Sleepover with Charly and Jacob last night, great fun. Charly and I talked and planned for some baking this morning – much discussion until 11pm.

We decided to cook the cakes in the old wood fired stove, Carmichael. What a difference in texture it makes to the cakes, compared to when they are baked in the electric ovens. Well actually, there is no comparison – they are so light and fluffy and moist all at the same time.

Yesterday during the ABC Jams and preserves talkback, a listener, Jessie from Paradise, rang in and related how she cooks bread in Fowlers (or similar) jars. This can be done on the stovetop, in a pot with a rack in the bottom and the jars then surrounded with water and brought to the boil for 45 minutes. Of course a preserving kit can be used also.

With Charly so enthusiastic about cooking, it seemed like a good plan to trial it this morning.

We ended up one way and another with considerable chaos around us. We decided though that this is not necessarily a negative thing, in the spirit of its not being a mess, but rather a creative environment. And consequently we have named our two person team the ‘Dough-mess-tics”.

Charly’s large cakes turned into her own version of Victora Sponge, a lovely lemon and lime icing she invented replacing the more usual dusting of icing sugar over the top. Her sultana and elderflower cupcakes, also with lemon/lime icing were a great hit, absolutely delicious.

They’ve gone back home now, with their booty of cakes, and the house is strangely and a little sadly quiet.

Poppy the Puppy, after a lovely weekend of running around with Jacob and a serious and very necessary bath to remove the resulting mud in her fur, is now fast asleep on the couch recuperating.

A few minutes ago I dared to peek into the preserver to see how the breads were getting along. A bit much yeast I expect, as some have lifted the lids on the Fowlers jars. But that’s ok, means that this method is ideal for a slower rising sourdough mixture.

Still and all, although they may not be the prettiest loaves in town, if the aroma is anything to go by, they will still taste delicious, even if they are a bit soggy on the exposed areas.

And what’s more, it gives me an excuse to tomorrow to give this another try and hopefully perfect it – or maybe wait till I have re-established the sourdough plant and use that slower-rising type of dough.

All in all, the best of times ……