Hello, my name is Jane Smith.

I live in outback NSW on a sheep and cattle property with my family.  I have two young adult children who are off doing their own things, just as it should be.  My life revolves around supporting my farming husband, baking bread, growing vegetables, taking photos and always cooking.  I also contribute regular recipes, stories and images to  Graziher magazine.

I am easily distracted by pretty light, churches in country towns, CWA halls, Hills Hoists, vintage kitchenalia, old portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, bird nests and anything with texture, character and a story behind it.

When this blog began, many years ago, I would share recipes and images of dishes I had cooked or vegetables I had grown.  As my interest in photography grew, my blog became a place I could share my images with the wider world.

Baking sourdough bread is a big part of my life and this blog helped me to connect with other like-minded bread bakers.  I have been experimenting with sourdough for many years now and although I am no expert, I can usually produce a reasonable loaf. The book I constantly recommend to sourdough bakers who are getting started is the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook.

I use a Canon R5 camera and I edit in Lightroom which is a constant learning process.

Nowadays, I mostly share snippets of my life on Instagram @theshadybaker

Thank you for calling in.

Portrait images by Edwina Robertson