My son and I love to bake together; the weekend I wrote this post we made cookies for a class party. But one thing we love almost as much as baking itself is to watch baking competitions together on TV. Here are a few suggestions that you might enjoy if you too love the sweet taste of victory.
Great British Baking Show
I was curious to first checkout the Great British Baking Show because I was a fan of one of the hosts, Sue Perkins from the funny historical foodie show Supersizers Go… I found this show just as delightful with contestants who are sweetly kind to one another rather than being cut throat like many reality competitions. They compete in three rounds: the first, a signature bake puts their unique spin on a classic, the second round where they must recreate one of the judge’s tricky bakes with minimal instructions, and a final show stopper round where the baked good frequently almost look too beautiful to eat. Even when disaster occurs and a contestant has a dreaded “soggy bottom” on one of their tarts the judges always have at least a kind word or two for the bakers. You’ll be rooting for your favorite baker and wishing you could taste the delicious looking treats they prepare. Besides two of the seasons, Hoopla also has available Master Classes with Judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood who show you how to make their special treats.
Plus you can get the behind the scenes scoop with The Story Of The Great British Bake Off by Anita Singh. You can borrow seasons 1-5 on DVD and try out the recipes yourselves with The Great British Bake Off: Big Book of Baking and The Great British Bake Off: Perfect Cakes and Bakes to Make at Home by Linda Collister from BCCLS libraries. Learn more about judge, Paul Hollywood, in his memoir/cookbook A Baker’s Life: From Childhood Bakes to Five-Star Excellence.
The Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off Series
Image from Hoopla
The Great British Baking Show is titled The Great British Bake Off in the UK, but changed its name because of Pillsbury’s copyright on the phrase in the US . The Bake Off sponsored by Pillsbury is one of the most legendary in this country. You can borrow a variety of cook books from Hoopla divided into different dishes including one on desserts which covers yummy goodies from over 50 years of competition from 1957’s now classic French Silk Chocolate Pie to more modern winners. The book also looks back at the history of the competition and how desserts have evolved. Each recipe includes the contestant’s name, home town, and year they competed. You can also borrow bake off books on casseroles and specifically on making my family’s favorites: cookies and bars.
The Bake-Off
by Beth Kendrick
The Bake-Off by Beth Kendrick use a national bake-off as the setting that brings together two very different estranged sisters. Their grandmother thinks a top-secret family pie recipe will not just have them winning the competition but also find common ground. Of course, neither one is a baker, and if you’ve ever tried to bake one you might be questioning the phrase “easy as pie.”
If you are a fan of foodie fiction you can also check out All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant where aspiring baker Kat’s best friend Lucas Brannen signs her up for TV baking competition called Cupcake Combat; it seems like Kat may achieve her dreams, but Lucas is afraid he might lose Kat to the big city.
Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Reference
Tags: Beth Kendrick, Betsy St. Amant, Paul Hollywood, Pillsbury Bake-Off, The Great British Baking Show
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