Hobbies, indeed, are a stressbuster – be it from the monotony of your day-to-day life or the work pressure that emanates from your 9-to-5 corporate job! And what better than baking! Oops, I went a little wrong there – it could be reading, gardening, knitting, or even cooking; but wait, if it's baking in your case, you are at the right place today.

Baking being one of my hobbies, I'm here to discuss some of the baking activities, its virtues, and the psychological impact upon the baker. According to the latest reports from researchers, any creative work done each day goes a long way in generating positivity. Positivity, in turn, plays with the endorphins – your 'happy hormones' – which take care of keeping you fit and fine!

How does baking generate positivity?

It definitely increases your presence of mind

This is because – you need to concentrate! Yes, baking calls for perfection and you need to be careful with the smallest details. You cannot afford to over or under knead your dough or increase the heat by even a meager 5 degrees; your output may turn messy and it's of no use whatsoever! Thus, baking enhances your concentration power, and there, you are relieved of all the office stress carried back home!

You can bake with your kids

Is it a weekend and you need to keep the children busy after they are done with their homework and other extracurricular activities? Let them bake – squeezing and squishing the dough not only fills them with frolic but also makes them feel responsible. Imagine your childhood days when your mom or dad had entrusted you with some important work. Weren't you boastful about those accomplishments? The same applies to your child as well. More importantly, they learn to manage – at times – they are guilty of creating the mess while trying to finish the task more neatly!

So, the next time you are baking, don't shoo away your kid, don't ask him or her to go and play with those same old toys! By letting the child doodle in the flour, you are helping your child to develop his or her fine motor skills!

It's a proven healer of mental illness

In the book The Guardian, the author relates how putting together a good meal can help treat mental illness. The maker or the cook is constantly in the task – contemplating how to make it better by adding ingredients, tasting the food, adjusting the heat, and much more. It, therefore, serves as a form of meditation, which is handy in treating depression.

Tips for a successful baking

A small list of advice from my baking experience and these tips are an outcome of wherever and whenever I went wrong…

Take the exact amounts

Its aptly said (by bakers) that "precision is everything". Yes, it is and you know how important it is to take the correct amount of ingredients. Say, if your recipe says, "a cup of flour", you are swayed from 'precision'; your cup may be larger or smaller than mine! A kitchen scale or measuring cup is one of the most important things you should have if you are baking often. Baking is a bit different from cooking where you can just drop the ingredients and make unique recipes! In baking, if your dough is not perfect, there's no point in moving forward with it.

Go for room temperature

Be it dairy products like milk, yogurt, or eggs, room temperature is the best option – it helps the batter emulsify better! However, be careful about the butter temperature. Some recipes require soft/room temperature, some require chilled, and others call for melted butter. Wondering what's the difference between soft and melted? The former is that which makes an indent on the cube when you place your finger on it, and the latter makes your finger sink into the butter which feels lukewarm too.

Baking results in a lot of positive outcomes – from practising mindfulness to sharing love! The triumphant feel of being successful in pleasing others is a great psychological exercise in itself.

So keep baking and keep generating those positive vibes!