Senior Abby Hamilton is baking her way through The Great British Baking Show as she does an independent study on baking the same challenging treats that have been done on the show. There have been 100 challenges on “The Great British Bake Off,” (GBBO) and Hamilton has baked 23 of these so far.
“I have been baking lots of stuff, from pastries to breads and cakes,” said Hamilton. “My stipulation is that everything I bake has to be a GBBO challenge.”
Hamilton’s mentor, Amanda Bertschi, is a former pastry chef and has been giving Hamilton many different cookbooks and recipes to help her with her study.
“I have given my mentor lots of my bakes once I finish them, so she can give me critiques,” said Hamilton.
To help Hamilton improve her baking, she has watched two new seasons of GBBO and the master classes of GBBO on Netflix. These consist of judges recreating baking challenges step by step.
“The master classes on Netflix are very informative,” said Hamilton. “The judges recreate baking challenges from the show step by step.”
Besides reading over cook books and cooking textbooks, Hamilton learns the most about baking t going through a recipe and cooking something herself.
“While I bake, I write down tips, tricks, and mistakes I encounter to incorporate into my future bakes and my presentation,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton does not want to bake for her future career, but she wants to continue to bake and try out new recipes after her independent study.
“I do not necessarily want to become a professional pastry chef, but I absolutely love baking,” said Hamilton. “Making people smile with my bakes is the best feeling ever.”