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bread
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2020-03-21
Bakery queue March 2020 HIST30060
In March 2020 during the first covid-19 lockdown, we heard a lot about toilet paper shortages, queues and fights for it at supermarkets. What surprised me to see on a walk around Brunswick was a substantial queue at a local bakery. It was also one of the first social distanced queues I had seen and certainly the first I had taken a photo of. It summed up the new state of affairs to me, while reminding me of the importance that bread holds in our diets. In some ways I was relieved to see a queue for it rather than something more trivial such as toilet paper. The fact it was a local bakery highlighted to me the importance that people in Brunswick place on locally made produce. This also reminded me of the historical importance of bread, for instance the riots that occurred when bread and flour prices increased in France in the late 1780s or Lenin's promise to the Russian people of 'Peace, Bread, Land' in 1917. To me this photo captured how despite circumstances changing immensely, the importance of accessing staple foods remains more or less constant. -
2020-03
Baking: Impossible
Back in December of 2019, my wife and I were visiting my parents and grandparents in Mesa, Arizona. It was Christmas time, so we were enjoying a bit of leisure time that we typically didn't have. I had just graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a degree in History Education, and my wife just finished a rigorous semester in her study of English at the same school. We were ready for a break. Before meeting up with the family, my grandmother brought up the idea to teach my wife and I how to make homemade bread. It was her grandmothers recipe, and I loved it, as she would occasionally make the dough to make scones or kraut biscuits. This particular recipe made a lot of dough and needed to rise three times. Because of this, making bread was an all day event. Just a few short months after learning to make bread in my grandmother's kitchen, COVID-19 shut down the world. We were living in Rexburg, Idaho at the time-a small town of around 28,000 people located in south-east Idaho. Given that we were in a rural location, we didn't feel the immediate effects of the virus like Seattle, New York City, and Los Angeles. However, around early March, schools shut down and we were told to stay indoors whenever possible. Given that I was a teacher, I was suddenly learning how to run applications like Google Classroom to teach from home. The school district wasn't sure how long I would be working from home for. Initially, they only wanted to close for two weeks to deep clean the school. However, this ended up lasting through the end of the school year. My wife was now also at home. Her studies switched from in-person courses to online courses. Professors who had spent their life in the classroom were suddenly figuring out how to teach via a new medium. It was challenging for all, but everyone seemed to be more patient with each other. Given that my wife and I were home, and given that we had more time, we decided that we would make the bread recipe that my grandmother had taught us over Christmas break. Everyone was encouraged to only shop when absolutely necessary, so we added the flour and yeast to our shopping list. However, when we went shopping only a few days later, the baking isle had been decimated. The only types of flour that were left were expensive bags of specialty flour that came in much smaller portions. Yeast was nowhere to be found. Even things like baking soda were gone. When I think back to the early days of the pandemic, I think of panic. While my wife and I were able to remain calm, many people worried they would not be able to find basic necessities. Grocery stores ran short on many items-toilet paper, canned food, flour, sugar, paper towels, cleaning supplies, amongst other things. Many things that were taken for granted were now an uncertainty. So while we did have more time on our hands, baking bread wasn't an option. -
2021-03-21
A tale of the babka
If you had asked me if I was a baker prior to the year 2020, I would have unequivocally said no. A cook? Yes. But a baker? Absolutely not. But that was before the global Covid-19 pandemic. I worked in the cruise industry prior to the pandemic and I travelled a lot for my job. I was not home enough to really jump into and try to master baking. Following mandatory quarantine in March 2020, I suddenly had extra time on my hands. Further, I was laid-off from my job in early June and ended-up with even more time on my hands. Like so many around the world during quarantine, I took up baking. But unlike the many who tried sourdough, I started with making standard wheat breads and then went straight to enriched breads like babkas or challahs. The photos I am attaching here show my progression as a baker. My first babka was fine and tasted great, but as you can see, I have improved in technique and in flavor over time. My favorite babka recipe comes from King Arthur Flour. As a new baker, I relied on the King Arthur Flour website for flour and yeast tips, baking tools, and recipes. I was too hesitant to add walnuts the first time and I accidently used a quick-rise east instead of standard yeast. As time went on, I felt more comfortable adding walnuts and raisins. I also felt more comfortable working with the dough to perfect the twisting technique of the babka. I relied on trial-and-error for most of my recipes, but I also watched all episodes of the Great British Baking Show and found some videos that gave me the basics of flour, yeast, and water. My family were very surprised by this newfound baking skill. But they enjoyed tasting the results. I have enjoyed bringing people together over food – and I have enjoyed giving loaves as gifts. I am still trying new bread recipes and plan on continuing to bake even as life slowly returns to our new normal. -
2020-05-04
Get This Bread
With so many people stuck at home, some working from home and some with more time on their hands than they know what to do with, baking has seen a surge in popularity. From simple loaves of bread to fancy layered cakes, a lot of people have tapped in to their inner baker. -
2020-07-15
Food Creations During Quarantine
Pre-Quarantine, there was the opportunity maybe once a week to cook something extravagant for dinner; it was always a treat coming home from work and having the house already filled with some aroma that made instantly remember just how hungry I was. As quarantine limited both other responsibilities and the opportunity to go out to eat, the chances to experiment became more frequent. My grandmother had previously run a restaurant years ago, so this became my opportunity to sous chef and learn some of the tricks of the trade. The infrequent aromas of 2019 were replaced by the almost daily culinary adventures that we went on, be it cooking, baking, or anything in between. For myself, and so many others, baking definitely become a type of release to combat the mood swings and general boredom that quarantine offered up on a daily basis. For my cooking escapades, I would usually stray towards the foods that offered comfort, either through their taste or through their smell. Not being restricted by a mask indoors made the simple act of inhaling that much more enjoyable. There was something that was comforting about having those smells wafting through the house, almost a sense of nostalgia not so much for pre-quarantine but for childhood maybe? -
2020-07-07
Demster's Bread Packaging Says Thank-You to Frontline Workers
For the first time since coming home to live with my parents for the summer/the pandemic my mom bought the brand of bread and thickness of slice I like (she prefers thin slice Wonderbread.) Demster's is a well known and established Canadian brand. It was only when about 3/4 of the way through the loaf that I noticed the message on the bag for grocery and food chain workers. In red font to match the Canadian Maple Leaf which if part of the company's logo and reflect the patriotic nature of the message it reads: "OUR FRONTLINE SHOWS STRENGTH. / OUR FRONTLINE FEEDS FAMILIES. / OUR FRONTLINE SERVES COMMUNITIES. / TO OUR BAKERS, FRANCHISEES, DISTRIBUTORS, AND GROCERS HELPING TO KEEP CANADA GOING / THANK YOU. -
2020-06-16
Quarantine's Progression
This tweet encapsulates the mindsets of many people from the beginning of quarantine in March to the present day. I would describe the first stage as optimism/depression as the full reality of being stuck inside set it. Then came the phase of trying to learn productive skills or keeping busy; for many that meant taking up baking or cooking. Most recently, as restrictions have been eased people have poured into the streets to protest racial injustice. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #coronavirus. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it describes the emotional states that people have progressed through as quarantine has dragged on. -
2020-06-09
The Difference 12 Weeks Makes
At the beginning of quarantine, myself and others were hopeful that the experience would be quick and relatively painless. It would be an opportunity to work from home, relax, and learn to bake bread that much better. After 12 weeks of a patchwork effort at the Federal, State, and Local levels people were restless. When George Floyd was murdered, people poured out into the streets to protest. Now, people have been radicalized and are ready to fight. -
2020-05-31
Yeast Shortage due to Covid-19
With lots of time on our hands, people are turning to hobbies they have been putting off like baking. One of the hallmarks of being a good baker is making bread. This has created a shortage of yeast, which as the article points out, is a living ingredient that can only be rushed so much. Baking has it's seasons, and as a professional baker, you learn when to expect shortages of ingredients, and when orders for products will increase. Typically this is around the fall and into the Christmas season. With the coronavirus pandemic and many bakeries closed, people are baking like it is the Christmas season when most ingredient manufacturers have cut down their output to reflect the coming summer. The shortage of yeast is most likely why many people are turning to sourdough starters. However, the quickest way to get a starter started is by using dry yeast. Contributed by Stephanie Berry, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580.