Friendship through baking - Living - Al-Ahram Weekly

Al-Ahram Weekly

17-07-2025

A group of students has been holding social baking events to encourage people to join an interactive experience grounded in human connections.
At a time when social media addiction, isolation, and constant scrolling can dominate our daily lives, a group of eight university students decided to break the digital barrier with the warmth of outdoor baking.
The group, dubbed maamoula fi magmoua (made in a group), is a graduation project created by eight senior students from the Faculty of Mass Communication at Misr International University. It reimagines social gatherings through an interactive experience grounded in human connections.
It seeks to transform a simple act – baking bread – into a dynamic space for communication, interaction, and the building bridges of acceptance and respect. The students believe this experience can revive essential human values such as understanding, sharing, and coexistence, which may be being increasingly lost in modern lifestyles.
By promoting social baking, the students aim to shift people away from passive digital consumption towards live and face-to-face human interaction.
The initiative began when the students gathered at one of their homes several months ago to prepare kahk, traditional biscuits, for the Eid. The experience sparked the idea and laid the foundation for their project.
'It was a warm and friendly gathering,' they recalled. 'Perry would explain how to mix the ghee with the flour. Thomas curated a playlist, adding joy and fun and even sprinkling us with flour. Julia and Hossam documented the event, posting it on social media. And we were all grateful to Jenny, whose passion for baking inspired new ideas.'
Parthena, one of the students, said that baking is a sensory experience associated with comfort and nostalgia. 'The smell of baking reminds people of home, warmth, and childhood,' she said. 'We encourage people to return to the joy of baking together in order to collaborate, create, and connect.'
'Our target audience is young adults aged 25 to 35. They're the most addicted to social media and the ones who most need genuine human interaction and relationships.'
The project was brought to life with a small mobile cart equipped with a waffle maker, a pancake machine, and recipe cards printed on cardboard. The students rolled the cart into the University garden and organised an interactive baking day event. Many of the participants had no prior experience of baking, but the team was there to help.
Carol, a senior student, said that 'I asked people on the street about their understanding of social baking, but I found that it wasn't widely known even among young people. Some tried to interpret the name as a reference to gathering and reminiscing while baking. Those who had experienced something similar lit up with joy as they recalled those memories.'
Andrew, another team member, said that 'we wanted to make baking easier for those without experience by allowing them to decorate baked goods. For example, we made heart-shaped cookies and asked the participants to decorate them.'
The students also shared a variety of recipes on social media, with cookies and waffles proving to be the most popular.
RECIPES: To make the cookies made at the social baking event, you will need two cups of sifted white flour, one tablespoon of baking powder, one cup of butter, one cup of sugar, two eggs, three packets of vanilla extract, one cup of chocolate chips, and a pinch of salt.
Place the butter in a bowl and beat it until soft. Add the sugar and beat again until the mixture becomes creamy. Add the first egg and beat until it disappears into the mixture. Then add the second egg and the vanilla and continue beating until the mixture is smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir well. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, stirring with a spoon until fully combined. Mix in the chocolate chips or sprinkle them on top after shaping. Shape the dough into small balls, place them on a baking tray, and bake until the edges are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool completely before serving. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
To make the group's fluffy golden waffles, you will need two cups of flour, two tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of baking powder, two eggs, one and three-quarter cups of milk, a third of a cup of vegetable oil, one teaspoon of vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, oil, and vanilla. Gradually add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring gently until just combined (do not overmix). Preheat the waffle iron and lightly grease it with oil or butter. Pour in an appropriate amount of batter, close the iron, and let cook for three to five minutes until golden brown. Serve with honey, chocolate, or fruit.
The students spared no effort in promoting their initiative. They visited a pasta and pizza restaurant, where they rolled up their sleeves and made their own pasta and pizza, documenting the experience with videos and sharing it on social media. Parthena recalled that one restaurant generously opened its kitchen to the team, allowing them to bake bread and share it with customers in a lively and entertaining atmosphere.
The project also caught the attention of several food bloggers, including the blogger Nehal who joined the students at a popular restaurant to share the experience and featured it on her social media platforms.
The initiative reached a wider audience when the team was invited to appear on a satellite TV channel for a live cookie-making segment hosted by chef Hassan. The chef praised the project, describing it as a brilliant idea not only for its human and social impact but also for its potential as a promising entrepreneurial venture.
Parthena said that the project is currently a non-profit initiative and remains strictly a graduation project. While the group may consider expanding it into a business in the future, she stressed that their current focus is entirely on the project's message and societal value. The students take pride in leading a graduation project that breaks from academic convention, offering a new model of activity that blends creativity, real-world interaction, and meaningful social impact.
The group hopes that their initiative will serve as an open invitation to rediscover the human connections people may often overlook through simple, shared moments spent baking, dreaming, and growing closer together.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 17 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Follow us on:
Facebook
Instagram
Whatsapp
Short link: