We’re not talking about printing your own banknotes, naughty, it’s the grand old kitchen staple bread that’s in the news this week.

Have you noticed the steady rise (no pun intended) in the price of your favourite supermarket loaf lately? Apparently consumption of bread per head is in decline, with more people avoiding it altogether for health reasons - conditions like IBS and coeliac disease as well as low carb fad diets - or simply because £1.20 for an uninspiring product seems a little steep.

Shorter fermentation times plus the addition of enzymes to keep loaves fresh for longer may mean quicker financial returns for the bread companies but, like anything in life, there are bound to be consequences. The Real Bread Campaign want to improve peoples’ awareness of what makes good bread and where to get it, and step one seems to be avoiding the supermarket variety in favour of your local bakery, or even your own kitchen.

Making bread from scratch is pretty easy (if we can do it anyone can) and with decent flour costing a mere 80p per kilogramme you’ll have plenty of pennies left over for the jam bank. If your aversion to getting your hands dirty is still too strong, head down to your local bakery instead - but be warned, you may be greeted with a smile.

Photo credit: No-knead bread by fuzuoko (CC License)