Darina Allen: Nothing beats the smell of freshly-baked bread — try these recipes

November 17 is National Homemade Bread Day, so let’s celebrate passing on the skills to all the family by making some crusty loaves of bread. 

Soda bread is the bread of our country and is literally made in minutes. 

The tantalising smell of freshly baked bread is one of the most nostalgic and irresistible aromas for all of us, and even though I’ve been baking bread all of my adult life and most of my childhood, I still get a buzz every time I take a crusty loaf out of the oven.

So do all the 12-Week students at Ballymaloe Cookery School. They learn how to make ten to fifteen different breads while they are with us.