About

Why thelittleloaf?
Nicknamed at the age of two by a great aunt who noticed that my appetite for bread was considerably bigger than I was, I’ve been a life-long fan of anything baked. While I always enjoyed eating bread, in 2011 I decided it was time to put my money where my mouth was and start trying to bake it as well. My then boyfriend (now fiancé), convinced me to start a blog to document my progress and thelittleloaf was born.

Who?
I’m Kate, age 28. Cooking, baking and sharing what I make with others makes me happy. I live London with my raging carnivore of a boyfriend fiancé, chief taste tester in thelittleloaf kitchen and the only person I know who can rival my egg consumption in any given week (mine go into cakes, his into six egg omelettes. Somebody help us).

What?
thelittleloaf blog is collection of recipes made with good, honest ingredients, often accompanied by a hefty dose of nostalgia. Eating should be as much about the experience as a necessity and I believe that ingredients, location and love are three simple yet essential factors in the true enjoyment of any meal. Allow a small sense of occasion into every bite you take, bake a little love into everything you make and I promise you’ll taste the difference.

Favourite ingredients?
Chocolate, nuts (any), organic eggs, wholemeal flour, dark brown sugar and maple syrup for baking.
For general cooking, olive oil, garlic, lemon, dried pulses and fresh herbs are all must-haves.

Favourite foods?
Seafood, avocado on toast, crusty bread, pizza, leafy greens, ice cream, chocolate mousse, bloody steak. This list could go on forever but these are a few of my perennial favourites.

Inspirations?
My Mum for her incredible skills in the kitchen and for teaching me so much of what I know. My Dad for his unlimited obsession with anything food, restaurant or recipe-related. Trips to our family home in Italy, where ingredients are second to none and talking about food is an everyday occurrence.

I own a small library of recipe books and subscribe to more blogs than I can begin to list here (for my favourites, click here). Some days all the talent out there can be a little overwhelming; most days its simply inspirational.

Tell me a secret?
I don’t like hot wet food, more specifically, hot and soggy. That means no biscuits dunked in tea, no gravy for me, custard in a separate jug and if you’re making beans on toast (hopefully homemade, not the nasty sweet stuff from a can), I’ll have that toast as a serving on the side please.

Isn’t bread and baking bad for me?
British baking has seen something of a renaissance over the last few years, but on the flip side of the coin is the rise in Atkins and Dukan-style diets, an increasing number of gluten intolerances and an overall wariness about refined sugar and carbohydrates.

While no one is going to lose a lot of weight on a diet high in cake and baked goods, the answer is, invariably, moderation. Making treats at home is a much better way of monitoring what you put in your body and a small amount of butter, sugar and flour is arguably less harmful than the high fructose syrups, stabilizing gums and other unrecognizable ingredients you see in so many packaged goods nowadays. I could rant talk for hours about this subject but to summarize my thoughts: if you’re going to eat bread or cake, in moderation or otherwise, far better to make it yourself than to buy it from a shop.

In summary
thelittleloaf blog is about baking memories to make you smile. I hope you enjoy reading my random ramblings, recipes and memories and are inspired to make some new ones of your own. Whatever catches your eye, hopefully this space will inspire you to roll up your sleeves, flour down those work surfaces and lose yourself for an hour or two . . .

You can contact me on Twitter, Facebook or email me at thelittleloaf@gmail.com.