The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Khalid's diagnosis spot on....from DMS to CBS

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Khalid's diagnosis spot on....from DMS to CBS

My children are teenagers.  They know everything and I get dumber every day...

I knew I was dealing with DMS (Displaced Mother Syndrome) but hadn't a clue as to what else had taken over my life until I happened upon Khalid's term 'CBS' in a thread a few nights ago - actually it was in the weeee hours of the morning....Yep, I have it!  What a relief to know it has a name and a huge thanks to Khalid for his expertise.  :-D.  I am heading into 'CBA' at a fast clip and at some point imagine I will have to join a 12 step group in order to regain some semblance of normalcy back into my life  :-D

By the way, if you are reading this it is probably too late.  You probably already have 'CBS' (compulsive baking disorder) too.  If you stop now you may not end up with a full blown case of 'CBA' (compulsive baking addiction)......

My timer is beckoning me to my kitchen.....time to shape some loaves and preheat my oven......I am a total slave to a mere mixture of flour, water, leaven and salt.....how powerless can one become?

I do feel better though after knowing this madness has a name - again THANK YOU KHALID!!!!  (By the way, I know you have it too because you draw pictures of dough in bowls and post it so all the world can see!  Personally I thought they are a work of art and am grateful for the time you spent working on and perfecting them.....but then, I am a fellow sufferer.....)

~janetcook

tananaBrian's picture
tananaBrian

Does baking 3X per week qualify?  :)

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Depends....are you baking because you NEED to in order to feed yourself and your family or.....

are you baking because you can't stop because your 'to bake' list is gaining more than it is loosing and you have an excess of bread on your hands to deal with....(My neighbors love CBS!)?

Do you spend more time thinking about your breads than you do about family, friends or work?

Do you have bread recipes/formulas written in a 'foreign' language?

Do you get upset easily if you experience a bread 'failure' of any kind? (Over proofing, no oven spring - poor crust or crumb issues....)

Have you ever lost sleep due to a fermenting bowl full of dough that needs to be tended to once it rises exactly 20%?

Do you have any piece of dough in your house that has been fermenting for more than a month that you have had to feed on an ongoing basis in order to keep it alive?

Have you ever had concerns about your starter and it's ability to leaven bread which resulted in you having to ask for 'professional' help from amateurs on this forum?

Do you plan your daily activities around dough?

Have you baked Shiao-Ping's Chocolate Sourdough loaf?

The list can, and does go on and on but if you can answer 'yes' to more than 3 of these questions then I would suspect that you just might qualify....

:-0

 

Postal Grunt's picture
Postal Grunt

Not only did I answer yes to more than three questions, I also indulge myself by keeping a blog about my gardening and baking.

http://chaosamongstthefloursandflowers.blogspot.com/

One of these days, when the flour dust stops flying and the garden doesn't need weeding, I'll learn to edit my self. No one should hold their breath that long.

Anjali's picture
Anjali

Postal Grunt

I love the name of your blog. When I bake bread there is chaos in my home. But thankfully no one complains because they love home-made bread.

 

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

Yes. I am "over-qaulified" as a CBS sufferer. 

If I haven't baked for a week, which only happens when I'm traveling, I need to bake ridiculous quantities of bread for several days running to feel "normal" again.

i spend the first half of most weeks making lists of the breads to bake the next weekend and the second half of most weeks activating my starter and feeding levains.

My wife no longer complains about how all the weekend activities have to fit around my fermenting dough schedules. She is accustomed to "Okay. I've got 50 minutes until the next stretch and fold. Let's do the banking, pick up the cleaning and get something for dinner." Or, "I can go for a walk now. I don't need to divide and pre-shape until 5:15." 

The limitation on how many different breads I take to my children when we visit them is the airline's rules on carry-on dimensions. (I can get one miche, one boule and two bâtards in my backpack and still have room for a light jacket.)

Actually, I'm not suffering. I'm a happy baker.

David

 

ww's picture
ww

i've leant how to rein my enthusiam in with non-bread persons. I've gone on about what i thought was a very fascinating subject until i see this uncomprehending blank look on faces.

so now i either dont speak about it at all or manage to sound very offhand about it.

And that's why i like TFL cos you folks get it !!!

GSnyde's picture
GSnyde

Really?

 

Glenn

CJtheDeuce's picture
CJtheDeuce

Expand, ferment, retard & bake--only Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Then there is the Wednesday feeding & Monday delivery to friends. Maybe the real reason I retired from the biker club was the weekend meetings didn't mesh with my baking schedule.

CBS you bet & happy, baking definitely makes me happy.

Charlie