By Toni Jones PUBLISHED: 09:29 EST, 16 October 2012 | UPDATED: 12:26 EST, 16 October 2012 Tonight's grand final of the Great British Bake Off is expected to draw over four million viewers. Not bad for a genteel BBC2 show about cakes. The show has become one of BBC2’s biggest success stories with a peak of 4.6 million tuning in each week to see presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc and judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry whip up a TV storm. The show has been credited with making baking cool again, and reminding boys where the kitchen is (tonight's final is all male and judge Paul Hollywood's heartthrob status continues to soar). But Brtiain's love of baking isn't really new at all - just ask your grandmother.
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The Great British Bake Off final expects to draw an audience of over 4 million tonight
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27% of Britons say they will bake more in the next year
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National Baking Week runs 15th -21st October
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Baking is most popular in Yorkshire
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1 in 7 adults bake at least twice a week
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Servants leave for the First World War and work in other careers. Women work in armament factories and in other jobs, giving them less time to bake
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The Women’s Institute is founded in 1915. Advice on cookery is offered and members share their experiences at meetings. After the war their magazine Home and Country, offers recipes and advice
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The National Confectionary Industry started to issue adverts in press, encouraging women to take up home baking as a source of extra income
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Good Housekeeping Magazine is first published in 1922
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Ready shredded packets of beef suet are advertised with the strapline of “What visions of delight...”. The advert refers to Spotted Dick amongst others recipes - this is for women who continue to bake
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Increase in car travel meant out-of-home dining experiences such as picnics became popular, with a variety of baking recipes dedicated to on-the-go food
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The Great Depression migrating to the UK meant that many households were unable to sustain their purchase of luxury baking ingredients, so alternative products such as margarine (instead of butter) became commonplace in the pantry. Home baking with these cheaper products was encouraged as a way of stretching the pennies
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Leaflets from organisations such as the Potato Marketing Board issued recipe books, and companies like Stork, who had big advertising campaigns, promoted margarine
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Banana Cakes first appeared in cookbooks – grocers would share these recipes with customers when the fruit became over ripe to avoid wastage
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The rationing of the war era meant that homes had to make do with what little fresh produce they could source. Kitchen waste was eliminated and the likes of Dripping Cake recipes were eagerly shared between housewives
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Alternative cooking methods, such as pressure cookers, started to appear in the kitchen following the war – therefore it was no longer all about the oven as the main way to cook food, reducing the need to bake
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Bread consumption was at a consistently high level in the 1940s (~1700g) - DEFRA
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The consumption of cakes stood at 190g per person per week in 1950 - DEFRA
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The introduction of the Kenwood Chef to market, in 1950, prompted a shift in how housewives made their home baked goods in the UK and globally
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Baking oligopolies were producing sliced loaves such as Mother’s Pride and Sunblest, while Lyons was the major supplier of inexpensive cakes, producing Swiss Roll by the mile
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After the Coronation, more homes had acquired televisions, so TV cookery now had a wider audience. Among the earliest TV cooks was Philip Harben
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With the continued rationing of sugar until 1953, a variety of alternatives were commonly used to satisfy the nation’s sweet tooth. These included Golden Syrup, treacle, condensed milk and honey
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The 1960s saw TV chef Fanny Craddock inspire housewives to become more adventurous with their cooking
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The traditional ‘tea time’ of a cuppa with homemade cakes and buns faded from everyday life
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Mass produced goods, such as bread and biscuits, became staples in the local stores
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During a 50 year research window, the consumption of biscuits peaked at 166g per person in 1967 - DEFRA
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Local charity groups encouraged women to get involved and raise money by baking at home for bake-sales, as ‘their contribution’ to the cause
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Introduction of ‘foreign food’ such as pizza and pasta to the home meant that even more choice became available to the everyday family cook, not all of which would need to be baked
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The first campaign for real bread is launched in 1976 promoting better quality commercial baking and home baking. The emphasis focused on wholemeal bread, which was a minority taste
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The rise of the ‘middle classes’ meant that the dinner party became the  way to outdo the Jones, typified by the likes of Mike Leigh’s ‘Abigail’s Party’. The need for special creations meant that many experimented with new and challenging recipes such as soufflé
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Another campaign for Real Bread is launched, this time by ‘The Sunday Times’ with food writer Caroline Conran, medical correspondent Oliver Gillie and journalist Michael Bateman
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The rise in popularity of the prefab kitchen meant that the kitchen essentials – such as the oven and hob – were ‘out of sight and out of mind’ for many homecooks
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By 1986, 1 in 5 households was estimated to have a microwave which was said to help reduce cooking time by 75% and gave rise to the influx of ready meals
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The consumption of cakes had dropped to a half century low at 69g per person per week in 1989 – DEFRA
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At home, popular tray bakes - cakes baked in a square pan using flour, eggs, sugar butter or margarine - were a simple answer to producing cake in a hurry
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In 1988, Edwina Curry resigned from the Conservative government over her statement that British eggs were contaminated with Salmonella. This caused a fall in sales and problems for domestic cooks
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Delia Smith’s TV series ‘How to Cook’ acknowledges that many people do not even know how to boil an egg. The series and her book were best sellers
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New style wedding cakes were made by arranging cup cakes on tiered wire stands. An individual cake for each guest and nothing for the couple to cut, a true creation for the age of individualism
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A new enthusiasm for artisan baking was typified by De Gustibus bakery, opened in Oxfordshire in 1990. The bakery was originally based on a home baking business. De Gustibus has won several awards including Best Independent Baker of the Year in 1997. Enthusiasts like these bakers were producing similar products at home using organic craft milled flours
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Up until 2000, there was little indication that home baking had increased with a steady drop in the consumption of flour (206g in 1950 to 67g in 2000) and sugar (287g in 1950 to 105g in 2000) - DEFRA
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From 2001-2006 the sale of home baking products increased by 25%, bringing total sales to £429 million in 2006 - Mintel
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Luxury cupcakes started to become the ‘must munch’ baked good after Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City bought one from the New York Magnolia Bakery. By 2010 cupcakes became the second most popular type of cake to bake at home - Mintel
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The government’s ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ campaign hit home, with many households looking at inventive ways to bake with leftovers or surplus vegetables
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The revival in home baking helped the sector to grow by 13% between 2007 and 2009 - Mintel
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2010 research shows that over half of Brits (52%) say that they get recipe ideas from online websites compared to the 46% who rely on cookbooks, driving easy access to baking inspiration - Mintel
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Tightening the belt to stave off the recession in the home has resulted in many families baking their own bread to combat rocketing pre-made loaf prices
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The royal wedding gave rise to street parties lined with Union Jack cupcakes and iced versions of Will and Kate
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Home-made cakes have started to gained in popularity as an alternative to expensive gifts
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The TV show ‘Great British Bake Off’ has captured the imagination of the nation and highlighted the joys of baking
Bake Off judge and trained baker @placeholder seen today ahead of the final