Community: Younger generation at heart of baking boom

Those aged 16 to 24 are six times more likely to bake something from scratch every day compared with any other age group.

The poll of over 1,000 people in the UK and Ireland found that the older generations bake less regularly with nearly one fifth baking no more than once a month and only one per cent of the over 55s baking every day.

Responding to shows such as The Great British Bake Off, a third of people take their inspiration from TV resulting in 43 per cent of families baking at least once every fortnight.

The widespread popularity of baking has resulted in 77 per cent of Britons now creating both sweet and savoury delights in the comfort of their own kitchen, and six out of 10 people agreed that if they make the effort to create something from scratch at home, it tastes much better than bought food.

The young may be leading the way in the kitchen, but we Brits are proving suckers for tradition, with classic recipes topping the list of Brits’ favourite dishes to bake.

Apple Pie was the overall winner as Britain’s top baking recipe but it was Chocolate Brownies and Flap Jack that appealed almost equally to both men and women.

Researchers also found that another tradition to stand the test of time, is that baking remains a firm female led activity, and nearly half admitted that they are equally as good at cooking and baking. When men were asked to choose between baking or cooking, over one third preferred cooking to baking compared with only one quarter of women.