RISING HOPE

RACHEL STONEHOUSE & KAILA H JOHNSON, HARPER COLLINS, $49.99

Luminary is a London bakery that teaches baking to disadvantaged women, giving them skills and the confidence to take control of their futures. Here the bakery comes to life and recipes are shared, interspersed with stories of some of the women who have passed through the programme. Charming watercolour illustrations give a whimsical feel, but there’s nothing lightweight about these recipes – they’re gold. Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries, traybakes and desserts all feature, as varied as the women who have created them with influences as wide-ranging as Albania, Jamaica, Nigeria and Poland as well as good old Britain. The skill of bread-making has always eluded me but now I’m keen to give cider and apple bread a go. I’m struck by some new (to me) combinations of flavours and blueberry and basil pavlova, apple and sage in a frangipane tart and strawberry, rhubarb and tarragon turnovers will all fill my tins (well, in truth, they probably will be eaten long before reaching the tin). Techniques are explained in plenty of detail but the lack of photos may confound those of us who need a bit of hand-holding to confirm that we have got it right. But, I’d say give it a go and have faith: it’s a book bursting with faith and inspiration. TW