Britons beat coronavirus lockdown boredom by whisking up cakes

Stuck-at-home families inspired by The Great British Bake Off have stripped supermarket shelves of flour as amateur bakers turn to making comfort food such as pies, tarts, cakes and bread during the lockdown.

Sales of flour have doubled in the past month from two million to four million bags a week, according to trade figures – a trend reflected in other baking ingredients.

Trade in icing sugar, icing mixes and ready-made cake mixes soared by more than 40 per cent on last year, according to Kantar market analysts. 

Other sugar sales were up 16 per cent, bakery fruit such as sultanas, raisins and cherries up ten per cent, and egg sales by eight per cent.

Cookware store Lakeland has noticed a sharp rise in searches for bread-making advice, up by more than 500 per cent compared to March last year.

Even though the UK is self-sufficient in flour, producing 90,000 tons a week, almost all of it is sold to professional bakers and manufacturers. Only four per cent goes to stores.