There's Something About Baking Bread...

Everyone has an activity that helps them cope with stress. For me, it's baking bread. There's something about the rhythmic motion of kneading and the yeasty earthy smell that makes me feel that all is right with the world again. Perhaps it's the surety that such simple ingredients will produce a consistent puffy reaction and become something more than their sum. Or maybe just the knowledge that good filling sustenance has been made this way for centuries.

Whatever it is, I welcome it into my life. The scent of baking bread draws family to my kitchen and seems to encourage discussion, laughter, and togetherness. Breaking bread together at the dinner table is a habit I hope my children will carry on with their own. And I hope that, no matter how far away my family is from home, remembering being in mom's kitchen and watching bread bake in the oven will always give them strength and make them smile.