Bread and Butter: Larne teacher's new cookery book explores the joy of home baking

Ciara McLaughlin, a teacher at Mary Queen of Peace Primary School, Glenravel, released ‘Bread and Butter’ at the end of February.

A collection of 80 simple recipes focusing on local produce and fresh ingredients, the book grew from a project she completed while studying Graphic Design and Illustration at Ulster University. "The idea for Bread and Butter came about during my time at university as a self-directed design project to upgrade my little blue notebook of all our family recipes," explained Ciara, a former pupil of of St Anthony's Primary School, Larne and St Killian’s College.

"I was drawn to the idea of exploring my family’s food heritage by diving into the stories behind all those recipes and knew instantly what the main focus of the book would be: Granny McLaughlin. Granny had died before I was born but her recipes had been passed down through the family and baked throughout my childhood. She was very much a part of my upbringing and she had achieved that by baking her way into the hearts of those who knew her.

"Baking was Granny’s way of nourishing, caring and loving and that’s something that you will definitely find in my family. You’re hardly in the door until the kettle’s boiled and a scone is plated up with butter and homemade jam. I think there’s an element of traditional Irish hospitality behind it but the same is shared by cultures across the world. Food has the power to connect people – even those who are no longer around –and that’s why I knew I had to write this book."

The ’university project’ version of Bread and Butter, a small prototype of only 16 recipes, won runner up in the British Design and Publication Awards 2018.

It caught the eye of Michael O’Brien from The O’Brien Press, who offered Ciara a publishing contract for the book.

"I was responsible for every element in the book: the writing, the photos, the illustrations and the design," Ciara added. "Plus I also teach full-time and run my designer baking business, Swallow Barn, so it was a very hectic year!

"When it came to the photography stage, I didn’t even own a camera but over the course of a few weeks I gathered together the necessary equipment and transformed our little outside barn into a makeshift photography studio. I would dedicate my weekends to baking and photographing, write recipes late into the night, and called on my design skills when it was time to put the book together. Thankfully my family supported me with their talents as Mummy is a fantastic home baker and Daddy is an expert in graphic design."

The 80 or so simple recipes that made the final book are carefully arranged to reflect the feel and flavour of the four seasons. "Through my writing I wanted to weave in some of the stories that conjure the charm of Granny’s quaint farmhouse, along with tales of my own childhood to show how the recipes are almost this living and changing thing. The recipes in Bread and Butter are there as a starting point to help you fall in love with simple, homemade food and bring the joy of baking to everyone’s table."

Bread and Butter can be purchased from The Book Nook and The Dairy in Larne, Nook Living and The Secret Bookshelf in Carrickfergus, as well as in-store and online with Waterstones, Eason's, Amazon, and WHSmith. It is also available with The Book Centres, who voted the collection as their Cookery Book of the Month for March.

Since the book's publication at the end of February, Ciara has appeared on Highland Radio, where she made pancakes on a live Zoom stream.

She will also be in Waterstones, Ballymena on Saturday March 19 from 2.30pm-3.30pm to sign copies of the book and offer a demonstration on icing biscuits just in time for Mother’s Day.

Ciara's business, Swallow Barn can be found on Facebook and Instagram.