I have strict instructions and there’s no wiggle room. Having these rigid instructions helped me to really connect with baking because I could see where my mistakes came from. 

One of the hardest things for me now is finding recipes I can eat. Since I am dairy and gluten-free I have had to find recipes that specifically meet those dietary restrictions. If I can’t find recipes that are already dairy and gluten free, I try to modify them. This is where I face the biggest challenges. Replacing regular flour with gluten-free flour or butter and milk with dairy-free alternatives sometimes leads to interesting results. Sometimes the recipes completely fail because the consistency doesn’t end up right. 

Another aspect I have loved about baking is doing it with my girlfriend. It is something we enjoy doing together and we have so much fun. We like to try new things, and of course make our favorites. We have such a good time baking together and I am glad we have been able to bond and laugh while doing it. 

Everyone should have something they do when they want to relax and take their mind off of things, and I am so glad I have found baking for that purpose. I love baking now, and will continue to do it for years to come.

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