Kick Back and Relax
Baking, my personal coping mechanism, and taking a break
A year ago today, I was in a very different place. I was:
working 80-90% of the time, even when flying to another country
stress baking in the remaining hours to feel like I succeeded at something
half-sleeping (if 4 hours a night counts)
I’d love to dive into why, and how I got there, but I’ve gotten to a place where I’m unwinding that, so it will stay in bullet points until another day.
From November 2024 to January 2025, I spent half the time travelling, and the other half playing videos games. I was still baking, while having deep life chats with friends from many years past. Some of the ingredients overlap, but now I sleep a proper 8-9 hours a night. Dreaming is a new experience for me.
I wish I could tell you it was just growth, but I do have to credit some life changes and medicine, too. That was part of the stressful 6-month journey to get here.
Instead of getting too deep on a Friday, I’ll give you one of my favourite ways to kick back and relax.
Baking (Simple) Breads
What started as a COVID experiment became part of my personality. Even before that, I was becoming “the person who brings food” at my office (which is saying a lot, since it was a food company).
People often think I’m being too humble when I cook, but it’s really my secret to success. I want to know what they like or what’s a miss, so when I cook something next, it slowly meets their palette, and the masses.
The trick to baking bread, is that it’s shockingly easy, if you’re not picky.
My first COVID recipe was Jameilyn Nye’s Homemade French Bread, which, with a stand mixer, rarely goes wrong. (Editorial note: French Bread, in the US-American sense, is a lighter and softer version of a baguette without the crunchy crust. If anyone knows of a more global name for it – please share!) Of course, it escalated from there.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t recognize that not everyone has, or needs, a stand mixer. The recipe I always recommend people now is Easy Artisanal Bread, and the best part is, there’s thousands of recipes out there. My personal favourite is John Kanell/Preppy Kitchen’s Artisan Bread—I find the bread flour and (slightly) longer rest time adds flavour and fluff. Bread flour variants are blessedly easier to find in Germany.
But if you’re just getting started, try Taste Better from Scratch’s No Knead Bread; the overnight rest might be daunting, but this dough is the king of “set and forget.”
What’s next for me in baking? I still haven’t perfected my croissants. The last round was good, but not great. I also want to find the right color consistency for American buttercream with German butter (the yellow haunts me, and yet, I’m probably just missing a simple step).
Whether you’re reading Tilde&Dash for deep thoughts, or to find some new recipes, music, or books to pass the time, thank you for being here. I don’t have a consistent physical office where I can stand on a soapbox or entertain crowds. So, you are now “my office,” and I hope you enjoy, laugh, roll your eyes a few times, and relate to the experiences of an everyday person in 2025. If you’re from the future, viewing this in FBI-stalker mode, now you know what I was like. I can only hope I live up to my persona, or yet, better.