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Jurgen Krauss’s elimination from the 2021 Great British Bake Off caused such a scandal, Ofcom received 115 viewer complaints. The lovable German baker was seen as a top competitor, winning three star baker prizes before being booted off in the semi-finals. Nearly two years on, Brighton-based Krauss, 58, has no hard feelings – but he did see the uproar coming. “I had a feeling there would be complaints – a feeling that people would take it very seriously,” he says. But he still has only good things to say about the show, noting the “overwhelmingly positive reaction was quite amazing”, and crediting the experience with boosting his baking skills massively. He speaks particularly fondly about the period before the competition started, when the contestants were in a bubble and testing their recipes. “We had nine weeks to prepare one signature and one showstopper each week and submit the recipe – that was really a huge time for growth,” he says. He calls this a period of “non-stop new ideas, non-stop new processes”, adding with a wry laugh: “Most of the things I’d done in the tent I’d never done before, and some of them I’ve never done since, [and] I’m not sure I’ll ever do them again. It was tough – it was amazing.” Many of the bakes Krauss made on the show were inspired by his childhood in the Black Forest, Germany. This formed the start of his new cookbook, aptly called German Baking: Cakes, Tarts, Traybakes And Breads From The Black Forest And Beyond. “During Bake Off, the briefs of all these signature bakes often included references to childhood that really reconnected me to my culinary home, to the Black Forest and the cooking of my parents, the things I liked to eat as a child or teenager, or while I was studying.” Some of Krauss’ favourite food memories growing up are from the period before Christmas. “My brother and I, we were always in the kitchen with my mother, we were always part of cooking and baking Christmas – the time before Christmas was always amazing,” he remembers. “It was fun, getting hands sticky in dough and tasting it all, and using ingredients like kirsch [brandy made from cherries]. I didn’t think much of it, being able to make cakes like cheesecakes or Linzer torter [a spiced tart that would kick off the Christmas period in Krauss’ household]. “But then much later, after the move to England [in 2003], I really took a deep dive into making bread. After 10 years or so, I really was craving German bread.” From apple marzipan tarts to the classic Black Forest gateau, Krauss’ book is an ode to his childhood and where he grew up. “Black Forest is an interesting region, because it has influences from France and Austria,” Krauss explains. “It had a varied history. It was Austrian for almost 200 years – you get dark breads, but rye isn’t such a dominant grain as it is in other German areas. That’s the Austrian influence – you get a lot more wheat and you get things like pancakes and dumplings, more than in other German areas, which is clearly inspired by the Austrian kitchen. “You have also a huge influence from France and Alsace in terms of day-to-day cooking, so it’s a bit of a conglomerate.” Despite its name, Krauss suggests the Black Forest gateau was actually invented in Dortmund – a city around five hours’ drive away from his home. “But it has become iconic because on the borders of the Black Forest in the Rhine Valley there are huge orchards and cherries grow very well there. Making kirsch has a long tradition, making fruit brandies has a long tradition in the Black Forest because of that.” Other recipes in the book include the Flammkuchen, or what Krauss describes as “kind of a Black Forest pizza”. “It’s an unleavened bread, so you could say it’s a matzah with sour cream on it, and you can put lardons on it, onions, or you can make it sweet with cinnamon sugar and apple slices. It’s really so easy – you can have it ready in 20 minutes, from start to finish. You just need to have an oven that goes really hot.” While the book is all about traditional German baking, Krauss has added the occasional modern twist. He says animal products are prominent in German cooking, “And they don’t run very strongly through my bakes in the book, because I wanted to make it appealing to a very wide audience. So I didn’t use lard, where a traditional Black Forest baker would probably use lard or lardons – things like that. I definitely scaled back on that. You would make dumplings or doughnuts in lard, you would fry them in lard – this sort of thing has lost its appeal over the last few years I think.” While he’s still known to many as “Jurgen from Bake Off”, Krauss says he’s come a long way since the show. “I feel much more in command of things,” he muses. “It feels a lot easier for me to change things. I got to a stage in bread baking where I can go fancy and know the outcome will be OK. I never had that with sweet things before Bake Off. “But now I can see how to change ingredients and how recipes work in general – so that’s a huge change.” ‘German Baking: Cakes, Tarts, Traybakes And Breads From The Black Forest And Beyond’ by Jurgen Krauss (published by Kyle Books on 31 August, £26). 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Ange Postecoglou oversaw a thrilling first win as Tottenham manager as Pape Sarr’s strike and a Lisandro Martinez own goal settled a pulsating Premier League clash with Manchester United. Even by Spurs’ standards this has been a chastening year, with their struggles in the second half of last season compounded by homegrown star Harry Kane’s recent switch to Bayern Munich. But former Celtic boss Postecoglou has brought new hope to Tottenham and his entertaining, new-look side sealed a fine 2-0 win thanks to Sarr’s effort and a late Martinez own goal. Erik ten Hag’s men – playing under the cloud of continued talk about Mason Greenwood’s future – began on the front foot in north London and could have gone into the break ahead. United were aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty after the VAR reviewed a Cristian Romero handball in a half that saw Marcus Rashford and, in particular, Bruno Fernandes waste good chances. Those let-offs allowed Spurs to grow into proceedings, with Pedro Porro smashing an effort off the bar before Luke Shaw deflected a Sarr cross onto the post just before the break. Spurs returned with the bit between their teeth and took a 49th minute lead as Sarr reacted quickest to a deflected Dejan Kulusevski cross to score his first goal for the club. Antony struck the post as the sides traded blows in a thrill-a-minute start to a second period that eventually calmed down, with Martinez’s late own goal wrapping up a home win. The atmosphere was fantastic throughout as Spurs beat United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time, with Postecoglou receiving a fantastic reception before and after the match. The home fans – a number of whom had protested about ticket prices before the match – had to hold on tight during a bright United start. After some half-hearted chances, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario spread himself to stop Rashford giving United into a 13th minute lead having been slipped in by Antony. Andre Onana’s stunning diagonal pass to Alejandro Garnacho deserved more than a driven cross being blocked, with an audacious Fernandes rabona cross headed over from close range by offside Rashford. There was anger that the VAR did not intervene after Garnacho’s shot hit Romero’s arm, with the proximity of the effort understood to be behind the decision not to award a spot-kick for handball. Another let-off soon followed. Smart play ended with Luke Shaw’s cracking first-time cross putting Fernandes behind, only for the unopposed skipper to head well off target from six yards. But Spurs had grown into proceedings by this point. Sarr was denied by Onana after being played through by skipper Son Heung-min and went closer still in the 40th minute. Son laid off for Porro to slam a thunderous shot off the crossbar and Sarr’s low ball back into the box deflected off Shaw and onto the post. Spurs had clearly settled into a more cohesive attacking unit and needed just four minutes of the second period to take the lead. Good team play ended with Kulusevski sending in a cross from the right that hit Martinez, with Sarr reacting quickest to slam home at the far post and spark wild celebrations. The opener added extra spice to an already entertaining encounter. Antony was allowed onto his favoured left foot just two minutes later and beat Vicario, only for his attempt to come back off the far post. Spurs immediately swept up the other end. Onana stopped a low Destiny Udogie attempt and penalty appeals for Martinez’s challenge on Romero fell on deaf ears. Vicario reacted well to tip over a Casemiro header and Fernandes saw a low shot pushed wide before the offside flag was raised. Yves Bissouma had efforts either side of a blocked Son attempt, before changes took the sting out of the game. Ivan Perisic and Ben Davies were among Spurs’ introductions, with the latter swinging at the former’s pass and getting the slightest touch before Martinez accidentally turned the ball into his own net in the 83rd minute. United pushed to reduce the deficit but their play was stilted and frustrated, with an offside Raphael Varane denied by Vicario during nine scoreless minutes of stoppage time. Read More Many Brighton players capable of scoring like Kaoru Mitoma’s stunner – De Zerbi Tottenham vs Manchester United LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Manchester United’s new-look midfield must click quickly – Erik ten Hag Ange Postecoglou promises to bring Spurs fans joy after Nick Cave inspiration Chris Wood heads home late winner as Nottingham Forest see off Sheffield United Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham have to be ‘united on and off the field’

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