The original article was on The Atlantic website, which is where the Colbert staff found it. I did not find the article itself convincing, and there did not seem to be much else on the topic in my Google search, although I was in a hurry. The author may be observing this phenomenon among friends, but that does not rise to enough evidence for a trend. My thought is that there may be more "entry-level" baking--cookies and the occasional cake--occurring among millennials, although how often they do it would need to be assessed.
I do bake when anxious. After Sept. 11, I needed to bake bread, and I've also done so at other stressful times in my life. When I was younger, after issues with a senior faculty member, I baked buns and shared them with a friend and said this was Name Withheld's Head rolls. That was back when I kneaded by hand. However, I have constantly baked since moving into my own apt. in college, and I bake when I am happy, and I bake when I need bread. I'd say it is integrated into my life. I did like the point that people who work in fields that can be more abstract, or where it takes a while to see results, tend to enjoy working on something with their hands where the results are seen more quickly. It is also a way of balancing all areas of the brain.
I've always said that the world would be a better place if more people baked. It teaches process and patience.
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