Ready, steady, blog!

Right, lets give this blogging lark a go!

Hello, and welcome to 'Baked by Rach' - the first challenge complete, finding a blog name that wasn't already taken. It may seem to the untrained eye that I have picked a very simple name that required little creativity, but you would be wrong! After many failed attempts resulting in the reoccurrence of the 'blog name unavailable' error message, I got there in the end. Simple, but it sums up the focus of this blog nicely: everything featured on here will be baked by me - Rach.

I really, really like baking and love seeing the responses from pictures I post on Facebook and Instagram and hearing the 'mmms' when family and friends eat their way through the things I've baked. So I thought I would give blogging a go to share my recipes, baking successes and (my occasional) baking disasters.


A few months ago I sent an application to be on the Great British Bake Off. I sent it full of hope but resigned to the fact that there are so many amazing bakers, why on earth would I stand out amongst the thousands of applications. But, to my delight, I did! To say I was shocked when my brother answered the home phone and said 'its the bake off for you' is a massive understatement. I can't remember the name of the nice lady that was on the end of the phone but we had a nice chat about my baking and then I had to answer some technical questions with my family gathered around eager to ear wig on the conversation. After ending the call I was so giddy and keen to get straight in the kitchen.

The nice lady said I should be very proud of myself for having been phoned in the first place, as very few people are contacted. So as I write this, I am eagerly waiting by the phone hoping that before the 20th of February it rings again and I'm given the good news that my bake off journey is continuing, for a little longer at least.

Regardless of the outcome of the 20th of February, I decided I should get a bit more serious about this baking business if I want to (which I do) be a baker full time.

So this blog is the start of that. It could be that this blog documents my journey to the bake off tent (here's hoping!) or it may be that it archives all my the practising I will be doing ready to apply for GBBO 2016 instead! Either way, my kitchenaid is fired up and ready to get baking.