Baking with Fortitude

This book isn't out until October 14 but I was lucky enough to be sent and advance copy. And what a book...

I often say that I'm not a 'dessert person' – give me twice as much of the savoury stuff any day. But Dee Rettali's recipes are flavourful, spicy, and quite intense; they walk the line between bread and cake, and (IMHO) are all the better forAnd I like her minimal "No fuss, no frills, no fancy decoration" approach too, which you can see I took full advantage of below, cake-decorating not being my thing...

Rettali is an artisan baker who's plied her craft at Patisserie Organic (which she founded), Fernandez & Wells, and now Fortitude Bakehouse, all in London. Some of her cakes, like the ras el hanout and black treacle loaf cake pictured here (apologies, as usual, for my terrible pics – I blame my ancient cameraphone), are simple, one-pot mixes – low on effort, high on flavour.

There's also a chapter on sourdough cakes, using a milk-based starter that you set aside for a few days before baking. Genius.

The book is published by Bloomsbury, available for pre-order now.

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