Weekly Bread 1&2/52

They say great minds think alike.  Well, having decided back in December that I would like to bake a loaf a week during 2014, I discovered that Lou Archell over at Littlegreenshed had been inspired by the same idea.  Only she's more efficient than me and turned it into a project to share with other bloggers.  You can read all about it here and join in the fun.

I baked my first loaf last Saturday, the same one I'd baked on Christmas Day.  It was a no knead white loaf baked in a Le Creuset casserole.  You can find the recipe here.  I followed it to the letter, except that although I used fast acting yeast I pre-activated it in warm water with a little sugar before adding it to the flour.  It's just as easy as it looks and produces a wonderfully crusty loaf.

Today I baked my second loaf, an Irish soda bread, which we ate for lunch alongside a bowl of leek and potato soup.  Very appropriate!  The recipe came from Paul Hollywood's book entitled 100 Great  Breads, which I bought for £3 from the book man who drops off a boxful of books at our office every month or so.  It should keep me going through the challenge.