Flour and yeast are in slim supply and social media feeds are filling up with all kinds of luscious loaves as the tasty trend of bread-making is on the rise.
“Last week one of my Instagram friends posted a loaf of bread on her account and it was no-knead bread…and it looked amazing,” said Greg Krantz, a CHEK News editor and bread-making beginner.
He uses a dutch oven but there are several different methods and a seemingly endless supply of online recipes and tutorials. For the basic batch, all that is needed is flour, water, yeast, salt and patience.
“If you can mix together four ingredients in a bowl and let it sit for 18 hours and plop it into a pot, you can make this. It’s that easy.”
According to long-time bread-making hobbyist Colin Newell, the latest quarantine cooking craze makes perfect sense.
“Bread in any form is as much a journey as it is a destination,” Newell told CHEK News.
“In a time of crisis such as COVID-19, everyone wants as much independence as they can possibly can get and one of those things is the food supply so everyone wants to get the basics and get a handle on what they can do themselves.”
Newell, an information technology worker at the University of Victoria, says the simple yet lengthy process is an ideal distraction in a difficult time.
“It allows you to just focus on that one thing. It’s a diversion, it takes your mind off the issues of the day and you’re producing something that, by itself, can sustain you.”
The only issue, finding supplies. Vancouver Island appears to have found a love for leavening as flour and yeast remain two of grocery stores most sought after items.
Kevin Charach
