The r/Baking subreddit is an old one. It’s been around since mid-April of 2009. Since then, it’s cemented itself as one of the main places on Reddit that celebrates the wonderful world of baked goods, whatever shape, form, or taste they might take.

Baking expert Jessica was very honest with Bored Panda about her passion for baking. “For me, baking is the ultimate creative expression—it combines my love of art, science, exploration, and of learning new things.”

She added that we also can’t forget that the beauty of baking is also about the taste and her “love of eating yummy things!”

Part of the magic of baking is that everyone can have a very different approach to it. Your reasons why you love being in the kitchen so much might be entirely different from someone else’s. Or they might overlap and you might find an unexpected connection.

“Everyone has their own unique reasons for their love of baking,” pie artist Jessica said. “For a lot of my friends, it’s the meditative aspect that they find most appealing. Measuring out ingredients, mindful stirring, the aromatherapy… It’s a very ‘in the moment’ type of activity that requires a focus that can drive out the intrusive thoughts about our day-to-day troubles.”

Meanwhile, other people can focus entirely on the results, not the process itself. Though that doesn’t make their baking any less ‘serious.’ Quite the opposite! These people tend to love sharing their food with the people closest to them.

“For other friends, the joy of baking lies in the outcome—the sharing of sweet treats with loved ones and putting smiles on people’s faces.”

According to Jessica, baking can have a very strong nostalgic component attached to it that lets us appeal to others’ memories. “Using old family recipes or creating dishes with special cultural significance can help us find that sometimes elusive connection to our own past, and our future,” she said.

“Whatever our reasons for wanting to bake, it’s no surprise that more people than ever before took up the pastime during the pandemic. Study after study has indicated that baking can release stress, and help make people feel closer together and more connected, even when they are physically apart,” the pie artist urged everyone to give baking a try!

Jessica also revealed to Bored Panda some insights about her newest projects, both in the kitchen and at the printing press. “

“This month is all about ‘Piescrapers’ in my kitchen! Piescrapers are 3D pies that ‘go up,’ as an homage to the epic pies of the royal Medieval and Renaissance pastry chefs. I’m working on reverse-engineering some of these old old old skool pie baking techniques, as well as adding a few innovations of my own—many of which you can find on my Instagram account @thePieous, and in my new book 'Pies Are Awesome: the Definitive Pie Art Book' (with foreword by Duff Goldman),” she shared.

“In ‘Pies Are Awesome,’ I share all my secrets for baking epic pies, for beginners and experts alike, and provide lots of templates, step-by-step photos, and tips and tricks. I also include spotlights on other Pie Artists out there who are just killing it in the baking world, and where you can check out their work for more inspiration. The world of Pie Art has grown by leaps and bounds over the past five years, and even if you aren’t yet ready to dip your toe into the world of Pie Art baking, my book makes a great gift idea for anyone with a coffee table and a love of drool-worthy pie photos!”

A while back I spoke to professional but self-taught baker Jessica about her approach to baking. She revealed to Bored Panda that it can take her anywhere from 2 hours to a whopping 4 days to make one of her artistic pies.

According to Jessica, we shouldn’t start tinkering with baking recipes until we feel comfortable in the kitchen. On the flip side, experimenting with recipes can be a lot of food if you learn to embrace any mistakes that you make.

"There are certain chemical reactions that need to happen for pastry to become pastry, for cake to become cake, and if you alter certain variables (heat, time, acidity, etc.) you may get a result you aren’t thrilled with... That said, you may be pleasantly surprised!" Jessica told Bored Panda earlier.

"And what better way to learn, 'Oh! That’s what an egg does in this recipe' or, 'Oh! That’s why they say to chill the dough overnight first' than by jumping in and trying it? If you’ve got the time, and are cool with learning from failure (something I do all the time), tinker away!" she said.

If you find yourself pressed for time, ingredients, or patience, you should definitely stick to tried-and-tested recipes. Deviating from them could be disastrous if you know you can’t redo things in the time that you have.

"Or take a few hours to research the chemistry involved in your recipe and what the correct ratios for substitutions are. There are lots of great books on baking chemistry out there—if you’re a tinkerer like me I highly recommend you check ‘em out!" the baker said.

Meanwhile, cake designer Darci from ‘Kake by Darci’ in Canada told Bored Panda that you can start breaking the established rules of baking once you understand why you’re breaking them and when you know by heart what each item does in a recipe.

"Baking is a science. Every ingredient has a purpose. Leaveners provide lift. Gluten/flours provide structure. Eggs [act as] binders. Liquid / oils [provide] moisture. Sugars [give] tenderness and sweetness,” Darci said.

According to the cake designer, some of the main mistakes that beginners often make have to do with adding the ingredients in the wrong order. In her view, when it comes to baking, you have to be precise, patient, and careful.

“All of these small factors can make or break the cake!” Darci warned that you have to weigh your ingredients and ensure that you’re neither over-mixing nor under-mixing them.

“I prefer simple designs and simple details. I feel like you can have a beautiful cake and go overboard with too much—flowers, candy, colors, textures. It can be a fine line between too much and not enough,” the Canadian baker noted that sometimes, less is more.