Baking ingredients. Alexas Fotos / Pixabay.com / 2016 / CC0 1.0
The third Sunday in May is World Baking Day.
This day is celebrated on a Sunday to give everyone time to bake something.
What would you bake today? It can be savory or sweet. So that means, anything is on: cookies, squares, cakes, fruit pies or meat pies, pastries, bread, biscuits, even Yorkshire puddings count!
Baking is both an art and a science. It’s an art, in that the results can be artistic looking, but, the measurements typically need to be precise for the necessary chemistry to work and turn out satisfactory results.
Remember to read a baking recipe all the way through first to make sure you have all the ingredients and all the equipment: ideally, do this a day or two before, even!
Today could be a good day to teach children how to bake — cookies or squares are an easy introduction.
While there are many nostalgic aspects to home baking, remember to teach modern safety measures. We now know to treat raw flour as you would raw meat, and not consume it till it is cooked. That means, no eating raw batter or licking beaters. There have been an increasing number of documented serious illnesses resulting from raw flour that was cross-contaminated with harmful bacteria such as E. coli.
Are you looking to manage your calorie intake but don’t want to give up baking? Weight Watchers lists a bunch of smart swaps you can make to trim calories off a baking recipe. (Link valid as of June 2021)
#BakingDay #Caking #WorldBakingDay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldbakingday
Twitter: https://twitter.com/worldbakingday
Activities for today
- plan ahead for what you might want to bake today, and make sure you have the right equipment and supplies;
- try having a different home-baked good for every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner, starting perhaps with breakfast muffins;
- invite friends over for some home-baked goods;
- treat yourself to some new baking equipment you’ve been wanting;
- bake up a storm and give gift boxes to neighbours, or arrange in advance for pickup by a shelter;
- at school, have a cookie decorating contest for kids;
- try a baked good from another country;
- post pictures of your baked goods on social media with the hashtag for today of #WorldBakingDay;
- if you are pressed for time today and all else fails, buy some baked goods from a local independent bakery to support them.
History
World Baking Day was a campaign started by the Uniliver company in 2012 to promote their Rama / Blue Band margarine products.
The first World Baking Day was observed on Sunday, 20th May 2012.
It was always intended for the day to be on a Sunday to give people the time to bake. For instance, in 2013, it was on Sunday, the 19th of May; in 2014, it was on Sunday, the 18th of May; in 2015, it was Sunday, the 17th of May.
The original intent was for people to bake a cake, and give it away:
“”Giving someone a homemade cake is a brilliant way to let them know how much you care. We often forget to tell the people who matter most why they make our lives a little bit easier, a lot more fun or infinitely more interesting. World Baking Day encourages people to ‘say it with cake’! It is a gesture that is sure to be noticed and we guarantee it will bring a smile to their face.”” [1] Accessed May 2021 at https://www.unilever.com/news/news-and-features/Feature-article/2014/spread-the-love-on-world-baking-day.html
The Facebook page said,
“Pledge to Bake for someone special on Sunday 17th May. Giving someone a homemade cake is a brilliant way to let them know how much you care. We can forget to tell the people who matter most why they make our lives a little bit easier, a lot more fun or infinitely more interesting! This World Baking Day we want to get people all over the world baking for their loved ones. Whether you bake for your friends, family or colleagues, it’s sure to be a scrumptious celebration of our most cherished relationships. Pledge to bake now.”
The last Facebook update was on 31st May 2015, so it looks like the corporate management lost interest in the idea after then. There was no official proclamation of the day for 2016, so some bloggers mistakenly assumed that the date of the previous year’s, which was a 17th, was the fixed date going forward, which is incorrect. It is only on a 17th if that happens to be a Sunday.
As of 2020, the website had been taken down, but WHOIS registration information showed Unilever retained control of the domain name.
Since then, it has taken on a life of its own even within a corporate team leading promotion of the day.
Further reading
Consumers need wake-up call about potential dangers of flour
Outbreak of E. coli Infections Linked to Flour
How Eating Raw Cookie Dough Led to One Mom’s Death, Son Recalls
Safe Handling of Flour. Health Canada
Sources
Atzori, Nadia. Everything you knead to know to prepare for World Baking Day. Weight Watchers. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.weightwatchers.com/ca/en/article/everything-you-knead-know-prepare-world-baking-day-plus-20-sweet-and-savoury-recipes-try
Celebrate World Baking Day. Land O’Lakes. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.landolakes.com/expert-advice/celebrate-world-baking-day/
Chamberlain, Maria. Professional Bakers Share Tips for World Baking Day. NBC Boston. 15 May 2020. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.nbcboston.com/entertainment/the-scene/professional-bakers-share-tips-for-world-baking-day/2125195/
Haslam, Hannah. World Baking Day. 19 May 2020. Utah Farm Bureau. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.utahfarmbureau.org/Article/World-Baking-Day
Pasiya, Lutho. World Baking Day: How to avoid most common baking mistakes. Independent Online: South Africa. 17 May 2021. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/food-drink/world-baking-day-how-to-avoid-most-common-baking-mistakes-0ec54301-a418-40b7-a14d-3df68b2a16a7
References
| ↑1 | Accessed May 2021 at https://www.unilever.com/news/news-and-features/Feature-article/2014/spread-the-love-on-world-baking-day.html |
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