Why We Bake

Finding comfort in the kitchen [logo]( Sunday Baking Inspiration with Jessica Batch 444 Dear King Arthur Community, "The world begins at a kitchen table," writes Joy Harjo in her poem, Perhaps the World Ends Here. "We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it." In my house, the kitchen table is our gathering place and meeting hall, the spot for homework and board games, hard conversations, mountains of laundry that await folding, and, of course, for meals. But the kitchen table, is also, as Harjo notes, "a place to hide in the shadow of terror." And so it is, and so we do. This has been a hard week at the end of a hard month at the end of a hard couple years. I depend now, more than ever, on the certainty of those family meals; the ritual and rhythm give shape to my daily life. And I find purpose and peace in making the food that goes on the table: in folding soft yeast dough and forming it into loaves of plush milk bread; in pulling a pan of cookies from the oven; in sliding a crispy, cheesy pizza from a cast-iron skillet, as I do most Friday nights; in baking two loaves of banana bread, one for a neighbor and one for our own breakfast, the fat slices fried in butter and sprinkled with salt. In the face of unspeakable tragedy, our actions, large and small, can do the talking for us. The act of baking for others is one small way of demonstrating care for the people we love, of acknowledging how glad we are they're here, living through the joy and pain of life alongside us. Baking for others can't undo grief, or stop terrible things from happening. But it is a way of connecting to one another; these days that connection feels more vital than ever. Take care, Jessica Battilana Staff Editor Recommended reading — Story — Baking as therapy Relaxing recipes for challenging times [Read More ›]( — Story — 10 ways baking brings us joy How we bake up happiness at King Arthur Baking Company [Read More ›]( [Shop ›]( [Recipes ›]( [Learn ›]( [Blog ›]( [Rewards ›]( Connect With Us [ftsocial_facebook]( [ftsocial_instagram]( [ftsocial_twitter]( customercare@kingarthurbaking.com Call toll-free: 800.827.6836 58 Billings Farm Road, White River Junction, VT 05001 Subscribe to King Arthur mobile alerts, text [JOIN]( to 27820. By subscribing to King Arthur text messaging, you consent to receive recurring autodialed marketing text messages to the mobile number used at opt-in. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Message frequency may vary. Message & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help or STOP to 27820 to opt out. See [Terms]( & [Privacy](. You are receiving this because you signed up for King Arthur emails. This email was sent to {EMAIL}. View this email as a [web page](. [Preferences]( [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy](