This probably isn’t the type of post that anyone would expect to see on a blog about writing improvement. But as you may know, I’ve been an advocate for not writing as a means of improving your writing. Life, experience can teach you more about the craft than a four-year degree—and I should know, I have one. There is something magical, and literary about making bread. From building and shaping to developing and watching it rise in the oven. You take that first bite and you taste more than just the flavor you procured. You taste the work, the fruits of your labor. And that is a satisfaction that comes from a very basic need to complete and to build. Bread is one of the best ways to enjoy that satisfaction, especially as writers.
What is the Connection Between Bread Baking and Writing?
Baking bread is analogous to writing because they involve careful, steady labor. And of course, there are many other analogies you might think of on that basis, but none better than this for one main reason: you get to consume the output of your hard work, much like you would a book. Bread is distinctly different than say, steak and potatoes. You make both, they require effort, and they both taste great. But bread involves other virtues: patience, strength, a delicate touch, precision, timing, and a greater margin of error. If you over-knead or under-knead, you will taste the difference, and the boundary between one and another is often very slim.
Whether it's a simple sandwich loaf or a sourdough loaf you spent weeks feeding prior to the buildup, anticipating that staple flavor, one you have to earn and wait for, packed into this process are the virtues named above. There’s no shortcut, as in writing. You spend weeks, months writing and editing to get your story out. And often it doesn’t turn out the way we want it to. Its flavor isn’t quite right and we have to go back to the drawing board and try again. We learn something new with each repetition.
The poetry of creating something, of learning and failing until you produce a final product worth sharing with others, is hard to describe to someone who's never done it before. It’s not only because baking bread requires skills that take time to develop and hone, like writing—it's that the tradition of breaking bread is a symbol of universal nourishment, peace, friendship, of home. Writing is also something many of us endeavor to share. But even if we don’t we can still slice into it and enjoy it on our own.
The Wisdom of Action
Doing things can inspire literary tools that you can use in your writing. Engineers do things. Plumbers, painters, carpenters, athletes, and bakers do things. Writing is doing something, but it's still the thing that’s not like the others. It's more cerebral, thought and introspection are prerequisites. That isn’t to say that the other disciplines mentioned don’t require thought, they obviously do. And there’s no implication of superiority. But writing isn’t like installing a plumbing system or laying a foundation.
Writing lacks physicality, but substance and meaning demand it. When we toil, our subconscious mind also works. Our ideas, concepts, and memories smudge together without deliberation. We do the thinking writing requires while moving, sweating, and engaging our bodies. The product is something alive, animated, and real. It moves, it inspires. It elevates the heart and simulates action. That is what many of us want our writing to do.
Why it Helps
Baking bread will help you write better because in working with your hands, incorporating ingredients in precise measures, learning about timing, and improving and failing, you will internalize the analogy. As I alluded to earlier, we satisfy something very human and basic when we work hard on something and see it through to its completion. Even better, we get to enjoy what we accomplished.
When we stare up at the summit, we can admire its beauty. But when we climb to it and stare down at the ground below us, we earn an elevated appreciation. Setting things up in your life that allow you to reap the psychological benefits of completing something difficult can provide serendipitous amounts of dopamine that we all ultimately long for.
Just Try it
You might not have any interest in baking bread. That’s fine. You can always try something else, like baking muffins or knitting. The point still stands. Find something that is more active to inspire your writing. If it feels difficult at first and you feel like giving up, keep going. Remember, it’s about learning, exploring, and completing something.
Here are a few links to some beginner’s bread recipes:
Sally’s Baking Addiction - https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-artisan-bread/
The Spruce Eats - https://www.thespruceeats.com/super-easy-bread-for-beginners-428108
Butter with a Side of Bread - https://butterwithasideofbread.com/homemade-bread/
Lil’ Luna - https://lilluna.com/homemade-bread-recipe/
Taste of Home - https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/basic-homemade-bread/
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