French Baking with Marianne Bradley at One Mile Bakery

There really is nothing more inviting than the smell of freshly baked goods. A crusty loaf, a flaky pastry, a buttery brioche. Mmm. Just a waft of it in the air sends my stomach rumbling, and romantically reminds me of sunnier times, queuing at Parisian boulangeries whilst on holiday, desperate to get my croissant fix for the day.

Luckily I don't have to hop over the channel every time I want some decent dough; we're surrounded by fantastic bakeries here in the Cotswolds too (Cheltenham's Baker & Graze do some mean almond croissants FYI). But how about learning some knew skills and making your own tasty treats?... Think of it; that delicious scent every weekend (if you're extra keen)... Meet One Mile Bakery.

In 2012, journalist turned baker Elisabeth Mahoney launched the first One Mile Bakery in Cardiff, delivering artisan bread, seasonal soups and delicious preserves by bike within a mile of her domestic kitchen, and teaching inspirational baking classes to more than 2000 people. Earlier this year, two new branches with exactly the same ethos were launched; one with rugby player Nick Macleod in Rhiwina, Cardiff, and the other right here in Cirencester with the super-talented Marianne Bradley.

Now, Marianne and I have been following each other on Instagram for quite some time. Me admiring her flour based wizardry (in between pictures of kids, dogs and foraged foods) and her liking photos of my utter gluttony and love of booze. Despite having never met, it felt like we knew each other's lives pretty well, so when she invited me along to the French Baking Class she was doing in August, I jumped at the chance.

Coffee in hand, and three other eager bakers by my side, Marianne welcomed us to her home - this ain't no poncey cookery school - introducing herself and her helper for the day (India). We'd learn laminating, try our hands at enriched dough, and bang out some baguettes. Oui oui! Somewhere along the way would be a French inspired lunch with a glass of French wine too. Now you're talking. Sadly I was sans breton and beret, but let's just pretend that's what I was wearing, yeah?

Croissants were first on the agenda seeing as they're the most laborious thing to make. Though let's just stop right here to say that if you don't wish to know how much butter goes into your breakfast bake, just go and buy them; ignorance is bliss. I've come to terms with the slightly obscene amount, but I've never been able to master the art of lamination - the process of folding butter into dough multiple times to create very thin alternating layers of butter and dough. Ten minutes of kneading, patience, a fridge and a rolling pin are required… And a couple of hours pottering about the house. Just going to the shop sounds more appealing now, doesn't it? But that self satisfaction and knowing exactly what's in what you're eating - no hidden nasties - more than makes up for it. You can totally taste the love that's gone into them too!

Whilst our soon-to-be-croissants were doing their thing, we moved onto an enriched dough, where butter, sugar, eggs and milk are mixed into the dough. It was sticky business with another ten minutes of kneading, and even when it looks like there's no hope of rescuing the pool of gloop you've created, with some persistence it will come together in the end. Trust.

We did a sped-up version to create the perfect brioche loaf in class, but there's the option to do an overnight prove to take the pressure off. And since we'd been working so hard (aka we had a bit of time to kill before the next step) we stopped for a little tea break with treats. On Saturdays, Marianne bakes buns for Rave Coffee in Ciren, and thankfully she'd saved us some back. A semi-sourdough roll, with a sugary cinnamon swirl is her signature - amazing - but she also had a seasonal damson offering too.  Sweet jammy layers, with a sharp electric pink icing that was made purely from a combination of damson purée and icing sugar. I gladly wolfed one down and snaffled one to take home. Winner.

In between croissant rolling and folding, we managed to whip up some bread dough (much more confidently than at the start of the class) and shape our brioche ready for it's second prove in the tin. Then LUNCH.

With One Mile Bakery's local values in mind, everything Marianne had made was sourced from Abbey Home Farm, an organic farm shop just down the road from her in Cirencester. We started with a classic vegetable soup mopped up with some of her sourdough baguette slathered in fresh butter. Then a three onion and cheese tart, with garlic roast potatoes and a gem lettuce salad. Simple and delicious.

With full bellies and extra energy, we baked our brioche loaves, rolled, slashed and baked our baguettes, then turned our attention back to the croissant dough. Once you've worked hard to create those laminated layers, it's all in the shaping darling, and Marianne showed us how to roll both a traditional croissant and a pain au chocolat. I was pretty chuffed with my efforts having only ever attempted to do them (a little unsuccessfully) once before. Gold star for me and in the oven they went.

The house smelt incredible as the kitchen table was being piled high with all our French goods. Dished out to each respective baker, we smugly left with heaving bags, and despite still being full from lunch, I had to scoff a warm croissant as soon as I got home. Had to.

"Nothing beats the feeling of baking your own beautiful bread and sharing it with people you love," One Mile Bakery says. I couldn't agree more. And with OMB's informal but informative classes, you can sharpen your skills to do just that.

Unfortunately Marianne's Cirencester branch is no longer running classes, but if you fancy tripping across the Severn Bridge, then she highly rates Nick's One Mile Bakery in Cardiff. Whether you're a newcomer to bread or not, there's something for everyone, and with the C-word in our sights, there are even Festive Baking classes to get stuck into. No shop bought mince pies for Santa this year!

Meanwhile, Marianne is pursuing another baking venture; Bun Mistress. When you want to cheat on your diet, come to the Bun Mistress... I can vouch for their tastiness. There are plans to run 'buns & bubbles' evenings, bun baking classes, and also to team up with her friend India, who owns Jua Kali - a mobile coffee bar in the back of an old Land Rover. A decent flat white and a sugary bun is exactly what you want at festivals, right? Definitely one to keep an eye out for. In the meantime, I know who to call when I'm sick of salads…