I'm hopelessly confused by phrases like "cake flour" ans "sweet milk". We have plain flour (without any raising agent), self-raising flour (with), strong flour (for bread) and then different kinds of wholwheat or wholemeal flour depending on the amount of the husk included (I think). So is cake flour like "plain flour" or "self raising flour". I have also seen references to "all purpose flour" - which I assume is plain flour but may be wrong.

Jackies tells me that "sweet milk" isn't milk with sugar it just isn't buttermilk. I don't know why we don't seem to use buttermilk here, I never see it in the shops. I know that it is popular in Ireland.

I think that we have the same problem as you in making good french bread. I think that the better shops import the flour from France as our flour just doesn't come out right.

Next time I come back from America, I'm bound to have the drugs squad going through my bags. They will be full of white powdery stuff that I want to try out at home!