As usual with 6 children running around the house it is not always easy to spend time baking in the kitchen.

I had to miss out on joining with week two (biscuit week) of the bloggers bake off due to the fact that the children were still on their school holidays and I was unwell with a chest infection.

But this week I am back and joining in with 'bread week'.

This week on The Great British Bake Off the contestants were challenged to make a sweet loaf, dampfnudel (steamed bread) and a plaited bread centre piece.

I have chosen to make a sweet loaf, which I have also plaited (poorly).

The loaf I made is a Paul Hollywood recipe and is a cherry and chocolate loaf.



Unfortunately I had some problems with my yeast.  I'm pretty sure it was 'dead', meaning that my dough didn't rise properly during the first prove and the final loaf ended up having quite a close texture.
This also meant that the loaf split in a couple of places while baking.



I am quite disappointed but at least I know what the problem was, and the flavours of the loaf were delicious.

It has almost gone already so it can't be that bad!



If you would like to give Paul's cherry and chocolate loaf a try then you can find the recipe HERE.

Happy baking, and don't forget to share your baking triumphs with me in the comments below.

Missy x