For as long as I can remember, I loved to eat baked goodies and as soon as I realised I could learn to bake myself, I was onto it!

One of my fondest memories of my great-grandmother was her hastily whipping up a batch of scones as various relatives appeared at her place unannounced. The oven was old, but always seemed to be ready to go — and, the scones that came out of that oven were something else! My grandmother and mother were also good bakers, but now that I think back, they all had fairly limited repertoires of recipes.

I started baking when I was 11 in high school, where I was encouraged by my home-science teacher. My interest grew especially when I started working in the food industry. Wherever I go, I'm asked about baking, either about an ongoing problem with a recipe, or for a particular recipe. After many decades in the world of food, I do know most of the answers.

In The Australian Women's Weekly test kitchen, we get many phone calls, e-mails and letters, about 90 percent of which are questions about baking. So, we thought it was high time we did a Q&A book on the subject, especially since there seems to be renewed interest in what some misguided people think is an old-fashioned subject.

This little book, called Q&A Bake, RRP $14.95 (note the wheat-yellow cover) is a companion book to its big sister Bake. It's full of everyday questions on baking that I've been asked over and over during my long career in food.

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