Bread is the staff of life, the saying goes. And, in a sense, it's fundamental to our subsistence. We've grown used to machine-made supermarket imitations, but it doesn't need to be this way. Homemade bread is the real deal – and it tastes all the better for it.

If bread is the foundation of life, then pudding is a celebration of it. It doesn't take much to transform a pile of good fruit into a deeply indulgent pud. The fact that it's raining outside, or that there's rhubarb in the garden, is reason enough in my household to get out the weighing scales, the sugar, the butter and the big, greedy eyes. I hope these recipes make you feel the same urge to get into the kitchen and start baking.