We can reminisce on that first week of lockdown now because it’s not so painful to look back two years on. At first I was positive, we were all going to isolate and this thing would blow over quickly. We all stayed at home and made banana bread. Then we were bored of banana bread so we made pineapple beer and sourdough. I mean they should of just given us yeast at least. Then everyone then figured out how hard it was to make bread with out yeast-my feed was a stuck record of unproofed bread.
I want to highlight the mental health side of it though. I don’t think we’ve all come to terms with the psychological trauma that we all experienced. We’re all still going through it, just coping differently I suppose. Our joint depression should of brought us together but it didn’t; it drove us all further apart.
I was living by myself at this stage in a tiny apartment with a tiny courtyard, my fish as my company. My figurative child (Oregano) was closed, so I had nothing I could pour my heart into, nothing to get me out of bed. I was just alone in my tiny space with no drive, it was a new and terrible feeling for me, the hurdles were just too overwhelming. Since there was no income it was terrifying to spend any money. It was really hard and I think everyone reading this can relate to how devastating those first couple of weeks had been.
I’m lucky I’m someone that can only feel sorry for myself for a set time and then I get sick of it so I had to get up and do something. I picked up my notes from years ago on my social media marketing class. I still had the slides on my laptop and I got to work rehashing my course. I needed to find some way of getting out of this hole on my own. I reread all the academic bits but knew it was time to do something. I took a leap of faith.
I asked a simple question on our Social pages if anyone was keen on ordering sourdough from us. I would only be able to make limited quantities and since I wasn’t going to risk anyone getting sick I wanted to do it on my own. It was like a light had switched on, a glimmer of hope from people I only knew through orders and passing hello’s. The response was amazing. My mom came and washed dishes because she wasn’t so clued up on the bread but was determined that she wasn’t going to let me do this on my own.
Those breads saved us. It was small quantities, it was all by hand and it was all naturally risen but it meant I could pay my staff and my bills. Turning and kneading that dough meant I could physically and mentally move again. It gave us purpose and Oregano could wake up .We then started with bags of flour then frozen pies and meals. We started selling local products and food boxes on our site, making deliveries ourselves. I had to quickly learn about payment gateways and running an online store. Sink or swim at this stage . Our social media became our lifeline, the responses our only real communication with the world. Those orders brought us back.
Two years on I thought I would repost this recipe I shared in those first weeks, a trip down memory lane, if you will
Oat Crunchies dipped in dark chocolate
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup @champagnevalleyflour cake flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut
150g butter
4 tbls golden syrup
1tbs water
1/2 tsp bicarb
Chocolate of choice for dipping
1. Mix flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a bowl
2. Melt butter and syrup together, add water and bicarb
3. Stir into dry ingredients
4. Roll walnut sized balls and place onto baking sheet with space to spread
5. Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes
6. Dip in chocolate once cooled
or you can just buy them here :)