James Morton's Fair Isle jumpers and eccentric showstoppers won the hearts of millions of viewers when he took part in TV’s Great British Bake-Off last year.

But the creative Scottish medical student’s real passion is bread-making and his new book, Brilliant Bread, covers everything from dough-making to Granny’s Scotch pancakes.

James says: “One of my earliest memories is of my gran snapping at me.

“We were in the middle of making pancakes, and I was stood on a stool so I could see over the griddle pan on which they were cooking.

“I was just brushing my spatula over the surface of a half-done pancake and then I got a terrible fright and the words, ‘they’re not ready!’ echoed inside my skull. I knew from then on that you should never, ever press down the tops of scotch pancakes, no matter how tempting it may be.

“This isn’t my gran’s exact recipe, but one that has evolved over time to be both delicious and have easy-to-remember ingredient proportions one part sugar, two parts milk, two parts egg, four parts flour. Add a pinch of salt for flavour, and serve covered in butter and raspberry jam.”

Brilliant Bread by James Morton is published on August 29 by Ebury Press, £20. Photography by Andy Sewell.

Tea Loaf
Tea Loaf

Tea Loaf

Makes one large or two small tea loaves. Time spent in the kitchen: 5–10 minutes. Time taken altogether: 4–16 hours.

This sliceable sweet loaf isn’t the traditional Yorkshire Tea loaf, or the English teacake. It is instead a union; a yeasted and sliceable sweet bread with fruit and spices for toasting to give unmatched enjoyment with butter or jam. If you want a sweet bread to have flavour that will  blow your socks off, you need to rest for a long time, preferably in the fridge. The common theme  is slow. Go away and forget about it. It will pay off.

Ingredients

500g strong white flour

50g caster sugar

2 x 7g sachets fast-action yeast

10g salt

260g full-fat milk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

50g unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

grated zest of ½ orange

100g raisins (or dried fruit of your choice)

Egg wash (1 egg and a pinch of salt)

Method

1. In a large bowl, weigh the flour and sugar. With your fingers, rub in the salt at one edge of the bowl and the sachet of dried yeast on the opposite side. Try to keep the yeast and salt apart, as the salt can stop the yeast working.

2. Add the milk and eggs to the dry ingredients, and mix together until it forms a coherent dough (use your dough to mop up any flour sticking to the side of the bowl). Cover your bowl with a damp tea towel or cling film and rest in a warm place for about 30 – 40 minutes, or until noticeably increased in size.

3. Inside the bowl, rub the soft butter into the dough and repeatedly fold it over until the butter is completely incorporated. Add the spices, orange zest and raisins and incorporate them by folding your dough over itself repeatedly. Keep going until your dough is a consistent colour.

4. Rest the dough until it has doubled in size, probably around one hour or so. This might take a little longer due to the spice barrage you have just subjected your yeast to.

5. Once rested, turn the dough out on to a very lightly floured surface and shape for a loaf. Make sure your tin is well greased right into the corners with butter!

6. Transfer your loaf to the tin to prove. Now, if you want a truly amazing loaf, just put your tin in the fridge and forget about it for eight–12 hours, preferably overnight. This cold environment will mean the yeast will work much slower, and produce subtle flavours that propel this bread to a whole new level of tastiness (or if you’d rather, make this prove more brisk you can put the dough in the fridge for the initial resting stage). At least 20 minutes before you’re going to bake it, preheat your oven to 220°C/gas 7.

7. Once proved, brush the top with egg wash (to make this just whisk an egg with a pinch of salt). Bake in the tin for 30–40 minutes.

Rye and raisin loaf
Rye and raisin loaf

Rye and Raisin Loaf

Makes one large or two teeny loaves. Time spent in the kitchen: 15–20 minutes. Time taken altogether: 3–4 hours.

If you’ve tried bread making before and you know roughly what you’re doing with doughs, then this classic is a recipe to try early on. It’s my never-fail loaf.

Ingredients

200g wholemeal (dark) rye flour

300g strong white flour

1 x 7g sachet fast-action yeast

10g salt

150g raisins (preferably soaked overnight in coffee or water)

375g tepid water

Method

1. In a large bowl, rub together the flours, yeast and salt, rubbing the yeast and salt in at opposite sides of the bowl. Add all the raisins and water and combine into a wet dough.

2. Cover and rest your dough for 30 minutes, if you can. Once rested, knead for at least 10 minutes or until really stretchy and noticeably smooth.

3. Cover and rest the dough for one hour to 90 minutes or until doubled in size. You can rest the dough in the fridge for better flavour – simply prepare the dough before going out for work or going to bed, then rest for eight to 12 hours until doubled in size.

4. Once rested, turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Shape into any shape you like! I like a batard for this bread, so I have any excuse for intricate scoring later on. Prove (allow to rise) in a proving basket if you have made one, or alternatively on a floured board, for an hour at least, or until nearly doubled in size again. Preheat the oven to 240°C/gas 9 with your baking surface inside at least 30 minutes before you intend to bake.

5. Score as desired. I used the chevron cut here as it’s useful for giving extra rise in rye breads – just make one big cut down the centre, then a few little angled ones at the side. Turn the oven down to 220°C/gas 7 and bake for approximately 35–40 minutes, or until a dark, mottled brown.

Granny's Scotch Pancakes
Granny's Scotch Pancakes

Granny’s Scotch Pancakes

Makes at least 16 wee scotch pancakes. Time spent in the kitchen: 10–20 minutes. Time taken altogether: 10–20 minutes.

Ingredients

200g self-raising flour

50g caster sugar

2 eggs

100g full-fat milk

Pinch of salt

Method

1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together until smooth. Don’t mix too much – you know those rubbery pancakes you’ve once had? They were overmixed.

2. Preheat a heavy-bottomed frying pan of  flat griddle pan  on a medium heat. It should be as thick as possible. Add a tiny knob of butter, then spread around the pan using a piece of kitchen paper.

3. Drop a tablespoon of the pancake mix on the pan to test its temperature. After one to two minutes, the pancake should be golden brown on the bottom (gently lift up the edge of the pancake to check how it’s doing).

4. Turn it once, and once only. Cook for another one to two minutes, then place between the folds of a dry tea towel to cool.

Poshed-up pancakes: Adding fresh blueberries is a great way to posh-up any pancakes. If they’re out of season, dried cranberries are also fantastic.