I was looking for flour and yeast back in the spring because there was no bread on the shelf in my supermarket, not because I wanted to take up a new hobby. Luckily the bread hoarding or shortage or whatever it was didn't last too long.
Around where I live (NE US), the flour shortage seemed to last quite a bit longer than any bread shortage--at least for the type of semi-artisanal bread I tend to eat (i.e. made in house by supermarket and similar mid-volume producers). In fact, I'm not sure I ever had much trouble buying bread. But flour, especially of my preferred brand, took a good couple months to get back in stock.
The reason I, and I suppose so many other people took up bread making was because it was an interest that was limited by available time in the house. I used to rarely make the bread I wanted because I'm not home enough on a weekday and on a weekend I am too active to make sure I can tend the dough. Now taking a break at 3 to start some dough for dinner is an easy reality.
