Paul Hollywood's British Baking

by Paul Hollywood

Fresh cherry cake, Plum bread, Baked Somerset Brie, Honey buns, Scottish oatcakes, Boxty pancakes … you don't get better than a traditional British bake. Join Paul Hollywood for a personal tour around the regions of Britain and discover the charming history of their finest baked delights. Paul will show you the secrets behind the recipes and how to create them in your own kitchen – and, in his inimitable style, he'll apply a signature twist. Rich with beautiful recipe photography, maps and illustrations, here is the ultimate collection of British bakes from the nation's favourite artisan baker.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Food and Drink, History, Culinary

554 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2014

About the author

Paul Hollywood is an English baker and celebrity chef. He has worked as a baker since taking up the career at his father's bakery as a teenager and has gone on to become head baker at a number of hotels around Britain. After returning from working in Cyprus, he began appearing in guest spots on a number of British television shows on both BBC and ITV channels. Since 2010 he has appeared as a judge on BBC2's baking show The Great British Bake Off. He runs his own artisanal baking business, which supplies stores such as Harrods.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will take you on a tour of recipes from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. A nicely designed hardback, which props open nicely on the kitchen counter, the recipes are from the Southwest of England, the South and Southeast, the Midlands, the North, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. To make life easier, the recipes are split into:

Savoury Pies, Pasties and Puddings
Scones, Griddle Scones and Pancakes
Breads
Sweet Yeasted Breads
Sweet Pies and Puddings
Sweet Tarts and Pastries
Cakes and Teabreads
Biscuits and Traybakes

So often in this country we tend to downplay our own regional food, so it is nice to see this celebration of our cooking – from recipes we will know, such as Cornish pasties, to the lesser known and celebrated, but just as delicious. The photography is clear, as are the recipes; easy to follow instructions and clear steps. In the colder, winter months, some of these warming pies and puddings are especially delicious. I have already tried several of the recipes in this book and can heartily recommend the Coconut Flapjacks, Hereford Apple Dumplings and Leek and Caerphilly tart. I cannot wait to try more and I am sure that this will be a very well used book in my house.

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gift from a kind blog reader, this book is loaded with delicious looking specifically British baking recipes.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the introduction most of all as Paul is fascinated by the history of baking in Britain and his enthusiasm is infectious. He writes of how customers would try to copy the wares of local bakers who preferred to keep their recipes secret and how ingredients such as sugar and spices changed the character of British baking. Additionally, I liked how the recipes were arranged by region.

[Alison W-C · Rating 5 out of 5]

How interesting to learn the history of so many different cakes! Really well-written with gorgeous photos. Two observations: the people of the British Isles are obsessed with putting dried fruit in everything and the recipes here are generally not suitable for vegetarians.

[Megan K. Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is that Paul divides the recipes regionally. (This made the food anthropologist that lives in my heart sing!). He prefaces each section with a brief history of food contributions and highlights the fruits, vegetables, meats, spices that have been provided in these places for hundreds of years. Also very much appreciated are his efforts to resurrect recipes that are in danger of extinction. However, I’m going to need to have the measurements and ingredients translated into “American” before I can attempt many of these recipes. Still, a joyful read!

[Mrs Elizabeth Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good informative, easy to follow book.

I love to bake, especially bread. I love cookbooks, I'm a British expat and I enjoy picking up regional recipes. So okay I have quite a few of these already, but Paul Hollywood has updated some beautifully. Plus I have been trying for 22 years to remember the name of these huge bread rolls I had when I stayed in Leeds for a few weeks and how to make them if I did ever find out their name. Problem solved thanks to this book. Barm cakes. They were 2" thick and came in different sizes from bread and butter plate to dinner plate size and were yummy! I digress. The book is very well written with the facts about the origins of the items, some personal asides and a lot of good photography. A very good book easy to follow for all levels of baking talents I would say.

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published: 2014
Author: Paul Hollywood
Recommended for: people who enjoy baking and people who are wanting to start out.

A really great baking book by the always brilliant Paul Hollywood! The recipes are easy to follow and you get great results when you do the recipes, a good book for any kind of baker whether they've baked for years or are just starting out! Another good thing about this book is that if ther is a certain tricky part in a recipe there are step by step pictures to go with it so that you know what it should look like, which is really handy as alot of baking books don't do so you end up not knowing if what you are doing is how it is meant to look like.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love both the simplicity of this cookbook and the number of pictures. Every recipe has a picture and many of them have step-by-step photos of Paul making the various dishes. So far I've made the Raspberry Crumble Cake and the Cornish Pasties. Both of which have turned out amazing. I can't wait to try more.

[Amanda Bright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this cook book. I liked the intro to each area explaining what the area in the UK ws well known for and how it affects the cooking of the region. Made the cheddar and chive scones from the book -- they were great! Planning to buy it to add to my cookbook collection since there are more recipes I want to try.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who is enamored with Great British Baking Show and cooking, I wanted to learn more about baking, especially British baking. I love cookbooks with a focus, and this is a great overview of the British Isles with regards to baked goods. I learned a lot and have started to experiment!

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to bake about 95% of these recipes. Most are very simple and straightforward, though there are a couple that look more involved. Happily for me this is a time when you can find regional things like Lyle's Golden Syrup in many US stores.

[Margaret Crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given it a higher Score if I had a sweet tooth. I don’t actually like eating cakes or biscuits, Plus I am a diabetic so they’re not good for me anyway. Borrowed it from the library and had a look, but I’m not going to buy it because I really wouldn’t use it very much.

[Machelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love seeing the difference between British and American baking.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and right up my alley!

[Beka Passauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a FANTASTIC baking book, period. I am a self-professed Anglophile and especially love British baking and cooking. I wanted a baking book that contained essential British bakes, and this provided that and more. The history of the recipes and their regions is fascinating. On top of that, every bake I've made from this book has turned out simply marvelous. Mr. Hollywood's recipes are phenomenal and if you follow them, you will end up with delicious bakes every time.

[Adam Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun to read. We tried out the chocolate volcano cake a few times, and I have a few more earmarked for next weekend.

[deanne belshe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Food porn and photos of Paul Hollywood? Yes please.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would try several of the recipes in here. Some of these recipes look delicious.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice bit of history to accompany bakes from regions of the UK.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having become slightly obsessed with the great British baking show I wanted to know more abiut traditional bakes. This book is incredible!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Need time to use recipes

[Peahen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review:

I recommend this book to everyone who loves to bake bread and wants more recipes. Great easy to follow recipes.

[Maureen Flatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a great cookbook but a terrific read. If you’re a fan of GBBO this is for you. But even if you’re not it’s terrific.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery, my go-to for deep research on the subject, but Hollywood makes me want to bake. Right now. Excellent instructions and a wonderful tone.

[Dina_s · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whirlwind tour of classic British bakes region by region. Honest ingredients, straightforward recipes, can't wait to bake.

[Julie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Many. Currants. Seriously, though, this is a good read with great directions. Trying the Cider Cake today.

[X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul takes the reader through all the different regions of the British Isles and explains why the local recipes are as popular as they are: Be it because of the mild climate allowing fruit to grow more, or the availability of seafood, or the Scottish reliance on oats.

He then goes on to expand on that with a few simple traditional recipes and some more complex modern varieties, all beautifully photographed and helpfully broken down into steps, with substitutions available.

This book comes highly recommended!

[Donna Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice baking book from Paul Hollywood. I enjoyed the fact that the recipes were featured from all different regions in the UK. I look forward to trying out the recipes in the future!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great recipes from one of the judges from the Great British Baking Show. Paul provided sweet and savory recipes from around England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. I tried several Scottish recipes including Marmalade Cake and Marmalade Cheesecake with Whiskey Oranges, which my family enjoyed. I rated this book 4 stars instead of 5 because I had to convert all recipes from metric measurements. I've seen other British recipe books that provide equivalents in a chart and other baking tips.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't help but request this book after seeing the British Baking show. Pity the recipes are only in metric. There are some great recipes here, but it will take some translating to make them work in an American kitchen. I liked reading about the regional differences. Not so sure what Ireland would think about being included in "British" baking...