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Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood launches new BBC show Pies & Puds

TV baker Paul Hollywood
TV baker Paul Hollywood

Not content with inspiring the nation to go barmy for bread and crazy for cakes, Kent baker Paul Hollywood is hoping to reignite our appetite for those traditional British staples of pies and puddings...

Good bake. Nice crumb. It’s over-proved. The gluten hasn’t developed.

Four years ago, only expert bakers would have understood these terms.

Now, thanks to Paul Hollywood and his Great British Bake Off co-judge Mary Berry, they’ve become familiar phrases in millions of homes up and down the UK.

And it’s not just Bake Off terminology that’s been on the rise – the show has led to a staggering revival in home baking too.

“I can’t go a day without someone coming up to me and showing me a photo on their phone of their latest loaf or cake,” says Paul, who runs his own artisan baking business in Aylesham which supplies stores like Harrods and Waitrose. “I love it.”

There’s no respite on Twitter either, where celebrities including Fearne Cotton and Sarah Millican have taken to sending him pictures of their cakes or asking for tips.

(l-r) Paul Hollywood, Great British Bake Off winner Frances Quinn, Mary Berry
(l-r) Paul Hollywood, Great British Bake Off winner Frances Quinn, Mary Berry

The fourth series of Bake Off ended recently with 31-year-old Frances Quinn’s victory, and once again supermarkets reported increased sales of baking ingredients and cake-making tools along the way.

“Where’s my share?” jokes Paul. “I haven’t got any money out of it.”

That, of course, isn’t quite true.

Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds
Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds

The chef, who was born in Cheshire and is taking a live baking show on a tour of the UK next spring, is now synonymous with baking.

His Bread series and accompanying book were huge hits earlier this year and he’s never been more in demand.

Just two weeks after filming finished for Bake Off, he went straight to work on his latest offering, Pies & Puds.

There’s a book out now and a new show of the same name on BBC1 weekday afternoons.

“It’s hard fitting it all in,” says Paul, 47. “There’s always something, but it’s good to have loads going on, especially when it’s all so much fun to work on.

“There are thousands of recipes out there and it’s just about being able to pick the right ones, harness the right ideas and put them in a great package for people to try themselves.”

There’s no shortage of mouth-watering recipes in Pies & Puds.

Bacon and egg pie, featured in Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds
Bacon and egg pie, featured in Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds

In the same way Bread introduced novices to basic techniques and walked them through more advanced methods, Pies & Puds includes basics like sausage rolls and quickly moves on to slightly more challenging tasks.

“Throughout the book I’ve twisted things, added new flavours, modernised classics and come up with a load of recipes that are beautiful to eat.

"It’s about comfort food, really, and I’m celebrating what Britain’s good at – pies, puddings and pastries. Real autumn food too, so it’s also perfect for the season.”

Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds by Paul Hollywood is published by Bloomsbury, priced £20. His BBC1 TV series of the same name is showing weekdays at 3.45pm.

Fans of Paul Hollywood can also see him on his first live tour – Get Your Bake On. It will be at the Winter Gardens, Margate, on Wednesday, May 14. Tickets £28.50.

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