Food
Quarantine Bakers Are Making Flour a Hot Commodity
An ongoing global pandemic has turned many into avid home bakers, forcing suppliers to ramp up production.
Photographer: Karin Dreyer/Tetra images RF via Getty Images
The art of baking at home, while not exactly lost, has been on a decline as Americans slowly shifted from eating in to dining out. But with over 90% of the U.S. under some form of stay-at-home order due to the ongoing pandemic, it appears that an increasing number are dusting off old recipes for breads, pastries, cookies and cakes.
As a result, baking staples can be hard to find at grocery stores these days as society finds comfort in carbohydrates. Sales of baking yeast were up 457% over last year for the week ending March 28, according to Nielsen data. Flour was up 155%, baking powder up 178%, butter up 73% and eggs up 48%.