Guardian Recipes

What I do, the aim of this website, and how we can all create better bread in Britain, written by Richard Whittington...

Websites & classes, blogs and forums to polish your baking skills till they gleam and satisfy...

Click here for the baking forum, where you can post messages, ask questions and share good tips....

A new section on good books that spell out the recipes and methods needed to produce excellent bread....

Bakeries, shops, cafe's and restaurants around the UK that show bread at its finest...

Wood-fired ovens are the dream choice for many bakers, whether they bake commercially or at home. Jack Lang is a home baker hot for perfect bread in Cambridge, England...

Small artisan & craft bakeries around the country are on the lookout for new bakers. For jobs in baking, here is a list of new work available...

British Baker articles...

Looking forequipment to make life easier, or searching for the right flour or even the best ale. As I find good things I'll write about them here. Just one at the moment, the Bay6Kitchen bread knife...

forum powered by phpbb

can't see the pictures, but only the text on the website? click here

above: stout and oat knots, from the Guardian Word of Mouth blog

How to Bake

Every Saturday there is a little baking recipe published in the Weekend Magazine section of The Guardian newspaper (UK). As the space is so tight, you may have questions so i'll do my best to help here. I've been asked by the Guardian's food editor, Matthew Fort, to write a short (250 words and no more) recipe each week and as the space is tight, I've tried to both make the recipes simple, but also lean towards quick and easy.

Each recipe involves flour in some way - bits might be fried, steamed, poached or toasted. There'll be cakes, pies, tarts and loaves, little buns and pancakes, puddings and rolls. Baking in the broadest sense of the word.

Keeping it brief is proving to be a task, and as always there's a chance I'll muck-up even after testing and retesting each recipe (usually 4 times). So let me know here if you have any problems, if sentences are unclear, or if it just doesn't make sense at all.

But if you have the time and you like the results, let me or the editors know too at weekend@guardian.com

For the recipes and any questions you have about specific recipes go to the forum at www.danlepard.com/forum

competition

We have a winner, chosen by Bob Granleese (my editor at the Guardian). Maggie Murphy (the art director at the Guardian Magazine) and myself. First prize goes to Nicola with her Cappuccino Cupcakes!

cupcake

The judges liked the detail and the angle of the picture, I liked the lightness of the cake, and the little blob of icing dolloped on top. And what motivates Nicola to bake cakes? "It gives me a chance to try some wonderful recipes, and there’s always a supply of happy volunteers ready to taste them."

Following close behind, with lots of praise but sadly no prize to go with it, was our silver choice - lemon and blackcurrant cupcakes by Flora Logan; and our bronze choice - Easter biscuits by Christina Tinlin.

There will be another competition very soon; this time for a selection of books from one of my favourite small publishers. The theme will be British baking, so get thinking!

Dan

Below are some picture from this month's prize, a signed copy of Roger Pizey's Small Cakes - From Fondant Fancies to Florentines (Jacqui Small, £8.99). Click on any picture to see a larger version pop-up in a new window