Winter is meant for baking

The farther you get from the equator, the longer your winter gets. For those of us who live many degrees away from zero degrees latitude, finding a hobby is crucial to dealing with the long, cold nights and short, slightly less cold, days. For some of us, baking is that hobby. There are several reasons why it makes sense to bake in the winter, and food writer Katie Workman explores these reasons in a recent Associated Press article.

Workman asked a bevy of bakers why baking is so important to them. For some, it is a way to connect with people while for others the rhythms and structure are calming and meditative. Nostalgia is also a big factor that keeps people baking: making a cherished family recipe can connect us with the past and remind us of happy occasions.

Chef and cookbook author Joanne Chang sums it up this way: “Baking is how I best connect with the world around me — making something wonderful and sharing it with others and seeing how much joy they receive from something I made with my own hands,” she says. To these great reasons, I will add that baking is a great way to keep the winter chill at bay. When I am baking up a storm, my kitchen gets nice and toasty.