The Great British Baking Show
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(As always, c’mon consult your doctor before starting a new season.)
Were diving right into the moist, delicate sponge that is Cake Week.
On your marks, get set, bake!
Meanwhile, cocky P.E.
He haphazardly spreads it on top.
Luckily, shes able to scoop it out and on top without the judges noticing her misstep.
Great work, Manisha.
Her pear and pecan upside-down cake is applauded for both appearance and taste.
Too bad Mary can hardly taste it.
This syrup-drenched yeasted cake has a temperamentally sticky batter.
Were you a bit of a groovester?
I like Gloria Gaynor.
I was very good for my dips at the discos, he replies.
At her request, he demonstrates a little wiggle.
Its settled: I would kill for Brendan.
I still go out to clubs and stuff, but I can come home and make a cake.
Whats wrong with that?
Nothing, you cake-loving boy with a beautiful soul.
This was a mistake.
They come out pale, limp, and stuck to the tin.
Sarah-Jane takes first place in the technical, followed by James, Peter, and Victoria.
Natasha and her sad babas (baby wawas?)
Bring on the food coloring.
But Stuarts lemon and pistachio bake sunk more than expected.
Now hes forced to cobble as many of its crusty blue chunks that he can into a flag.
The judges love the artistry of Victorias pie-cake.
Unfortunately for Stuart, Peters elegantly rendered Union Jack is a tough act to follow.
Queen Victoria is coronated as our first Star Baker.
Natasha is sent home.
Im sorry to see her go.
She definitely had potential much weaker competitors have been eliminated week one.
The signature challenge: six flatbreads with yeast, six flatbreads without.
They must be baked quickly and at high temperatures to make it steam out the moisture within.
Some of us are more bread-inclined than others.
For the past two years Ive been pursuing a project of making breads of the world, Brendan explains.
So far Ive achieved about 90 of them.
Couple of hundred more to go.
(Im going to need a Brendan cookbook and also a biopic, like, yesterday.
)Hes baking his Middle Eastern taboon bread on hot rocks hes lined the bottom of the oven with.
They need to be flat, Cathryn consoles her.
Youre helping the process.
A framed photo of Mel and Sue enjoys pride of place in Peters workstation.
Theres a very fine line here between love and literally stalking, Sue says.
Ryan finishes his garlic and coriander naan with a blow torch, which looks extremely fun.
Peter, meanwhile, is dismayed to learn that his flatbreads are salty.
In Mary Berrys exact words, they are really, really salty.
Intensive care consultantDannys lime, coriander and coconut tortillas are ruled fantastic, if slightly overbaked.
Manishas cumin and garlic Indian flatbreads, a recipe swiped from her mother, are also a success.
The technical challenge calls for an eight-stranded plaited loaf, the elaborate cheerleading competition French braid of breads.
Paul wants to see an equal plait and a lovely crisp.
On the bright side, his botched batch gives him something to practice plaiting with.
This is a job for Bletchley Park.
The results are strange and lumpy.
Look at the state of my tentacles.
Poor tentacles, she laments.
Hes going to hate it.
The showstopper challenge requires two dozen bagels, 12 sweet and 12 savory.
James is trying out both of his recipes for the first time right now.
We get to see, in real time, him realize what a bad idea that was.
Ryan, too, has his worries.
Brendan knits his chocolate and vanilla bagels into what look like discolored (but cute!)
James goes for what is apparently the traditional, rustic method of knotting his dough pieces together.
Bagels must be poached before going into the oven, to create their distinctive chewy texture.
And theres Peters assessment of his own performance: Oh dear, oh dear.
Its a new bread youve invented, Paul tells Ryan of his suspiciously flat creations.
(Ive gotbad newsfor you guys.)
That said, John wins praise for the lovely crunch on his savory submission.
Sadly, Peter is going home.
Well gladly take that Mel and Sue photo if youre no longer in need of it.
