Rise of bread-making revolution
Kneading dough has therapeutic qualities in troubled times
SHAUN SMILLIE
THE first signs of this growing revolution were the empty supermarket shelves, and it wasn’t just in South Africa. As the Covid 19 lockdown swept across the globe, flour became a hard to find commodity.
Gone, too, were the sachets of quick acting yeast.
It would take a few weeks before it was revealed where all this yeast and flour had gone.
The evidence was soon revealed on social media – the pictures of freshly baked loaves of bread and many, many images of sour dough yeast starters.
In kitchens around the world an army of wanna-be bakers were kneading balls of dough and turning them into that most ancient of staples – bread.
Just why some people facing a pandemic would turn to bread-making had some scratching their heads.
But those who spend their time working dough and coaxing yeast to rise believe they know why we have in a time of trouble turned to a reassuring friend that has been with us since the time we gave up our hunter-gatherer ways and settled down.
“People started making their own bread because they had the time, it kept them busy and the smell is definitely something that the family can look forward to,” says culinary consultant Shanaaz Parker.
“The nice thing about bread is that nothing can really go wrong.”
Kneading, rolling and folding dough, does have its obvious calming qualities. It is an act that pushes away thoughts of viruses, financial hardships and the loneliness of lockdown.
Such tasks are important, psychologists have found.
A 2016 study was published in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who turn to small creative projects say they are more relaxed and happier.
“I think there is something about bread in particular that gives people a sense of security. It is the staff of life, it reminds one of home and it is a feelgood thing,” says clinical psychologist Leonard Carr.
Then there are all those jars of sour dough yeast starters. Google is awash with recipes.
Sour dough bread takes bread making to a higher level, says Nathan Odell, an artisan baker. It takes at least two days to make sour dough bread. Leave it longer and it tastes better.
To kick-start the fermentation process, a yeast starter is added.
Some sour dough starters are passed down from generation to generation. The oldest is reputedly to be 122 years old.
Most of the sour dough starters appearing on social media are far younger, having been birthed during the time of the pandemic.
Carr has a theory why sour dough starters have become a craze.
“You have got to nurture the sour dough starter and that is why I think that it has a romance and a narrative around it. You can keep it for years, so there is a sense of continuity and there are reminders of warmth and family meals,” he says.
As South Africa slowly eases its way out of lockdown, those empty shelves are slowly filling up with flour once again.
It is a sign that perhaps as South Africans return to work, they are giving up on the home-made bread. Maybe those demons released by the pandemic have been exorcised now through that age-old rhythm of fingers working dough into the food we have known for so long.
But the revolution isn’t over, believes Parker.
“I don’t think it is going to stop here. It is going to continue maybe on a smaller scale because it evoked a different kind of feeling.”