The desire to fire up the oven usually runs deeper than the sweet output of golden-crusted end results. While it can be incredibly satisfying to pull trays of perfect pastries and sweets out of the oven, the recent surge in home baking in the midst of world-beating pandemic points to something closer to human instinct.
Between March and May this year, baking supplies stores and supermarkets in North America and the United Kingdom reported ballparks of between 400 and 700 percent increase in sales of baking essentials like flour, powder and yeast. Sourdough bread, in all their stone- shaped glory and pockmarked interiors, became a viral sensation on the Instagram accounts of celebrities, influencers, and home chefs crowd-sourcing notes on cultivating yeast starters.
The sudden attention on baking might be psychological. Unlike cooking, the joys of baking may not always be derived from the end results. There are few things more primal and gratifying than making hot bread with your hands. When the world is in turmoil and facing grave uncertainties, the act of baking allows simple ingredients like flour, yeast, water and salt to offer solace and a much-needed sense of control.
Denne historien er fra July - August 2020-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
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Denne historien er fra July - August 2020-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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New Blood
The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.
Sharing Is Caring
Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.
New And Improved
The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.
Let Land Grow Wild
Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.
The South Asian Misnomer
Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.
Building Blocks From The Archipelago
For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.