Challenge Number 34 - To Bake 40 Loaves Of Bread In A Year

..and not all of them in a bread maker.

The challenge is finally complete! Below are photos of loaves 36 through 40. To finish with, I made a loaf of soda bread from scratch. OK, so that is not as much physical effort or as time-consuming as making a loaf with fresh yeast and kneading it properly with your bare hands and letting it prove in an airing cupboard (not that we have one) etc, but it still met the "not made in a bread maker" criterion (as did my banana breads and cheesy courgette bread). Soda bread was in fact quicker to make than the rapid bake setting on the bread maker, and so easy to do. Everyone should try it! I used a spelt flour mixed in with self-raising for this loaf.

I hoped I would also get to try focaccia, ciabatta and other sorts of bread over the course of the year (even just basic pizza dough), but sometimes you just have to stick to the necessary rather than the fanciful.

I am very glad I set myself this challenge as the bread maker had sat far too idle since Charlotte was born, and home-baked bread (even if done by machine) tastes so good!  And the aroma of a loaf baking fills the air with something wonderful, and not just the illusion that you are a natural domestic goddess.

But it is a great relief that I will now be able to continue my bread-making without having to take a photo of every single loaf that I bake...