Paul Hollywood: “I nearly signed up for the army – TV was never my plan”

Would you describe yourself as a Scouser?
No, I’m a Wirralite. It’s across the Mersey, y’see.

The Hollywood handshake has taken on a life of its own. There’s even an essay on the internet claiming it’s ‘the epitome of the patriarchy’. When you first did it in GBBO season three, was it planned?
No, no one’s ever said to me, “Give someone a handshake”. It was very of the moment, a pat on the back. Well done, you’ve done a great job. And then it’s just sort of been built up to a ridiculous stage now.

You’ve been giving them out more often over the years. Is that grade inflation or have the bakers got better?
I think the viewers would tell you the baking’s got far more professional. They’re extremely good and that’s why you see more handshakes these days.

For 20 years or so you’ve had carpal tunnel syndrome. Does that affect the quality of the handshake?
It can if I squeeze too hard! It’s eased off a bit since I stopped baking day to day. It’s still there, though. I can still feel it when I’m doing buttons up. I need to get it sorted…

No one’s seen more people crumble under pressure than you. When you meet a contestant, can you tell how it’s going to go for them?
The state of their bench is a good indication. A tidy bench means a tidy mind, means an organised baking head.

Did you ever expect to become famous?
No. I only wanted to become a good baker. My CV was excellent. TV was never my plan. It’s not something you move from, from baking to TV. It sort of found me rather than me looking for it. It was a strange scenario. I was working as a baker in a hotel in Cyprus and they were making a TV show on Cypriot cooking. They said, “You’re a natural, you should get an agent,” and I said, “Oh, okay”. So I got an agent and I started doing bits on This Morning and things, still working full time, then later Bake Off came along and that was it…

Your carrot cake has been in the top hits on the delicious. website for years. What’s the secret to it?
Moisture. It’s the amount of carrot and the amount of moisture. And the cream cheese topping, the mascarpone, has to be right, the spice level, everything together so it’s more like a pudding than a cake – that’s the secret.

You once baked ‘the most expensive loaf ever’ for Harrods, and called it “the Rolls-Royce of bakes”. What would be the Aston Martin of bakes? [Paul owns and has raced Aston Martins.]
It would have to be a sourdough with a great British cheese in it – a good stilton.

Do you do much baking at home?
Yeah, I make a lot of bread for toast, sandwiches and stuff. Not sourdough – it’s not good for that. Too holey. I don’t rate it as a toast bread. I like a tighter crumb for toast. And it has to be something that’s gonna toast quickly, not dry out too much. So I like the moisture level to be high. I make it every few days for breakfast.

Your wife, Melissa, used to be a pub landlady. What’s your usual?
Probably a pint of lager. I like an Italian beer.

One of the bakes you’ve shared with us from your new book, Celebrate, is the sprinkletti. How did that come about?
A lot of people are using sprinkles on cakes at the moment, and confetti-style things, and it was just a nice idea, colourful and celebratory. The photography in the book is awesome, it really shows off the textures. Max Hamilton is incredible. His interpretation of a picture is different to a lot of people. For me it was all about texture and he got it. He smashed it out of the park.

You must have baked any bake we could ever mention, but is there anything you find too tricky or just can’t be bothered with?
Some of the intricate piping work I’m not brilliant at. It’s okay if I have the time, I’ll spend time and do something nice, but if it’s very intricate I sometimes don’t have the patience for it.

If you could have added any bake from any series of Bake Off to your book, which would it be?
Probably the caramelised onion sausage rolls, they would be great in there. I’m a big savoury fan rather than sweet.

You’re hosting a dinner party, there are no cakes in sight. What’s your go-to meal?
I do a mean risotto. Or a carbonara. It’s a lot of work because I make my own pasta as well, but I enjoy it. I make a lot of pizzas too. I have a big pizza oven at home that I use a lot.

If you could invent a new theme week for GBBO what would it be?
Savoury week. Anything apart from cake. Or sausage roll week – that would be brilliant!

If you hadn’t become a baker, what do you think you’d be doing right now?
I nearly signed up to the army, back in my late teens. A few members of my family went into the army. The tank regiment was the one I was looking at.

Of all the celebratory bakes in your new book, what’s the one that’s going to make people go “Woo!”?
I guess it’s the focaccia with all the garlic, cheese and olive oil. It’s one where they’ll grab it and put it in their mouths and the eyebrow goes up. When the eyebrow goes up you know you’ve got them.

What’s the most common mistake home bakers make?
Not weighing up properly. You have to be accurate with the weighing. Baking’s a science, and without that accuracy you’re gonna have big problems.

What’s the most surprising thing in your fridge?
Ginger shots. I have one every morning.

What would be your last ever bake?
A good meat pie is hard to beat.

Two new great Hollywood bakes

Sprinkletti cake
Decorated and dotted throughout with sprinkles, this cake is all about having a bit of fun, and it’s great for children’s birthday parties. Just make sure you use oven-safe sprinkles, so they keep a good colour and shape when they’re cooked.

Coconut and passion fruit traybake
Traybakes take me back to village fetes and bake sales when I was a kid. I remember making them when I was a Cub Scout! They’re a great way to get into baking, and you can play around with different flavours and toppings. One thing to remember is to leave them to cool before you slice up – don’t rush it.

Paul’s new book, Celebrate (Bloomsbury Publishing £26), is out now.

Read more interviews with food heroes and celebrities.