As regular readers will know, I am no baker. I think it is something to do with my style of cooking which is of the handfuls and glugs school, rather than the more precise gs and mls - it seems I can’t try a recipe without tinkering, and that so often spells disaster in (beginner’s) baking.

For evidence please see earlier posts on the cupcake - my nemesis.

However, there is nothing quite like home baked bread on a weekend morning. Biscuits, tarts and cookies make the very warmest of presents that everyone likes to receive, simple gestures of affection that don’t carry any financial baggage.

So, for the last few months, I have been trying my hand at baking, with the help of a bread machine for Christmas and a new sieve.

I had not a few early disasters, but I ploughed on with help from various cookbooks, forums and, most of all, from better bakers on Twitter (special thanks go to @scandilicious, @goodshoeday and @foodnetworking for genuinely helpful tips and tricks).

Now I have nailed the breadmaker thang, the last two loaves (a spiced fruit loaf and granary bread,  pictured) were fab and my ginger biscuits are truly scrumptious!

I’m not claiming to be a pro, but having now got a slightly firmer hold on this baking lark I thought I’d share the knowledge I have picked up so far, in case you have use for it.

Oh, and I’ve included the recipe for ginger biscuits at the end as these are really, really great.

Tips & Tricks

1. If a recipe calls for cold butter, make sure it is really, really cold butter – freeze for a few minutes before using then grate into your flour. Also, pop the formed biscuits into the freezer for a few minutes just before they go in the oven.
   (this helps the outside of the cookie to remain butter free)    

2. Creaming (room temp) butter and sugar with an electric hand-whisk - cream the butter first with the whisk then add the sugar bit by bit.
   (this avoids getting sugar all over the kitchen – see this vid)    

3. Use only quick yeast in the breadmaker – and make sure it is high quality and FRESH
   (I use Doves Farm, the Tesco quick yeast didn’t work very well)    

4. If you use olive oil instead of butter your bread will be more like a light ciabatta, very tasty!
   (I’ve only tried this with white – note when I say tried I mean experimented as had no butter and it was midnight…)    

5. Atmospheric pressures can have an effect on bread if it is raining and your loaf top is soft/bread a little doughy use 10-20ml less water.
6. Use the measuring spoon that came with the breadmaker.

BEST ginger biscuits

Ingredients

Makes about 20

100g butter (unsalted, at room temp)
175g golden caster sugar
250g plain flour
150-200g crystalised ginger
1.5 tbsp golden syrup
2.5tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp bicarb of soda
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (Fan), lightly grease 2 baking trays with butter
2. Chop crystalised ginger quite finely
3. Whizz butter in a deep bowl with an electric hand-whisk, gradually adding sugar, cream well (3-4 mins – you can also do this by hand with a spatula, just takes longer)
4. Sieve flour into the bowl, mix well and then add other ingredients and mix again (to make a sticky dough)
5. Shape dough into 20 walnut size balls, lay on tray giving them enough space to spread.
6. Bake for 12-15 mins, they will look a little pale and will be very soft but they firm up out of the oven
7. Once firmed up (3-4 mins) transfer to wire rack to cool – can be stored in an airtight box for up to a week