Linda Collister - The Great British Bake Off: Get Baking for Friends and Family

CHAPTER ONE
CAKES

CHAPTER TWO
BISCUITS & TRAYBAKES

CHAPTER THREE
BREADS

CHAPTER FOUR
PUDS & DESSERTS

CHAPTER FIVE
SWEET PASTRY & PATISSERIE

CHAPTER SIX
SAVOURY BAKES

For Sandi, Noel, Prue and myself it is a privilege and a lot of fun being part of The Great British Bake Off, and its fantastic to be able to open up the shows recipe box to bring you this celebration of the latest two series so that you can try the bakes for yourself.

I have been around baking all my life and at the heart of the baking community is a desire to share, so it is fitting that this book should be about giving you the opportunity to share some of these great Bake off recipes with family, friends and colleagues.

The bakers recipes in this book have not only gone through rigorous testing by each baker and got the seal of approval from their own families and friends, but they have also passed the intense scrutiny of Prue and myself and received a thumbs up from Noel and Sandi.

Since the beginning of Bake Off, Ive judged more than 400 challenges. I love working with the behind-the-scenes team to come up with challenges that will help bakers to showcase their skills and creativity, and I hope that when you open up this book, taking a step inside the Bake Off tent, the recipes will inspire you, too.

Baking, cooking and feeding people really is a joy and I want everyone to experience the pleasure and satisfaction of producing food to share with others.

For me, seeing what the bakers have produced this series and last has been so inspiring that I have been unable to resist making many of the recipes myself. So Im delighted to see the recipes published as a book for all Bake Off fans and keen cooks everywhere to have a go.

Paul and I have enormous fun working with the Bake Off team thinking up the challenges for the series and there are wonderful bakes featured in this book, from the familiar and classic to the more unusual. It doesnt matter how good you are or in the case of some of our celebrities on Stand Up to Cancer Bake Offs, how bad you can dazzle with one of our Showstoppers Made Simple at your local charity bake sale or community event, or just to show off to family and friends.

Ive always believed that baking should be fun, the bakes should be worth the calories and to bake is to share. Follow a delicious recipe from this book and, with a little effort and enthusiasm, you can create a bit of Bake Off magic for all.

ANTONY, 29

LONDON BANKER

Describing himself as a Bollywood baker, Antony grew up in India, where he learned to bake with his father. It is his father who remains his inspiration thanks to him, Antony got serious about baking. Antonys adventurous attitude to flavour profiling is the result of a willingness to try new foods, his determination to ask probing questions of established bakers, and in particular his cultural roots and his travels around the world. His bold, inquisitive nature has enabled him to collect ideas and techniques that he is unafraid to use in his own creations, making his bakes at times unconventional and always interesting. He takes his research very seriously: he once tasted 50 choux buns during a single trip to Paris.

He says, Lets just say I went to a lot of bakeries and I had a choux bun and an clair in each.

BRIONY, 33

BRISTOL FULL-TIME PARENT

Born and raised in Bristol, Briony is a self-taught baker, inspired by her nans baking wisdom and motivated by her determination never to let anything defeat her. Using YouTube tutorials to help her learn specific techniques, Briony has been baking seriously since 2013. She is a whiz with puff pastry a weekly favourite at home with her husband and daughter and has created several wedding cakes and stunning, intricately decorated novelty cakes for both friends and family.

She says, Baking calms me and takes me to a happy place. I still get a real sense of achievement when a bake goes well!

DAN, 36

LONDON FULL-TIME PARENT

For Dan, the pleasure of eating begins with what we see. A self-confessed perfectionist, Dan considers aesthetic one of the most important aspects of his bakes he begins every creation with the aim of making it not just delicious, but also a thing of beauty. While that can cause stress during the cooking and making itself, he aims for well-thought-through results, with every bake created with a genuine and knowledgeable appreciation for the process. He is a full-time father to two small children, so home-baking is part of his everyday life. He sees it as a means to create family memories, as well as to foster family mealtimes.

He says, Anything creative is inherently satisfying to me. My father always made things with his hands, so I think it must be in my genes to find such pleasure in the process.

IMELDA, 33

COUNTY TYRONE, NI COUNTRYSIDE RECREATION OFFICER

Imelda is one of four siblings and grew up in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, where she learned to cook and bake from her mother, in their family home. Now juggling a busy job and family life, Imelda spends her evenings and weekends making soda breads, biscuits and treats for her father and son, and cakes that she takes into work to share with her colleagues. She lives surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins, which means catering for friends and family at large sociable gatherings is just part of normal, everyday life.

She says, My wee granny always said there was a separate stomach for dessert; no matter how much dinner thered been, there was always room for a sweet.