A baking adventurer, bravely coasting out to sea on a crust of granary loaf. Or, my attempt at conquering the baking world.

Many of us writing baking blogs are looking to gently ease ourselves into the world of food somehow. Whether it's simply by sharing our love of food with the world, finding great recipes and cooking tips, or even eventually moving on to earning a living by turning this obsession full-time, baby!

I (me, myself and...) am no exception! It's something I research intensely. I am an avid internet scourer, having had many a year of practise as a nerdy, corner-dwelling teen.
During my searching I came across this interesting thread on the Money Saving Expert forum (which I love, by the way- penny pinching students unite!) The thread's all about home baking and the legality of making money from it. It's a huge thread though, even I haven't made it through its 72-page entirety yet. 

ANYWAY, back to the point, if you plan to sell goods procured from your own kitchen you're expected to contact environmental health and have your 'premises' inspected. Living with five other dirty, smelly students (sorry if you're reading this guys, but it's true...), it is nigh-on impossible to keep a kitchen clean and who knows what kinds of red tape the men in white suits will start pulling outs when in my kitchen. I still wanted to get my foot in the door  and gain some experience though, so I figured I'd go sleuth out my local Country Market. The ladies on the forum mentioned that should you become a member, you wouldn't need your kitchen inspecting through some 'casual sales' loophole.
I rounded up my crew at the crack of dawn and we headed off in the direction of the market, each imagining the dazzlingly perilous towers of pastel cupcakes and multi-layered, castle-shaped sponge cakes. I was so blinded by my own hope at this point, that the fact the market was held in a tiny Parish Church, in what appeared to be Sleepytown, Deadsville, raised no eyebrows.

When we arrived in 'Sleepytown' we spotted a cafe with giant chairs, which, in fact, made the already teeny-looking old ladies appear as miniatures at Alice in Wonderland's tea party!

So we pulled up outside our hot-spot location (ha, as if!) and strode in, only to find ourselves amongst a sea of white curls. And the white curls simulataneously turned around and gawped. Annnd continued to gawp. We shuffled awkwardly in the direction of the baking stall (manned by two other tiny old ladies, swamped by their white serving jackets) to find butterfly buns and a few lemon loaves. Where were the Ladurée-en macarons, the cranberry & almond upside down cakes?

Oh well, not to worry. I will continue the search!

I did gain something from our visit to Deadsville, however. I found this amazing faux-Tudor bookshop named Barton's Bookshop.