Paul Hollywood's Bread

In this first programme, we celebrate the history and traditional flavours of great British bread. Paul explains the basics of bread making by making a classic white bloomer, a gorgeous crusty everyday bread that he transforms into the perfect portable lunch, and his colourful roasted vegetable picnic loaf. We track the history of British bread making from farm to miller, brewer and baker and Paul bakes his ultimate ploughman's loaf, a rye, oat and ale round. For tea, there is nothing better than a slice of Paul's honey-glazed, fruit-packed malt loaf. But his breads are no sideshow, so for a hearty family dinner he bakes his medieval-style rye and wholemeal trencher, a stunning centrepiece flat loaf piled high with watercress salad and sliced, seared lamb leg steaks in a mustard dressing.

Paul Hollywood takes viewers on a globetrotting journey into the diverse and colourful world of flat breads. Along the way, he serves up flavour-packed dishes from all over the world, delicious at any time of day. With little more than cornflour and water, Paul makes authentic corn tortilla served stacked and layered with spicy roast chicken, guacamole and sour cream in a mouth-watering corn tortilla tower. He bakes an aromatic, herb laden Middle Eastern maneesh - dipped in his smoky baba ganoush, a perfect lunchtime snack. Paul also tries his hand at making traditional wafer thin Indian lentil dosa and gets to grips with a giant, Caribbean supersize flat bread, 'buss up shot'. But there is a special place in his heart for Cyprus, so he shares his recipe for nigella scented pittas stuffed with his favourite filling, succulent pork souvlaki.

Paul Hollywood reveals the secrets of some of the most iconic breads from the continent and uses them to make a feast of irresistible dishes. Paul bakes a classic baguette and then turns it into the ultimate roasted garlic bread. He bakes a crusty ciabatta for his panzanella salad and some crunchy biscotti that are great dunkers and why order a takeaway when it is so much fun to make your own pizza? Paul shares his tossing tips and a delicious fig, ham and gorgonzola topping.

Sourdough is bread for the connoisseur, and is Paul Hollywood's passion. Today he shares how to cultivate a sourdough starter, harnessing natural yeasts to leaven your bread. He starts with a classic sourdough and from this basic recipe, he makes the ultimate sweet bread, a white chocolate and raspberry sourdough and a fruit packed summer pudding. But for a real family feast, Paul serves tuna nicoise salad with tapenade and a stunning, leaf shaped sourdough fougasse bursting with olives.

If you would love to have a go at bread making but are put off by all the kneading, proving and waiting, soda bread is the bread for you. Paul Hollywood shows breads you can make from start to finish in under an hour. No kneading, no proving - just mix, shape and bake. He shows how these simple breads can be at the heart of every meal. His classic wholemeal soda bread topped with a cheesy Irish rarebit is the perfect snack at any time of day and his dark and dense, full flavoured stout bread with smoked salmon pate is as impressive as it is quick. Paul shows how easy it is to enjoy the magic of homemade crumpets bubbling on the griddle and how a simple scone recipe can transform a humble stew into hearty, fragrant beef cobbler that will have your hungry hoards beating a path to the table.

Paul Hollywood crosses the lines between bread, cake and pastry. He shows how enriched breads can be a spectacular treat that deserve their place at the heart of any celebration meal. Paul bakes his impressive citrus flavoured, cranberry packed, Sicilian lemon and orange bread with a sweet almond glaze and teaches a local baking club the joy of baking a historic British classic, lardy cake. Enjoying a little Scandinavian influence, he shares the secrets of danish pastries, making deliciously tempting onion, mushroom and emmental swirls and tucking into sweet Swedish Easter semlor buns. He rounds off with an utterly stunning savoury brioche crown - an indulgent, enriched bread twisted into a circle, bursting with molten mozzarella and parma ham and topped with a spicy pumpkin salad.