The Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking

I know that there are many fans of The Great British Bake Off out there, whether you watched it before or simply have been streaming it since it landed on Netflix a few weeks back. The Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking is a great tie in to the show, giving you access to recipes from both the judges and contestants so that you can make the bakes at home.

The book itself is huge, clocking in at just over 300 pages. This isn’t all that surprising when you see just how many recipes they pack into each and every episode of the show, however. There are recipes from both the bakers and from the chefs in the book, as well as recipes from each category that may not have been see on the air. The bakers included in this book are from Series 5, so the book is definitely for you if you enjoyed Nancy, Chetna, Luis and Richard’s work throughout that season.

The book is divided into six chapters – Biscuits & Traybakes, Breads, Cakes, Sweet Pastry & Patisserie, Savory Bakes, Puddings & Desserts – and also includes a baker’s guide that outlines some of the baking basics that you need to know. The recipes are well written and very accessible, so you don’t have to worry about facing the vague descriptions that the contestants do when going in to the show’s technical challenge rounds. You will want to make sure you have your kitchen scale handy for measuring out the ingredients as the recipes are all given in grams, rather than cups, etc. There are plenty of beautiful photographs that illustrate how the recipes are to look, as well.

This volume is a wonderful accompaniment to the show, but it also stands on its own. If you haven’t watched this season yet, I would recommend picking up a copy of the book when you do, as it’s inspiring to watch the contestants at work and it would be a real treat to bake some of the recipes shown on screen alongside of them.