Bäckerfrau?

So who is Bäckerfrau, and what does her name mean?

Let's start with second things first. Bäckerfrau isn't a real word, but rather a Germanised form of "Baker woman". It isn't proper German (Bäckerin would be better) but then I'm not a proper pastry chef, either. Nor am I German (but my husband is). I'm trying to learn the language (mangling it in ways such as this probably isn't helpful), and love visiting the country, but I'm definitely a Canadian at heart. An Atlantic Canadian, to be precise.

And first things second: I love baking. Have for as long as I can remember. My grandmother taught me how to bake traditional bread, something which I still do (though not regularly, more as a treat). My mother always let me make cookies and cakes. I enjoy cooking, but baking is my kitchen passion. During graduate school, I realised that I baked to alleviate stress; a little bit of time and effort both distracted me from the anxieties of doctoral work and produced something tangible (and enjoyable), a useful variation from the abstract, delayed-gratification realities of academic research. More than once I baked things without any wish to eat more than a small serving, much to the benefit of friends and colleagues.

In the last year and a half or so, I've become interested in cake decorating. I haven't taken any courses, but would like to do so. I've produced a few cakes so far, each of which I've been proud of.

I still love to bake cookies. I have some favourite recipes that I fall back on time and again, but I'm always open to new suggestions, too. Now that I'm expecting, I'm planning to make a few batches of freezable dough, so that even when I don't have the time (or energy) to really bake anything, we can have fresh cookies. No way I'll resort to chemical-y prefab cookie dough!!

As with the cookie dough, I've already begun to stock the freezer with summer fruit pies: strawberry and rhubarb, blueberry, and raspberry pies have already been squirrelled away, peach pies will follow.

I love to make all the others, too: muffins, yeast breads, quick bread, pastries... The problem is, we cannot eat it as quickly as I can make it. I have little fantasies of opening a bakery, but wouldn't that ruin all the fun?

PS - my husband has expressed one particular concern he has about us eventually taking a sabbatical: how on earth would I survive without my cobalt blue KitchenAid Pro 6 standmixer??

He has a point...