By Bread Alone: Baking as Leisure, Performance, Sustenance, During the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

As the coronavirus crisis worsened, a series of news stories documented "panic buying" on grocery staples, including bread, yeast, and flour. News outlets began reporting what I had already concluded based on my own social media: in response, many people had started baking bread. Baking specialty bread, like sourdough, is a time-consuming process, which pre-COVID-19 was a leisure activity for some. Baking bread during isolation is an activity whose purposes are threefold: providing sustenance; filling newly available leisure time; and offering a way to demonstrate one's skill and activities on social media. I consider the sudden attention given to this niche area of cooking, and the ways that bread-making-as-identity is already being disputed online, with attempts to frame an increased interest in what is, ultimately, successful completion of domestic labor, as a threat to 'authentic' interest in specialty bread as culinary capital.

An Evaluation of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Perceived Social Distancing Policies in Relation to Planning, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy Meals: An Observational Study in 38 Countries Worldwide

“…Furthermore, women's psychological distress was related to decreased planning, selection, and preparation of healthier foods. Idyllic representations of relieving stress in the kitchen during the COVID-19 crisis ( 2 ) may not have applied to women in our study. Among men we did observe an increase in preparing healthier meals when psychological distress increased.…”

“…At the onset of the global COVID-19 crisis, “panic buying” of grocery staples and time-intensive food preparation activities emerged worldwide ( 1 , 2 ). The crisis and social distancing policies created unique situations worldwide that allow us to study people and their circumstances in relation to food and health, which is needed for future intervention approaches ( 3 ).…”

Changes in Consumers’ Food Practices during the COVID-19 Lockdown, Implications for Diet Quality and the Food System: A Cross-Continental Comparison

“…One popular source for recipes, and additionally a likely source if confined to your home, the internet, can be a source of less healthy recipes [ 53 ]. In addition, there were increases in baking, which positively may have been used to fill increased leisure time, or to learn and demonstrate new skills [ 54 ]. While there may be some argument for treat food helping mental health in this type of situation, it is important to maintain a balanced diet, especially with limitations on normal physical activity levels [ 55 ].…”

The diversity and function of sourdough starter microbiomes

“…Starters can be generated de novo by fermenting flour and water or acquired as established starters from community members or commercial sources. Home-scale fermentation of sourdough is an ancient and historically important practice ( Cappelle et al, 2013 ) that experienced a cultural resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Easterbrook-Smith, 2020 ).…”