12. Bake bread

#52climate solutions sees us bake bread for a better world. We share some fave resources to get you inspired and baking.

Many of the actions that are needed to curb climate change will require many of us to make behavioural and lifestyle changes. We simply do not have time to wait for governments to impose laws that make us, and corporations, do the right things for the planet. It will fall on individuals and communities to lead the way, and then governments will be driven to improve. The sorts of behavioural changes that will help collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions do not have to be grandiose. They can be small, humble, practical actions of love. Multiplying many small actions can have enormous positive impacts.

The dominant, modern food system relies on industrial processing. Food often gets made far away, in factories, and using nutrient-deficient ingredients, to produce food designed to look unblemished, and prioritising long shelf-life. This system is wasteful, plastic-covered and can disconnect us from the plants and animals that provide our sustenance. Disconnection fosters entitlement (over nature), which is antithetical to the attitudes that are needed to underpin actions on climate.

For this week’s #52climatesolutions, try your hand at baking bread. To bake one’s own bread (or get it from a local baker), is to engage in low-harm, local (and fun!), food production. Bread baking is symbolic of the sorts of activities that households can participate in to reduce emissions from the food industry.

Baking bread has benefits on many levels. It builds resilience, as you only need flour, salt and water to make a decent loaf. It slows your pace, and with so many at home right now, there has never been a better time to try to slow down one’s pace of life, in a stressful world. It simplifies your life, enabling you to better provide for your own family. It reconnects you to your environment, as you consider temperature, humidity, and naturally occurring yeasts when you bake. It also fosters a sharing economy – bake two loaves and share one with a neighbour!

Keep reading for our favourite bread baking resources and recipes.