An Ocean Away, UMD Libraries Introduce a British Baking Tradition

Image credit: Jack Hogan for The Campus Trainer

Inspired by the Great British Bake Off and conceived by University Libraries graduate assistant Benjamin Shaw, the first annual Great Bookish Bake Off premiered April 15 inside University of Maryland's Hornbake Library.

Eighteen bakers entered the contest and were required to submit baked creations from recipes in UMD’s library collections. These cookbooks, one of which was published in 1918 and contains “war-time” recipes, come from the shelves of McKeldin Library, the archives at Hornbake and the University Libraries website.

Mary Libcke, an administrative assistant in UMD’s Department of Nutrition and Food Science and an avid fan of the Great British Bake Off, submitted a sponge cake based on the Boston Baking School cookbook.

“I figured I’d represent [the department], not that this is all that nutritious, but I did throw food on it,” said Libcke, laughing. “I figured the fruit’s my [nod to] our department.”

Mary Libcke's UMD-themed sponge cake submission Image credit: Jack Hogan for The Campus Trainer

Libcke said she started preparing for the event a week early and used her department peers and family members as taste testers for trial runs of her recipe. Libcke decided to showcase her UMD spirit on her creation by including a red ‘M’ and turtles and said she felt the event helped to bring her closer to the UMD community, which she joined eight months ago.

“I’m new to Maryland, so I figured it’d be kind of fun to get out and meet new people,” said Libcke. “We all kind of stay in our little shells and we don’t always reach out and participate.”

Performing arts librarian Drew Barker, who emceed the event, shared a similar sentiment.

“I think these kinds of things are the kind of gatherings and events where you would meet people that you wouldn’t normally, but it also brings out people’s special skills,” said Barker. “You feel part of a larger culture of baking, of the show.”

The event featured many of the aesthetics featured in the Great British Bake off, including red tablecloths and a white tent under which the baked goods were displayed and judged. Barker provided lively commentary in a British accent as the judges tasted the baked submissions, which drew a number of laughs.

Unlike the Great British Bake Off, the Great Bookish Bake Off judges were composed of university employees. Additionally, Shaw ensured his event focused less on critiquing submissions and more on encouraging viewer participation through voting for various categories.

People who attended the event were invited to vote for two categories: Crumbdinger and Whisk Taker. Crumbdinger was the bake that was “top-of-the-line scrummy, worthy of a Paul Hollywood handshake,” which, for those not fluent with the verbiage of British baking, means that the bake was the best tasting and deserving of recognition from the host of the Great British Bake Off. Whisk Taker was the bake that “attempted something ambitious, risky or just plain out there.”

The three judges voted on the event’s “Star Baker,” “Judged by its Cover,” which was the most aesthetically pleasing creation, and “Bookworm,” the submission that used a recipe from the “murkiest depths of the library collections.”

STEM librarian Jodi Coalter won “UMD’s Star Baker” and a $50 campus dining gift card for her Victoria sandwich.

Aaron Ginoza, the University Libraries social media coordinator, said the event continued Hornbake’s tradition of featuring library-themed baking contests that started with the Edible Book Festival, which celebrated books and bad puns, according to Ginoza. UMD’s Edible Book Festival was discontinued shortly after the event’s founder, Eric Cartier, left to work for the State Library of Louisiana.

Ginoza said that he was inclined to work with Shaw on his British-inspired idea because of the network and creativity Shaw offers as a UMD graduate student.

“I think any time a student has an idea and wants to make something happen, we want to go with that,” said Ginoza. “When we can integrate students and student input, things just go so much better.”