Nadiya's Everyday Baking

Starred review from September 1, 2022

Hussain--the Great British Bake Off winner, cookbook author (Nadiya Bakes; Time To Eat), and host of her own popular TV cooking shows--assures readers that anyone can learn to love baking. She categorizes her latest collection of sweet and savory recipes into the type of day readers might be having: everyday, chill-out, "rainbow" (that is, nutritionally balanced), happy, baking, outdoor, or celebration. Hussain excels at creating new takes on everyday food, whether it's putting the components of a full English breakfast on top of pizza dough for breakfast pizza, adding harissa to pita pockets or paneer to stuffed shells, topping a coffee cake with dalgona coffee cream, adding a caramel surprise inside a snickerdoodle, or forming cinnamon buns into a giant cake. Hussain's voice really comes through strongly in her helpful preparation and baking instructions, which is part of what makes this so delightful. Several gorgeous photos of the finished products are included along with instructional photos for recipes that could use visual cues. VERDICT Hussain puts her own spin on baking in this collection of appetizing recipes that showcases her infectious joy for food and penchant for playing with flavors.--Melissa DeWild

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September 1, 2022
The Great British Bake Off winner churns out inventive twists in this latest drool-worthy offering, featuring quirky mains like roasted onion curry or spinach paneer stuffed shells, and desserts such as kiwi gazpacho and coconut croissants, nut butter stuffed cookies, and the adorably named neenish tart (an Australian egg cream and raspberry jam tart in a pastry crust). Although far from average, Nadiya's "everyday baking" is approachable, with one-page recipes and standard ingredients that should be widely available. Fans will recognize the nuts and spices that frequently figure into both savory and sweet bakes, and will appreciate her creativity with the classics, such as a pine nut-studded, Earl Grey-infused honey cake that features ginger, cinnamon--and no honey. Arbitrary-seeming chapter titles (""Chillout,"" ""Rainbow,"" ""Happy,"" ""Celebration Days"") won't intuitively point a baker to, for instance, Nadiya's eggplant brioche burgers, but seeing the author's infectious smile in nearly every photograph will infuse a love of baking into the reader. The pages beg to be pored over and bookmarked for future baking days.

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October 3, 2022
Hussain (Nadiya Bakes), winner of the Great British Baking Show in 2015 and host of the Nadiya Bakes Netflix series, offers a rich collection of more than 90 sweet and savory baked goods. From quick harissa pita pockets to sweet potato rice paper rolls with coconut maple dip, there are recipes for any occasion or craving. The array of baked treats will appeal to various flavor palates, including the celebratory garden of Eden blondies and summer-friendly orange semolina cake. Savory recipes, such as crunchy okra fries and spiced potato puff pastry cups inspired by Bangladeshi street food, provide a unique twist on familiar dishes. But some bakes are unexpected, notably the Southern fried chicken livers and the nutty tuna cake, which both have textures that are an acquired taste. Still, Hussain’s time-saving shortcuts (like using frozen puff pastry for butterscotch cheesecake coconut bars) and straightforward instructions provide an accessible, no-fuss experience. Bakers of all levels will turn to Hussain for inspiration—and fire up their ovens—time and again.