美国国家公共电台 NPR Paul Hollywood Recounts His 'Baker's Life,' From Ginger Biscuits To Fancy Cakes

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Paul Hollywood is all about the bake. He grew up in a flat that always smelled of bread above his father's bakery in Merseyside, became a baker¹ in his teens, then head baker at five-star London hotels, then off to resorts in Cyprus, and ultimately became a judge - the one with a twinkle in his eye - on "The Great British Bake Off," seen in the U.S. under the name "The Great British Baking Show." His book is, "Paul Hollywood: A Baker's Life From Childhood Bakes To Five-Star Excellence²."

Paul Hollywood joins us from the BBC in London. Thanks so much for being with us.

PAUL HOLLYWOOD: Hello. Hiya.

SIMON: Now, some kids who grew up over a bakery would want to get as far away as possible from bakeries.

HOLLYWOOD: Yeah, true.

SIMON: What happened with you?

HOLLYWOOD: Well, I guess, initially³ when I left school - my mother is an artist, and she went to art school. So I actually followed in her footsteps first and went to art school myself, studied - I looked at fine art photography. I ended up studying sculpture. I did that for a couple of years. And it was only then that I thought - hang on, I need to earn some money. And my dad had a chain of bakeries, so I did speak to him. And he said, come and join the industry. And that's exactly what I did. I had long hair at the time, I remember. I was about 18. And he said, I'll give you 500 pounds - which is quite a lot of money in the '80s - if you got your hair cut to join the family business.

SIMON: (Laughter).

HOLLYWOOD: And that's exactly what I did and never really looked back from there really.

SIMON: Yeah. What did you like about it? What do you like about it?

HOLLYWOOD: Actually, I quite like the early morning work because I don't - I'm happy in my own skin. I quite like solitude⁴. I don't mind spending time with myself. But I think what it was is it was going to work when there's no one on the road. So I could drive to work, no one on the road - very quiet - go to where - the team were there. We had a lot of work to do. I was very proud of what I did, and I picked it up very, very quickly. And it was lovely looking back on the bakery and looking at all the croissant, the afternoon tea, the breads - and looking at everything that you've made and thought, do you know what? I'm proud of that.

And actually, when I used to go home at about midday to sleep, everyone was in work still, so it was very quiet. So I liked the fact that I was almost like a bat - you know, vampire⁵ bat - coming out purely⁶ at night and disappearing when the sun came up.

SIMON: One of the important qualities in baking that you talk about in this book is the importance of touch.

HOLLYWOOD: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, in this world of health and safety, I remember - there's a lot of, you know, they try and encourage the bakers⁷ to wear gloves - rubber gloves when you're kneading bread. I mean, what?

I mean, this is one of the oldest traditions in the world. And to get bakers to wrap up their hands so they can't feel the dough⁸ - it's that touch, which you cannot teach - it's something you have to practice, practice, practice and get used to. And once you have that touch, you can make anything because it's all about consistency⁹ - baking - whether it's consistency in a sponge, in a great pastry¹⁰ or, indeed, a good bread.

SIMON: Your mum's, which I guess you call - for obvious reasons - my mum's ginger¹¹ biscuits are a recipe here. What memories do the ginger biscuits bring back?

HOLLYWOOD: The thing about those ginger biscuits is it was very early. I must've been 6, possibly 7 years old. And my mum used to make them quite a lot actually, mainly over the weekend. But they were so delicious - a bit cookie-like. And what I mean by that is there's syrup¹² in there, so it bakes fairly quickly and leaving moisture. So when you cook this mixture out in a pan - which is what you do to heat it up - and then you roll the little balls in your hand, flatten¹³ them down, bake them off - and they're absolutely delicious. So they're slightly crispy on the outside and a little bit chewy on the inside, so it's almost cookie-like.

And they, really, were the first time I ever baked, certainly baked in my life with my mother as well. It was fantastic. My mother was very much a good - she was a very good pastry chef. My dad was a professional baker. So between the two of them, they had, you know, a lot of information they could pass on to me. But the initial baking - that's where it all started really - in the - with the ginger biscuits. And that, with a cup of tea, is very difficult to beat.

SIMON: I've got to thank you, Mr. Hollywood, for a phrase you uttered on the air once that has worked its way into our family. And we use it as kind of a funny phrase between each other now.

HOLLYWOOD: Yeah.

SIMON: You once said to (laughter) a contestant¹⁴ - I wonder if you even remember it. I'm going to do my bad Paul Hollywood imitation now. (Imitating accent) Your ganache lacks shine. So...

(LAUGHTER)

HOLLYWOOD: Yes, I do remember that.

SIMON: Every now and then in the family, if we want to gently or comically upbraid¹⁵ each other, we go, (imitating accent) your ganache lacks shine.

HOLLYWOOD: (Laughter) Yeah, I mean - it was something. It was a few years ago, that. And it was to do with, obviously, with the outer coating on the cake. And the ganache is basically just chocolate cream. Normally, when you're dealing¹⁶ in a plain chocolate, so you can do 50-50. So 50 percent cream, 50 percent chocolate and just leave it to melt - and then pour it all over a cake. It sets, and you get a beautiful shine. You've got to be careful when you're setting it, and that's where it came from.

SIMON: My next question that I'd penciled in was, how do you give a ganache shine? I think you've answered it.

HOLLYWOOD: It's not forcing it to cool quickly. Let it cool naturally in an ambient temperature.

SIMON: "Paul Hollywood: A Baker's Life From Childhood Bakes To Five-Star Excellence" - thanks so much for being with us, sir.

HOLLYWOOD: My pleasure, my pleasure. Thank you very much indeed.

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

3 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

4 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

5 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

6 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

7 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

9 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

10 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

11 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

12 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

13 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

14 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

15 upbraid   

v.斥责，责骂，责备

参考例句：

• The old man upbraided him with ingratitude.那位老人斥责他忘恩负义。
• His wife set about upbraiding him for neglecting the children.他妻子开始指责他不照顾孩子。

16 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。