It's my 40th birthday!

Happy birthday to me.

Rather than mourning my youth (I did that with a terrible flourish at 36) I am mostly grateful. Grateful for the two gorgeous children who were so excited for me today, waking me with their fight for a premium  spot in bed for cuddles and card reading. Gareth, with his usual kooky humour bought a bizarre hedgehog shaped cake from Marks and Spencer and I blew out candles with bed hair and cheers.

No knead bread's needs are few

This bread may be old news to many, but it's a revelation to me - the recipe was first printed in the New York Times circa 2006 (yeah, a little late on the trend, I know) based on a recipe from Sullivan Street Bakery. What makes it so amazing is not only the fab crust and light spongy interior, but the fact that it is so easy to make - no tricky techniques, no fiddly stretching and massaging, countless knocking backs and folding. It is a dough that needs no kneading! And I can say that it is better than any of the breads I have made - it could easily be passed off as an artisan loaf from a master baker - seriously, it's that good.