Cooking For Joy
Channeling Anxious Energy Into Sweet Rolls
Nothing gets me through a crisis like kneading dough by hand
Heated has asked contributors to write about a dish they’re cooking that cuts through bleak headlines, forced isolation, and limited ingredients to bring them joy; we’ll be running at least one contribution a day through this social-distancing stretch.
My kink is watching people eat the food I make, so nothing brings quite as much joy as sharing my kitchen experiments with friends, family, and neighbors.
Whenever I’m feeling stressed or anxious, I bake. I bake sweets, mostly. Brownies, cookies, cakes and my latest obsession — sweet rolls. Making sweet rolls is especially clutch when my anxiety is through the roof, because nothing gets me through a crisis quite like kneading dough by hand for 15 to 20 minutes. I need the physical release and what better way to redirect anxious energy than into something edible?
My favorite recipe right now is King Arthur Flour’s soft cinnamon rolls. I’ve made these at least five times in the last two weeks, with variations including an ube version filled with ube jam, laced with dulce de leche and topped with mascarpone icing, and sticky bun’d with hazelnuts and honey. Once I get comfortable with a recipe (took me two tries for this one), I can’t resist experimenting with the flavors. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but I mostly just wanted to knead the dough, so either way, I’m winning.
