Making awesomeness from scratch

I’m writing about things I love…

I love the process of baking. Of planning what your are going to make. Finding and refining the perfect recipe. Gathering all the ingredients. Following the directions.

For lots of reasons, I don’t bake as much as I should. I don’t always take the time to make things from scratch. And I hate cleaning up after I’ve finished baking. I’m trying to eat healthier so having plates of cookies around isn’t always helpful. (Maybe I should take a cue from my friend Kerry and bake bread.) But every time I bake something, I think that I should bake more often.

Close to family. I have a bunch of recipes from family. My mom’s version of my grandmother’s red velvet cake. My great grandmother’s pound cake. Even the Tollhouse cookie recipe from the back of the bag of chocolate chips reminds me of the cookies my mom made when I was a kid. I use a KitchenAid stand mixer that was a wedding present from my parents 20 years ago. Baking helps me feel closer to my family — especially the family that we’ve lost along the way. Now that my kiddos are older, I can share these recipes — and the baking experience — with them, too.*
Guys can bake, too. Many people are surprised to find out that I enjoy baking. I guess they just buy into sexist stereotypes that baking is for women. My mom was determined to teach all three of us how to cook and bake. And I’ll teach my daughters and my son to cook and bake as well.
Share the results. The great thing about baking is that you can easily share the results. Cookies and cakes are best when you share them with friends and family. I once took a a pound cake to a function at church and was delighted as a couple of the older women marveled that someone had actually made a pound cake from scratch.

I’m going to try to bake more often and will absolutely post my results here and to Instagram.

* I’m actually baking snickerdoodles with my oldest daughter as a finish up this blog post.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. Follow Bob on Instagram.