The Great British Bake Off Everyday: 100 Foolproof Recipes

Linda Collister

BBC Books, RRP £20 

LIKE it or not, The Great British Bake Off has evolved into a seriously powerful brand.

Each year, as the new show airs, we can expect a new cookbook, and I think the BBC have done a terrific job in something a little bit different each time.

This collection, created by GBBO stalwart Linda Collister, is a beautifully designed tome with forewords by judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.

And the good news is that there is definitely a lot of new content within its (colour-edged for easy skipping to sections) pages.

Experienced hands can skip through the introductory explanations and move swiftly to the six chapters of recipes: cakes, biscuits and small cakes, breads, sweet breads, pastry and puddings.

These, of course, are where the programme’s featured showstoppers, signature bakes and technical challenge recipes pop up. We have already seen the floating islands, angel cake and breadsticks, and there are many more delights ahead.     

There aren’t photographs for every recipe, something which tends to annoy some bakers, but there are pictorial guides for the procedures which are more complicated.

Personally, my eye was caught by more than a few of the recipes, especially the cheddar, apple and walnut loaf and the crunchy bacon soda bread. I am also waiting for the right moment to use my foraged blackberries in the blackberry buttermilk sponge, and try out the honey and courgette loaf.

Mary’s opera cake looks like one to save for a rainy day when I have time to experiment and the enticing cranberry-topped turkey pie recipe has made me a feel a teency bit festive already! 

There are plenty more sweet treats in store too: chocolate chip scones, chocolate soda bread, malty, sticky date loaf and lemon curd brioche pudding.

And even though I have gone off ol’ blue eyes Mr Hollywood a bit these days (apologies to his fans), I will still delight in trying out his brioche tetes and learning a bit more about the science of bread baking. 

NB: The contestants don’t pop up throughout the text this time around; instead, they feature in a pretty gallery towards the end. And don’t forget to log on to bakeoffbook.co.uk after October’s final to avail of the extra finalists' recipes. 

We have a copy of The Great British Bake Off Everyday to give away to a Gazette reader.

To be in with a chance, simply answer the following question: Who was the first contestant to be eliminated from this year’s contest?

Email your answer, plus your name, address and contact telephone number to joanne.mace@ basingstokegazette.co.uk or send the same details by post to Bake Off competition, Joanne Mace, Gazette House, Pelton Road, Basingstoke, RG21 6XD.

The winner will be picked at random from the correct entries received by 10am on September 23 and contacted shortly afterwards. Prizes must be collected from Pelton Road. Normal Newsquest rules apply for this competition. To see these, go to dailyecho.co.uk/leisure. Good luck!