Kneads of joy: How baking has offered crumbs of comfort during Northern Ireland’s lockdown

The Great British Bake-Off returns to our screens next week, offering sweet, momentary respite in these gloomy, uncertain times.
Co Down woman Christine PorterCo Down woman Christine Porter
Co Down woman Christine Porter

As the spectre of Covid-19 looms over our collective conscience, and the world seemingly implodes, this scrumptious series will hopefully manage, for a little while anyway, to take our minds off R numbers, lockdowns, hand sanitiser and face masks, with a big squishy slice of comfort TV.

And why? Because in joyless times, baking offers some crumbs of joy.

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Cake, even for those who purport to possess a savoury tooth, is happiness; whether it be a humble pie or a complicated confection of choux, chocolate and cream, it can lift our spirits and quell the small trifling dramas of everyday life - the parking ticket, a horrible day at work, an eye-watering gas bill.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge help make bagels during a visit to the Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery in London.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge help make bagels during a visit to the Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery in London.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge help make bagels during a visit to the Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery in London.

It can also offer succour when the humongous dramas arrive - like, for example, a global pandemic. OK, it won’t make it go away, but it is a brief distraction from the disaster around us and that can only be sweet relief.

Baking is meditative, productive and empowering, especially when it all goes to plan, with neither a saggy, nor a soggy, bottom in sight.

There’s the preparation. Donning a pinny and gathering together all the paraphernalia - sieve, spatula, spoons, pastry brush, cake tin, palette knives, piping bags - all in anticipation of the big bake.

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There’s the process. Rolling, kneading and mixing all have a calming quality, forcing you to be in the moment and not stuck mentally in the future or past. It is mindfulness at its best.

And finally the wondrous alchemy when flour, butter, eggs and sugar become a glorious creation.

Many Northern Ireland folk baked their way through the pandemic, often as a way to de-stress and ease anxiety.

We were confined to our homes, so with nothing better to do and loads of time on our hands, we baked.

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Indeed, our enthusiasm for baking meant many supermarkets reported shortages of flour and other baking ingredients. Trying to score some yeast at the height of the lockdown was a near impossibility.

One woman who knows the power of flour, is Mary Anne Mackle from Co Tyrone.

“Usually we don’t have time, or we don’t make time, but suddenly when you are given this time and you’re restricted, baking is a really nice thing to do,” she said.

“When you bake it makes you feel good, you are just in that moment - that’s one of the key things. It’s a bit like gardening, when you do it, you are just in it and you’re not thinking about anything else.”

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Mary Anne, who runs Wee Buns Cookery School in Dungannon, said she baked “all the time” during lockdown, as well as putting together three e-books on baking.

“I baked, I made videos and I took pictures.”

She also baked with her twin four-year-old boys.

“They love baking too. We made fairy cakes, cookies, nice simple things and all the classics.”

In terms of her repertoire of baked goods, Mary Anne said she made lots of sourdough loaves.

“I also made soda bread, it’s so easy to make and quick, unlike sourdough which is quite slow to make.”

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Mary Anne believes one of the joys of home-baking is that it makes you feel you are creating something more nutritious than you buy in the supermarket.

“When you make it yourself it is definitely healthier because there’s no preservatives in it and you can use really nice ingredients, good eggs and nice butter and good buttermilk.”

And she believes that those who took up baking during lockdown may continue with their new-found hobby.

“I think once you get a feel for it, the more you like to do it and there’s so many new things to try and to learn.”

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Co Down mum-of-three Christine Porter has always loved baking, but had more time during lockdown to hone her skills.

She said: “Since the smell of freshly brewed coffee sells houses, then the waft of warm fairy cakes surely captures hearts. And that’s what I love to do (every day if I could) as a wife and mummy.

“Baking has always been my ‘thing’, ever since standing at my own mother’s kitchen table only just tall enough to see over the edge, with my eyes firmly fixed on the bowl that needed to be licked.

“Baking is a skill, some may say even a science. It is also a hobby of mine that has become a passion – especially as a stay-at-home wife and mummy as I strive to give my children sweet memories of warm cookies, fun birthday cakes and laughs and giggles aplenty as we make a mess putting the sprinkles on the Rice Krispie buns.

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“It is only recently however, that I have achieved a life goal… perfect scones and chocolate chip cookies.

“In fact, why stop there? I’ve also mastered brownies, fruit loaf, flap jacks and crumbles. Pavlova and truffles, snowballs and meringues.”

The Dromore woman said this perfecting of all the sweet treats is largely due to the pandemic.

“As a family we have always prioritised our time together, however, during lockdown even more time was cast upon us. So, in my role as mum I used this gift of time doing the things I thought I never had time for before.

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“I hoked out my old recipe books and watched online tutorials made by another mum in lockdown and together (or indeed separately) we made enough cookies and scones to feed a small country.

“I found solace at my mixer, anticipation as I would peer through the darkened glass of the oven door and then great satisfaction to lift out my bake and call my hungry husband and kids to, ‘Come quickly while they’re still hot!”.

“The best bit has to be when all they can do is give a nod and a thumbs up while they wolf it down and then come back for more.”

Christine added that social media has been a great tool for sharing and exploring baking tips and ideas.

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“I like to post pictures of my creations and also see what others in various baking groups have been up to.

“Just yesterday I saw that a friend made apple puffs – so that’s what I’m going to try this evening. The kitchen is the heart of our home, and during the most part of this year, when there has been an air of anxiety and changed routines, mummy’s kitchen is where my family knows they are safe, loved, distracted – and well fed. I’m still working on my cinnamon swirl technique. Tips and advice warmly welcomed!”

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