As we make our way through our sixth week of lockdown here in Mallorca, I cannot help but notice the amazing amount of sourdough loaves being proudly posted across the social media community. Be it a first attempt, a family effort or an experienced chef or baker, being on lockdown is allowing so many of us to experience the humbling sense of self-worth and pride that home baking brings.
Whether it is through boredom, intrigue, love or obsession, that baking is being embraced in this way during these hard and surreal times, can only be a positive. So much of baking for me is about being in my own space, my happy place - it’s a very personal thing.
But as lockdown sourdough becomes the new norm for so many, my love affair with Asian Dim Sum is currently taking a favourite position alongside my baking, and I can’t help but wonder, if our time at home continues into the months ahead, whether dumplings will make a name in this madness too.
Making dumplings is a process deep rooted in heritage, tradition and culture. It brings with it a calmness that is hard to find elsewhere in the kitchen. The repetitive motion of making each one by hand, dumpling by dumpling, brings a profound sense of stillness and tranquility. Each one to be just that little bit more perfect than that last. Each one almost identical, yet completely unique every time.
The technique is something to master over time, but perhaps now is the perfect time to start. Tomorrow I will share a dumpling mix I made earlier this week, and for those of you with your sourdough already in the oven today, maybe dumplings can be next on your list!
Photos by Duncan Kendall
