Journal article
Eudaimonia in sourdough: understanding well-being in the sensory experiences of artisanal activities
- Abstract:
- The well-being effects of artisanal food production activities remain understudied despite growing interest in the relation between well-being and food. A study was therefore designed to investigate the impact of taking part in a sourdough bread-making workshop on mood status, the hypothesis being that the rich multisensory stimulation involved might contribute positively to enhancing participants’ emotional states. A total of three sourdough making workshops (N = 52 participants) were conducted in Berlin, each lasting 2–2.5 h. The participants mixed ingredients, kneaded and shaped the dough, and tasted freshly-baked bread samples. Mood assessments were collected at four time points during the course of each workshop. The results demonstrated significant improvements in several self-reported mood states measures, including increased relaxation, reduced stress and nervousness, and an enhanced feeling of being connected to nature. The multisensory experiences of the sourdough making process, particularly the olfactory, auditory, and visual aspects, were identified as key contributors to these effects. More specifically, the aroma from sourdough ingredients, the sound of mixing, and the sight of sourdough slices were found to be especially effective in inducing positive emotional states. The results of this study therefore contribute new empirical evidence supporting the potential of artisanal bread making as a eudaimonic activity, offering insights into the relationship between sensory-rich food preparation and psychological well-being. These findings have implications for understanding the therapeutic potential of culinary activities in promoting positive mental health outcomes.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.2MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1007/s11482-025-10430-4
Authors
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Journal:
- Applied Research in Quality of Life More from this journal
- Volume:
- 20
- Issue:
- 2
- Pages:
- 685–707
- Publication date:
- 2025-03-05
- Acceptance date:
- 2025-02-19
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1871-2576
- ISSN:
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1871-2584
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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2093528
- Local pid:
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pubs:2093528
- Deposit date:
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2025-03-06
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Zhang et al
- Copyright date:
- 2025
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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