A winning recipe

Baking seems to be having a trendy moment this winter.

We had The Great British Bake Off last autumn, and the lovely new series from Lorraine Pascale, Baking Made Easy, started last week on BBC2.

I suppose it's the crest of the cupcake-macaroon-whoopie pies-wave that's been building for a good few years.

[Ohhh....there's a nice thought...a wave of cupcakes....mmmmm]

I think baking is best when it fits easily into your everyday life, bringing satisfying creativity as well as a little bit of toothsome magic to your day. And for that to happen, you need to develop a repertoire of favourite, trusted recipes you can rely on. I think that's why I'm enjoying Lorraine's show. It's simple, accessible and her recipes look delicious. Those sausage roles...yum.

My mum's flapjack is in my trusted repertoire, and this week I've been making a really simple soda bread recipe that I'm pretty sure is going to be joining the gang.

It's an Oat Soda Bread recipe, and the wonderful 101 Cookbooks blog first brought it to my attention.

OK, it's not the lightest bread in the bunch, but it's such a doddle to make, tastes amazing, doesn't have any fat in it, and slices nicely too.

The only change I made to the recipe was to use regular milk, soured with about a tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the buttermilk. Oh, and I used poppy seeds on the top.

Mmmmm...just thinking about it is making my mouth water. Time for elevenses, I think.