RICHARD Burr might not have won last year's Great British Bake Off, but he's definitely one of the show's most memorable contestants.
Maybe it's the pencil behind the ear. Maybe it's the consistency that saw him scoop the most Star Baker accolades the programme's ever seen. Or maybe it's his delectable, down-to-earth demeanour, which never saw him flap, fluster or throw a Baked Alaska in the bin.
And while a new crew of bakers craft their showstoppers in this year's series, 39-year-old Burr has been beavering away releasing his first cookbook.
"I got to spend the whole winter making all of my favourite food," he tells me in the kitchen of his North London home.
The house, which was derelict when he bought it and lovingly restored with his own fair hands (he runs a building firm with his dad), has seen a fair bit of action of late. The entire book was shot, cover to cover, here ("the crew all but moved in"), and includes lovely images of old tools from Burr's toolbox, including his beloved grandfather's saw.
It's clear that family's really important to him. He lives with his wife Sarah, who joins in when we're chatting, nips off to M&S insisting she needs to buy us sandwiches and tells me stories about being woken up at 2am for Bake Off taste tests, and drunkenly devouring an entire Beef Wellington when the pair clambered in after a night out.
And then there's their two adorable daughters, three-year-old Genevieve, all tousled blonde locks, who chirps away in the background, popping her head up for a spoonful of daddy's custard, and Elizabeth, six, who's at a summer camp today. There's another bundle of joy on the way too, due in December.
Baking has always filled a delicious hole in Burr's life. "Mum baked cakes and kept us alive, but I got a Saturday job in a bakery and scrumped as many doughnuts as I could. That's where my love of baking really comes from," he says.
"And now I cook with the kids. I'm an early bird, so I'll often be kicking around with the girls in the morning, and if it's a choice between cooking in the kitchen or watching Nickelodeon, I'd rather have them in here with me."
After the success of Bake Off and landing a book deal, you'd be forgiven for thinking he might decide to knock the hard graft of building on the head. But building is a big part of Burr's life – evident as he draws out his steel tape measure to size up the slices of cooked puff pastry.
"The business went huge after Bake Off," he reveals, whipping out some piping bags and wandering about the hub of his home. "I could have just used it to expand, but I wanted to have some fun with food, too. I try not to say 'no' to anything."
Indeed, he has a degree in biodiversity and conservation – which he took on while doing Bake Off and running a building firm, and he somehow managed to get a first.
Burr's also a keen fisherman. And now, he's an author, too. "My favourite recipes from the book include the blackberry and elderflower pavlovas. My wife is actually pathologically addicted to them. The millefeuilles are great, and there's a brilliant mincemeat muffin in there, that doesn't look much, but once you have it, you'll never eat mince pies again."
And with that, he shows me how to pipe the custard and stack the millefeuille, we throw a load of icing sugar over the top, skip lunch and go straight to dessert – delicious!
:: RICHARD BURR'S GREEN OLIVE AND ROSEMARY FOCACCIA
(Makes 2)
500g strong white bread flour, plus more if needed
2tsp table salt
1tbsp 'quick' yeast
50ml olive oil, plus more to knead, prove and shape
350ml water
20 pitted green olives, in brine or oil
A few sprigs of rosemary
Sea salt flakes and freshly coarse-ground black pepper
Measure the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl, making sure you add the salt and yeast to opposite sides of the bowl, then mix with a wooden spoon. Add the 50ml of olive oil and all the water, and combine with the spoon until you have a wet dough.
Pour about two tablespoons of olive oil on to a work surface and tip out the dough on to it. Knead for at least 10 minutes. The dough will be sloppy and this is going to be a messy business, so don't worry if you get your hands covered. Use your judgment about whether to add more flour; don't add too much, as it should remain a wet dough.
Oil an ice-cream tub or any large plastic container (more than 2L capacity) and plop the dough in. Cover with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for one to one-and-a-half hours, until it has at least doubled in size. It might be worth taking a photo of the dough on your phone so you can compare later to see whether it has risen enough.
Pour another couple of teaspoons of oil on to a work surface and gently tip out the risen dough. Take two long knives and oil the blades. Cut the dough into two equal pieces: use one knife to cut them, then slide the other knife alongside the first and use both knives to push the halves apart. (This is the easiest way of prising the dough into two pieces.)
Gently pick up each half and place on a baking tray, lined with baking parchment, forming each into a thin lozenge shape.
Cover with a plastic bag and leave to rise for 45 minutes. (The bag shouldn't touch the loaves but should form a tent around them.)
Preheat the oven to 220C and uncover the dough. Cut the olives in half lengthways and press firmly into the dough. Drizzle with a few more tablespoons of oil and lay cut sprigs of rosemary on top. Season with sea salt flakes and pepper.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove and cool on two wire racks. Drizzle with more olive oil before cutting into strips and eating.
:: BIY: Bake It Yourself by Richard Burr is published by Quadrille, priced £20. Watch Richard giving Claire Spreadbury a quick baking lesson at https://www.youtube.com/embed/KwCJ5r6KW60.
