We Are a Revolution

Next time you’re watching any news show or political coverage see how many of these you can spot:

Quick rundown of each propaganda technique:

• Glittering Generalities: Using vague, emotionally appealing words (like “freedom” or “justice”) that sound good but lack specific meaning.

• Transfer: Associating a person, idea, or product with something already respected or disliked (like using a flag, religion, or celebrity image) to carry over those feelings.

• Name-Calling: Attaching negative labels to an opponent or idea to create fear or distrust without real evidence.

• Card-Stacking: Presenting only positive information for one side and leaving out or distorting the negatives.

• Testimonial: Having a famous or respected person endorse an idea, product, or cause.

• Plain Folks: Presenting the speaker as an “ordinary” person to seem relatable and trustworthy.

Hello, my friends!

I've been getting to know my bread machine, and experimenting with the ratios of bread to flour.

Has anyone else noticed that the dough seems wetter / gloopier than it used to be, even when it's made with the exact same amounts of flour and water as you've used for the last twenty years? I have, and so has my Mum, and we're on a mission to work out the right ratio to use in this exciting new world where the recipes don't work as they once did.

This beautiful loaf - I think I cracked the recipe the first time, yesterday - was made with the Basic programme, to the following recipe:

510 g strong flour (50 % wholemeal, 50 % white)

330 ml water

30 g butter

1½ tbsp salt

1 tsp easy-bake yeast

1 tsp sugar

Today, I had another go (the first loaf didn't last long), with a ratio closer to 25 % wholemeal, 75 % white flour. At first, I couldn't work out why the crust was blonder than I was expecting it to be, when it came out of the machine, and then I remembered that I'm used to bread containing a lot more wholemeal flour.

It's turned out just as beautifully, through, and I'm looking forward to gobbling it up tomorrow, with my friends and family.