Baking Yesteryear: The Best Recipes from the 1900s to the 1980s

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The department held an industry consultation in February and March 2021 and subsequently set up a Bread and Flour Technical Working Group (BFTWG) comprising stakeholders representing a cross-section of the bread and flour supply chain. Along with various government agencies, industry bodies and consumer groups, organisations taking part in this group include UK Flour Millers, Federation of Bakers, Real Bread Campaign and companies such as Premier Foods, AB Mauri and Lesaffre. Aldi also appealed to its supermarket rivals – including M&S – to make equivalent fundraising commitments from sales of their own caterpillar cakes. M&S responded by pointing out its own charity drives and suggesting Aldi “use [its] own character”. The first meeting of the BFTWG took place in September. By this point, the Federation of Bakers had already drafted a report with suggested amendments to the regulations, “with a particular focus on the disparity between Defra’s view and that of the EU Commission on the definition of flour as processed/unprocessed”. Life with four children means that, for Cristy, there always seems to be a birthday to bake for and an exciting party to plan. She describes her baking style as enchanted and pretty – bakes that conjure up a sense of childhood. Cakes are her speciality, and she draws flavour inspiration from her own Israeli heritage and from her husband’s Jamaican roots.

Amos describes his bakes as a labour of love – his style is colourful and chic with keen attention to detail, and he loves exploring different flavour profiles. He compares his baking style to the converted church that he now lives in, calling both his style and home ‘traditional with a modern twist’. Marks & Spencer has embraced this by using leftover baguettes and boules from its in-store bakeries to create garlic bread, which is then frozen and sold. Roberts Bakery tapped into this kind of thinking with its luxury hot cross buns made with upcycled bread ferment – misshapen white loaves that otherwise would have gone to waste. The legislation on store promotions was due to come into effect in April 2022 but a six-month delay has been applied to allow businesses to adapt, meaning implementation will now be October 2022. There were also metaphoric shots fired in a legal battle involving two well-known retailers and their respective caterpillar cakes that captured the imagination of the public and the tabloid press.Thankfully, British Baker has done the hard work for you, gathering thoughts from industry experts. In part one of three, we explore the top trends likely to play out on the bakery scene in 2021. There’s no doubt that government regulation – both planned and enforced – changed the legislative landscape for the baking industry in 2021. Even before Natasha’s Law had come into effect, the industry discovered there were more compliance headaches on the way, potentially affecting cakes, biscuits, morning goods and pizza. With the disagreement played out via tabloid headlines and social media, Aldi made hay with the publicity and even staged a charity sky dive for Cuthbert in May. He describes his style as rustic but neat, and his flavour preferences as quite traditional – he particuarly loves chocolate, citrus and nuts. Once his days in the tent are over, his next – and even bigger – challenge will be to make his own wedding cake, a special commission from his fiancée, Lara.

Appetite for vegan-friendly baked goods shows no sign of slowing down. Just look at the raft of new products rolling out in time for Veganuary.A lover of the great outdoors, she forages for seasonal ingredients – the bigger and bolder, the better – and puts her homegrown veg to good use. Abbi’s bakes aim to combine comfort and familiarity with a strong nod towards nature, and a feeling of creating something magical – bakes with a touch of fairytale! As pointed out by Ben Evans, legal director and chartered trademark attorney at Blake Morgan, no timeline has been set out for reaching a verdict in the case and “what that decision will be when the time comes is equally unclear”. Creating new products from surplus ones is another – one which consumers are increasingly interested in. A survey by Mintel in June 2019 found 43% of bread consumers would be interested in buying bread made using leftovers from the production process, while 38% are up for buying bread made from leftover ingredients from other food and drink manufacturing processes. Much like her attitude to life, Tasha’s baking is fearless. She uses it as a way to express herself creatively, often embarking upon near-impossible designs – with impressive results! When she’s not baking, Tasha loves going to the theatre to see a West End show and she has a passion for traveling the world. The decision means folic acid will join calcium, iron, niacin and thiamine on the list of mandatory ingredients for the fortification of flour, with the implementation to be included in the Defra review.

Josh is a chemist by trade and brings his scientist’s precision and keenness to experiment into the kitchen, taking careful notes on each part of the baking process and perfecting all his techniques for gorgeous results. He likes to take his inspiration from old baking books, reinventing classics to give them a modern twist, often by introducing alternative flavours and including the seasonal fruit and vegetables from his kitchen garden. Film and theatre enthusiast, theme-park lover and hospitality professional, Amos grew up in Nottingham with his mum and sister, but now lives and works in North London. As a child, Amos was always amazed by his mum’s ability to whip up delicious bakes at a moment’s notice – making her both the inspiration and the role model for his own commitment to some serious baking.Wasted food is essentially wasted money, so as the UK enters a recession and belts tighten, businesses and consumers will be looking more closely at this issue. Go big, or go home’ is Rowan’s motto, and one that he has always applied to his bakes. His earliest baking memories are of scones, pork pies, shortbread and traditional jam tarts (which he claims as a Northern delicacy). A student of English literature, when he’s not writing up a storm, Rowan is also a keen host, applying his creative eye to his cooking – he aims for clean lines and interesting decoration in his finished bakes. Ingredients: active dry yeast; all-purpose flour; raisins; brandy; ground cinnamon; nutmeg; ground cloves; ground ginger; butter; eggs; pecans Dan’s interest in cooking began when he went traveling in South America in 2007. His particular loves are pies and puddings: before he and his wife bought their first home, they lived with his in-laws, during which time his mother-in-law taught him how to make perfect shortcrust pastry.