Mary Berry - Baking Food & Drink

There's nothing I'm more passionate about than what,

how and why we eat and drink.

In this series, we'll be looking at the trends in modern food

and drink that influence the way we all shop and cook today.

Something I'm obsessed with, just as you are,

is a phenomenon that has literally taken over the world - baking.

We've gone cupcake crazy, bread makers

and mixers are flying out of the shops.

It's cheaper than going to a theme park, isn't it?

'I'll be picking the brains of the grande dame of baking, Mary Berry.'

That's perfect, isn't it?

'And passing on some of my own trade secrets.'

I dust a little bit of icing sugar on top.

That is a very good tip, and I'm going to copy that one.

Our award-winning drinks expert Kate Goodman will be keeping us

up to date with what's hot in the drinks world.

The trend is towards drinking more sparkling wine than Champagne.

And author and cook Rachel Khoo tells us

why Paris is patisserie perfection.

It's got this crispy sound... a perfect croissant.

Food And Drink is back!

'To me, afternoon tea

'brings together all the skills needed in baking.'

It's the epitome of the craft, and big business.

From five-star hotels to quaint tea shops, you can be charged

a small fortune for this little bit of luxury all over the world.

We're spending millions on baking equipment, and being able to

make a light Victoria sponge is the mark of being a man these days.

A bit of cake and a cuppa is the new rock and roll,

but it's by no means a new idea.

Do you know how it happened, the first afternoon tea?

Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting thought it was an awful long time

to go from luncheon to dinner, so she made a meal

in the middle of the afternoon that was all sweet things plus a few

sandwiches. What a good idea, and I'm awfully grateful, aren't you?

I like that way of thinking.

Afternoon tea is just so civilised.

My version of the perfect afternoon tea would have to include

two of my favourite sweet treats.

-That's French madeleines and sweet custard fruit tartlets.

-Mary.

I have not made madeleines for years, in fact I don't think I could

find the madeleine tin, I think it's right at the back of the cupboard.

I'm going to get the tray, a good old-fashioned tray.

Doesn't look too old-fashioned to me, it looks absolutely brand-new.

Mine is that shape, I think there's a bit of rust round the side.

This is a very sort of modern non-stick one.

But I still think you need to butter it and flour it.

-That'll be my job.

-Yes, please, Mary.

Right, I'll go ahead and do that.

Madeleines are the closest the French get to a British sponge,

and they're perfect for afternoon tea, as they're bite-size.

For the madeleine recipe, it really is very, very easy.

It's equal quantities of flour, sugar and butter.

That's perfect, isn't it?

As a young teenager, I went off to Paris to work in a pastry shop,

and that's where I learnt how to make madeleines,

but this recipe is from my uncle, who's a master patissier,

and he flavours them with a little bit of lemon.

Whisk these ingredients together with two eggs,

and gently add the plain flour and baking powder.

Melting the butter means you won't beat out the air when mixing.

You must let it cool first, though, or you'll scramble those eggs.

And there we go. Look at that. Beautiful, that's perfect.

That looks like a thick batter to me.

Now, to put it in there. Now, spoon?

Oh, OK.

You're going to do it, so I'm wanting a tip from the expert.

So you're putting a dessert spoon in each one.

You've just got to get it right

so that it doesn't spread over the side.

That's it.

This is the traditional shape, it's the scallop shape.

I mean, do you know why?

I don't, no.

I mean, you've got to have this imprint underneath, like a shell.

It's from Brittany, and Brittany is famous for its scallops,

-hence the scallop shape.

-Ah!

They should be lovely and golden brown around the edges

and they should have that little nipple that rises in the middle,

and they should be so soft and moist inside,

and they're best if you eat them within an hour of cooking.

While the madeleines are baking, I'm going to make

a sweet shortcrust pastry for my custard tarts

by simply mixing together 500 grams

of flour, 250 grams of butter, 100 grams of sugar and an egg.

Pastry is so easy,

so easy to make and everybody should be making it.

Well, it's so much cheaper to make yourself.

It's half fat to flour with a little bit of sugar and one egg yolk.

Mary, I think those madeleines are cooked.

Oh, gosh, yes. They're well risen, they're a perfect golden brown.

Look at that.

Why has everybody gone mad about baking?

Well, I think it's a recession,

and I think everybody is thinking of things to do at home that

everybody enjoys - it's cheaper than going to a theme park, isn't it?

And at least you get to eat something really nice

at the end of it. When the pastry is half a centimetre thick,

you're ready to line your tart tins.

These, in French, are called barquettes

because they're in the shape of a little boat, and I think they're

so dainty, so pretty and beautiful, rather than having a round one.

It's sort of a couple of mouthfuls and I think they look lovely.

Posh!

OK. There we go.

What I do with these, cos I've got quite long nails, I have to...

You press in a piece of pastry, it goes in beautifully.

That's it, now we need to line them with foil, I'll go and get some.

'When it comes to the fine details of baking, good old-fashioned tips

'can make a big difference, and Mary's got barquettes of them!'

That's clever, I like it.

So I'm going to fill mine with beans, but you can use pasta

or dried beans or rice, and you can use it over and over again.

When my ma was 105, we thought that the whole family would take her

out for tea, so we went to somewhere very, very posh,

but the one mistake they made was they put the price at the bottom,

and Mum looked at it and she said, "Is that for all of us?"

and I said, "No, Mum, but that's what things cost,"

and she - "tut-tut-tut-tut!" but enjoyed the tea.

Blind baking dries the pastry out

and makes sure the tart cases stay crisp and keep their shape.

Kate's first drinks suggestion is obvious,

but can be fraught with difficulty.

Well, traditionally with afternoon tea, you would drink tea.

Tea is the most popular hot drink in the world,

and I'm always really nervous about making people cups of tea.

Absolutely.

People have specific requirements for how their tea is made, so...

I like mine in a mug.

You like yours in a mug, gosh!

I beg your pardon! We're having this wonderful afternoon tea.

I am shocked by that, you know, Michel.

I am really, I'm not having you for tea and giving you a mug,

you're having a china, a china cup and saucer.

Proper china cup.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just like tea in a mug.

So as well as tea, we're also drinking a lot more Champagne

with afternoon tea, which I think is lovely.

And you might be surprised to hear the trend is towards drinking

more sparkling wine than Champagne.

Maybe a Prosecco or a Cava, there's lots of options with sparkling wine.

I'm making a classic creme patissiere to fill my tarts.

'Six egg yolks, 125 grams of sugar

'and 40 grams of flour will make enough to fill 12 tart cases.'

'I've done it a thousand times before,

'but never under the forensic gaze of Mary Berry!'

Now, I don't sift flour anymore, do you sift flour?

I sift the flour if I'm doing a fatless sponge,

but here you're giving it a jolly good beat.

It's when you're folding it in that I can't get it in.

That's lovely and smooth, no lumps, and I haven't put any vanilla in it.

Now, I would have put vanilla pod in there,

or I would use vanilla extract in this.

Isn't the classic one with vanilla?

I mean, if you looked it up in a dictionary, creme patissiere,

wouldn't that have vanilla extract or vanilla pod?

No. Most definitely not!

You're French, so you'll know - no, no, no, no, I'm just interested!

For this particular cake, I'm going to be putting some fruit on there

and I think the fruit has got enough flavour to carry it through.

So the boiling hot milk onto the yolks, sugar and the flour.

And that just gets all incorporated,

and then I'm going to pour that back into the pan

and bring it to the boil.

Once it's boiled, you put it away and let it cool down,

and now I dust a little bit of icing sugar on top

and that stops a crust forming.

That is a very good tip, and I'm going to copy that one, thank you.

When the sweet creme patissiere has cooled, fill the cases

and decorate with your favourite fresh fruit.

Have you ever had any real pastry disasters?

I've had all sorts of disasters.

I was showing people how to make a quiche.

I took it out and it cracked all down the middle.

I said, "Pass me an egg white," and I painted it

all across the crack, pushing it together, popped it back

in the oven, which set it, and so my quiche base was held together again.

So you averted the disaster.

I did.

Now, I've just glazed this with a little bit of apricot jam

that's been warmed through and passed through a sieve

so it gives it that lovely finishing touch.

'An afternoon tea should always include some small, perfectly made

'cakes, and mine is no exception.

'The madeleines and custard tarts look sumptuous,

'and I can't wait to dive in.'

-What a picture!

-Excuse fingers, Mary.

-There we go.

-And one of yours.

-A madeleine and a little barquette.

-That looks sheer perfection.

-They really do.

-So, tuck in.

-Thank you.

The beauty about the barquette is that you can pick it up

with your fingers and just, mm!

I absolutely love the shape, I've never seen them like this

before. Normally they're round. But also, I love the contrast -

you've got the real creaminess of the custard,

but I love the acidity freshness of the fruit,

I just think it works really beautifully.

This pastry is absolutely delicious, it is so thin and it just encases

this wonderful custard, which - all it needs is a little vanilla.

I knew you were going to say that!

No, but it does, it just needs it. But the consistency is lovely.

Well, what about the madeleines? I mean, if you,

you just squeeze them like that, you can see how bouncy they are,

and the texture's just right, they're soft

-and that little hint of lemon in there I think is wonderful.

-Mm.

My memory of these is the big bags that you used to get in France,

and they're actually quite dry, and they don't have much taste,

-so for me to taste something like this - it's just so light.

-Mm.

But it would be perfect for dunking, wouldn't it? Delicious.

You're absolutely right.

Which leads us on to what we should be drinking, Kate.

Yes. Thought I'd go for a couple of sparkling wines,

and the star performer of that has actually been Prosecco.

-Prosecco's from northern Italy.

-Slightly lower in alcohol as well.

Correct, yes, it's slightly low in alcohol, slightly low in acidity,

often a touch more sweetness, and it's quite simple, it's quite fresh.

I love Champagne, but it's a different style, so...

-Easy drinking, yes.

-Yeah, easy drinking.

And more reasonable, come on, that's the... One of the other reasons.

And the reason it's more reasonable is because

the production methods are cheaper.

And they can do it over a larger area, can't they, than...

Champagne has to come from Champagne.

Well, actually, they can't, it's a similar thing to Champagne,

that you can't call it Prosecco unless it's grown in that region.

And the second one I had to go for is an English sparkling wine.

Gosh, and would that be more expensive?

They do tend to be a little bit more expensive than, certainly than

the Prosecco, you're sort of getting into the realms of Champagne prices.

I think in blind tasting, some English sparkling wines

-actually beat Champagne.

-Is that so?

-And that comes from a Frenchman.

-I know. It hurts!

I'm sure it does!

I think it's just lovely to have bubbles at teatime.

'Kate's chosen three drinks that perfectly

'compliment our afternoon tea.'

'An English sparkling wine that has much in common with Champagne

'and has lots of bubbles.'

-What do you prefer?

-The English sparkling, cos I've never had it.

-There we go.

-Thank you very much.

'In contrast, a lightly sparkling frizzante Prosecco.'

I'm a big fan of the Prosecco, I think it's just easy,

simple - perfect afternoon drinking for me.

'And of course tea, made with leaves and served in a bone china cup

'and saucer - and not a mug!'

Oh, yes, yes, you can't beat a cup of tea, I'll agree.

Here's to you, and to you.

We couldn't have a show about baking without talking about bread,

and as food writer William Sitwell is going to find out,

it's a very controversial subject.

50 years ago, the village of Chorleywood in Hertfordshire became

the unlikely birthplace of one of Britain's most vilified inventions.

It was here that two scientists collapsed time.

They made a loaf that from start to sliced finish just took a few

hours, and this new loaf didn't go stale for at least a week.

Since its invention, the Chorleywood bread process has been used

to make bread across the world, but as it's become more

and more popular, it's attracted almost rabid criticism.

80% of the bread we eat today is made this way.

Critics blame the threefold increase in the use of yeast

and the cocktail of chemicals and enzymes used in the baking process

for causing all sorts of dietary ailments.

'It seems the bread we choose to eat is no longer just about

'satisfying hunger, it's about health and declaring your social status.'

You see, you're not "well-bread" unless it's artisan,

you have to have sourdough or spelt, or Turkish pides or

Tibetan flatbreads, or baguettes, but they've got to be organic,

so we're talking about cholesterol-lowering,

fertility-enhancing, muscle-building wholemeal,

with of course extra seeds for roughage.

For many, bread made the Chorleywood way is a complete no-no.

Speciality breads, traditionally baked, are all the rage,

but are they worth it?

'Baker Paul Barker and Real Bread campaigner Chris Young think so.'

What strikes me is there seems to be a conspiracy theory about this.

There's a feeling that the people who invented the Chorleywood process

are responsible for what could be a major public health scare

of the future.

People like me are quite happy to keep risking their life

buying some pre-sliced bread.

What is the evidence? No-one's died, what is your problem?

Why risk your life

when you could actually be eating something delicious like this?

Well, it's cheaper, I'm an average shopper, I haven't got much time,

I can't, you know, whistle down the high street going through a market

with a basket under my arm - that's reality.

There's no reason whatsoever that people can't have

that on the table, you can make a loaf like that yourself at home

with four ingredients.

It takes time, real bread takes time, but not your time -

you can make it in a bread machine, forget about it.

And you'll get it fresh,

it'll be less stale without artificial additives.

You take loaves like these,

this has got something called calcium propionate in it -

they banned it in Germany in 1988,

why on earth have we still got it in our loaves over here?

But there's also an ingredient in here called E920 -

I wouldn't be using that in my everyday loaf of bread.

The other big issue for us is something like that from

a small independent bakery creates more jobs per loaf than something

like that. It's about community,

it's about bringing real bread back to the hearts of our communities,

and something that has been proven over generations,

over centuries, to be good for us.

You know, this is Marxism,

you're sounding like sort of Soviet-style communists.

If you're creating more jobs per loaf, that is helping local

economies, helping money to be reinvested in our high street.

But it's not happening for a reason, isn't it?

You spend money down a supermarket, whoosh,

it's gone off to shareholders - what good's that for your local

community, and what good are all the additives for you?

'It's all very well being an evangelical artisan,

'but for me there are times when only sliced white will do.'

A sausage sandwich on rye bread?

That would be a crime against humanity.

Cheese on toast, on soda bread? That would be treason.

There is a place in this world for sublime speciality breads,

for chilli ciabattas, for olive paninis, health breads

for the sock-and-sandal brigade. There is also room in this world

for bread whose main ingredient is bird seed,

but in a world that we all actually want to live in,

surely there is also room for bread that is nutritionally iffy,

that's cheap, that's crappy and that's white.

Believe it or not, more than half the people in Britain think that

that is a bigger and more important invention than the mobile phone.

For me, artisan bread is the only bread that I like to eat.

Many people can't afford the more expensive breads,

and this is cheaper, and it's a recession

and they've got used to it, and they like it.

-We have the choice.

-I do my shopping on a Monday -

if I'm buying bread I need it to last till at least Thursday.

In France, we buy our bread twice a day, sometimes three times a day.

Hey, I just don't have time, I don't have time in the morning.

I'm not saying I would prefer necessarily to eat this,

but on a practical level, I think it has a place.

And also, when I was living in France, one thing

I did find about buying bread on a daily basis -

by the next day it was...

you know, I could knock you out with it, sort of thing.

Yeah, but you can always refresh your bread.

Moisten it a bit, just brush it over with a little bit of water,

and into a hot oven for about two minutes,

and that will crisp out the edge and moisten the centre,

and you've got a lovely, fresh baked baguette the second day.

OK, right.

That's a tip for us all.

So you could buy a baguette as well and use it up quickly

and if not do just as you say.

Or make it into a dessert!

We can't get enough of puddings, pastries and pies.

A third of us bake from scratch every week,

and sales of bakeware have doubled in the past two years.

You can have all the kit you like, but in the end the perfect bake

will depend on using the right ingredients.

I hear there's something that you two fundamentally disagree on.

Whether you use butter or baking spread in your Victoria sponge.

So I have a taste test for you

to see if you can tell the difference.

A-ha!

Oh, that one looks good.

So, Michel, you're the pro-butter, I take it.

Well, yes, of course, of course - it has to be butter every time.

It is easier to make it with a baking spread.

Now, I'm just... May I just explain?

-I love it.

-Please.

First of all, people always use the creaming method,

and to get the butter just at the right - sort of squidgy,

but not runny, is quite difficult, whereas if you use

a specially formulated spread for baking, it goes together very nicely.

It just makes it easier.

I'm not convinced, Mary, but what about the taste?

-Because that's the most important.

-That's the real test, isn't it?

Well, it's very light.

Oh, wow, they're very different, actually.

They look very similar. So which do you like best?

-That one.

-Mm, I prefer that one.

I prefer that one. They're both really good sponges.

-I like that one too.

-And I like that one.

I think it's just a bit denser for me, and I like that in cakes.

So, come on, well, somebody's going to come up with the answer.

Who's going to put us out of our misery?

This one is actually Mary's.

-Ohhhh!

-Ohhh!

-So you win.

-Good.

-This once.

-Well done. Yeah, yeah, this once! Well done!

-Just this once.

But we both have got our pastry roots in Paris.

But, to be honest, you were there for two years,

and I just went to the Cordon Bleu to take the exam

and I was there for a month, so you win!

LAUGHTER

Mary and I both know that French pastries are the pinnacle

of perfection.

Rachel Khoo finds out why the Parisians do it so well.

When I moved to Paris seven years ago,

I began a love affair with their food.

'The French are known across the world for their baking,

'and quality is key, whatever your budget.'

On every street corner, there are independent boulangeries

baking bread and croissants.

Well, you can hear it, it's got this crispy sound,

so you can tell this is a good croissant.

See, the crisp, caramelised outside, it's crunchy,

slightly hard, and then you can

peel off these layers...

And of course it tastes buttery. A perfect croissant.

'So why is the baking here not only consistently high,

'but affordable for everyone's pockets?'

Here in Paris, when you buy food, you buy from local specialists

who are respected for the time they have taken to perfect their art.

I think I'll take a escargot praline.

Oui.

Christophe Vasseur is a master baker

who is passionate about his profession.

So what makes an artisan baker is the quality of ingredients,

the time you spend on it?

Time, because if we were to compare with an industrial process,

this on a high-speed line takes about 20 minutes,

from the moment you mix the ingredients to the moment

you have the croissant cut and rolled.

Here, 36 hours and I don't

compromise on the quality of the ingredients I buy.

In 1920, the price of a baguette was officially fixed by French law,

and although no longer in force today, the legacy has stuck.

Your croissant costs one euro 20.

1.20 euro, while an ordinary croissant industrially made,

you would buy it for one or 1.10 sometimes.

I think it's amazing that you can offer an artisanly-made croissant,

handcrafted, at such an affordable price.

Yeah, but to me this shall not become a luxury product,

it shall stay affordable, popular, because this is daily food.

For only an extra 10 cents, Christophe can create

a quality product and still make a profit.

Marche d'Aligre in Paris is one of my favourite markets to come to,

cos you can see all this amazing fresh produce -

it's not expensive, it's affordable.

'The French value markets like these so much,

'they've enshrined their preservation in law.'

Ca c'est plus... Oui.

'There is a law in France which prohibits opening large-size'

supermarkets within the city boundaries, and that has

helped the independent shops and markets to keep their trade.

Merci beaucoup, monsieur.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

Merci, au revoir!

SHE GIGGLES

I know supermarkets are here to stay

and they do offer convenience in a time-poor age,

but we should learn from the French and shop on our local high street.

It's all about supporting independent artisan bakeries

and patisseries.

It might at first be a bit more expensive,

but there will be a tipping point.

The more bakeries there are, the more competitive the prices will become.

It's never going to be like a cheap supermarket buy,

but it will become more affordable

and something which is not just for people on a high income.

'True love means you have to commit. Parisians simply love patisserie.'

And when it's this delicious, it's not difficult to.

The archetypal French patisserie has to be the apple tart.

It's one of the first things I learnt to make

when I was training to be a patissier,

and now I'm going to show you how to make this classic dessert.

I love making pastry, but when it comes to puff pastry,

even Michelin-starred chefs use a few shortcuts at home,

and shop-bought puff pastry is one of my guilty speedy secrets.

And once you've rolled it out to fairly thin, I mean, we're

talking a couple of millimetres, you need to put it on the tray.

Now, I'm going to get a plate to make it the perfect round.

Crimp the pastry and flip it over before resting it in the fridge.

Six eating apples that hold their shape when cooked

will be enough for this tart.

You don't want the apple slices too thin - and that's just right.

Once rested and chilled, spread some stewed apple or compote over

the base of the pastry, and start layering the apples over the top.

And it has to be exactly the same distance between each slice,

and then when you get to the smaller slices, they go in the middle.

Right, that's taking shape, it's looking great.

One more slice, that should be enough.

Now, very important - butter, lots of butter.

A sprinkling of sugar, a little bit of egg yolk on there to give it

that lovely lustre and shine.

So there we go, 200 degrees centigrade for about 30 minutes.

You couldn't have apple tart without cream of one shape or form.

Whip the seeds from a vanilla pod

and a tablespoon of icing sugar into 250 mil of double cream for

a delicious Chantilly cream that's a perfect match for the apple tart.

-Oh, gosh, that looks beautiful.

-Amazing.

We're warming off the Calvados to warm up the alcohol,

to make it vaporise, and then just get the flame onto it.

It's almost Christmassy, isn't it? Like Christmas pudding.

-It is Christmassy, isn't it?

-Ahh!

-Goes there.

-What a smell.

Apple tart is actually quite dessert wine friendly,

so you can be quite... You know, you've got quite a scope

of options, but because you've got the cream with the Calvados...

Ha-ha, yes.

..you need something a little bit more robust,

so I've actually selected a fortified wine, a Madeira.

You get a really lovely, rich, sweet Madeira,

so we've gone for something sweet

but you've also got lovely acidity in Madeira. With the acidity

of the apples, you need something that's sweet, if not sweeter.

Looks great.

-Oh.

-Oh, and the pastry's done underneath. Lovely.

-Mm.

-Mm.

Oh, yes.

A lovely way to go, isn't it?

THEY LAUGH

That is great.

In my opinion, baking is good for you, and it brings you together.

It might seem like a hard skill to master,

but you can have a lot of fun practising, and of course you

very soon become the most popular person with your friends and family.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

'Next time, award-winning street food entrepreneur Jun Tanaka

'and I talk burgers!'

Oh, look at that.

'And chef and working mum Monica Galetti shares her secret

'to getting children to eat their greens.'

Yummy.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd