Tag Archives: gbbo 2021

Week Three – Bread Week

Warning: there are spoilers in this blog - who won star baker, who left the show, who received a handshake from Paul, what necklace was Prue wearing, things along those lines.

Am I the only one who didn’t understand the opening this week? Maybe it’s because I didn’t understand what the fish was saying?

Anyway, it’s Bread Week…

Oh sorry, wrong Bread show!!

Signature Dish: Focaccia Bread

Any flavour and any style, crispy crust and an open and irregular crumb structure: two hours, 45 minutes.

Breadmaking advice from Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter

George’s Greek Inspired Focaccia:
Packed and busy. Lovely. Good bake, good blend of flavours, but needed more water to open it up a little bit more.

Maggie’s Classic Focaccia:
Attractive, filling wasn’t pushed down into the tray, stretchy, soft texture, soft on top, but good flavour. A decent focaccia.

Freya’s Mexican Fajita Focaccia:
Smells great, nice texture, well baked.

Rochica’s Roasted Garlic Focaccia with Tomato, Feta & Pesto:
Lovely design, strong garlic taste, okay texture, try to keep flavour throughout the bread.

Amanda’s Chasing Grainbows Focaccia:
Overbaked, filling in lines, Prue recommended scattered so you get a taste of everything in one bite,

Chig’s Spanish Cheesy Meaty Focaccia:
Overbaked, lovely powerful flavours, delicious.

Crystelle’s Feta and Grape Focaccia with Fennel & Walnut:
Open structure, needed to be much thicker. Beautiful taste, great flavour combination, fresh.

Lizzie’s Final Furlong Focaccia:
Nice top, filled the tin nicely, good flavour, nice and soft and crispy on the outside, could have been proved longer, a great focaccia.

Jürgen’s Kipper-caccia Focaccia:
Slightly overbaked, more proving and less baking, quite tight inside needed more mixing, more cake-like than bread-like, Prue wasn’t mad about the flavours, could have been a little bit better!

Giuseppe’s Breakfast in Gaeta Focaccia:
Soft with focaccia structure, beautifully light focaccia, mouthful of everything in every bite. Paul said it was beautiful and he was rewarded with the first Hollywood Handshake of the series!

The first Hollywood Handshake
of the series!!

Technical Challenge set by Paul – A batch of 15 olive and cheese ciabatta breadsticks

Words of advice from Paul – “It’s a fairly complicated recipe, but be careful how you add the filling.”

We can see you Noel!

I love the Tweets from innocent drinks!
Position in Technical Challenge:

1st – Giuseppe
2nd – Lizzie
3rd – Amanda
4th – Freya
5th – Jürgen
6th – Chigs
7th – George
8th – Maggie
9th – Crystelle
10th – Rochica

Those in trouble before going into the Showstopper Round:
Jürgen
Maggie
Rochica

Those in line for Star Baker:
Giuseppe
Lizzie

Showstopper Challenge – Themed Display Using Milk Bread

Three dimensional, shape and decoration to reflect chosen theme.

Probably one of the best bread showstoppers – Paul’s lion!

George’s The Very Hungry Koala:
Adorable, bread a bit heavy, milk bread can’t carry weight of an upright sculpture. Clever design.

Lizzie’s Pig Banquet:
Some caught in the oven, clever design. Nice texture, light.

Chigs’ Honey Milk Bread Picnic Basket:
Beautifully done, well proved. Really well made. Hint of flavour. Colours consistent, good design.

Maggie’s Things You’d Find In A Rockpool:
Abstract, rustic, under-proved, no flavour, very cake-like, could be a bit lighter.

Jürgen’s The Baby:
Clever use of flavours in different breads, design is simple, lovely flavour, sweetness level just right, slightly underproved.




Crystelle’s Bready for Sunday Roast:
Very clever, longer in the oven would have created more of a darkness, great flavours, fantastic citrus kick, lovely texture.

Giuseppe’s Your Five-A-Day:
Incredible design, amazing job, beautiful execution, very clever, absolutely delicious and lovely texture.

Amanda’s I Just Fish We Had More Time:
Overall, a really good job, clever and highly effective, delightful, lovely flavour, sweetness just the right side of sweetness. Spot on texture, but a massive air pocket just underneath.

Rochica’s Bird Cage:
Over-proved, tight, sweetness level is right, too dense. Tastes delicious but the texture is not right – not sure it was four hours work.

Freya’s Under The Sea Milk Bread Display:
Amusing, very neat, nice milk bread, light structure, holds its bake, sweetness levels just right, tastes great.

Star Baker and Who’s Going Home:

Thoughts

I have to agree with the judges on both counts, Giuseppe had an amazing week and Rochica did struggle with bread week. Lizzie pulled herself up in the ranks and I loved George’s Koala bear this week.

Next week is Dessert Week – let’s hope their skills don’t dessert them and they don’t crumble to the pressure!

One last thing, Prue’s necklace, I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere else!

Week Two – Biscuit Week

Warning: there are spoilers in this blog - who won star baker, who left the show, who received a handshake from Paul, what necklace was Prue wearing, things along those lines.

First of all, can I apologise for Xing out Tom, but I couldn’t think of a better way to do it. But unfortunately this will befall all our bakers, except for one of them of course!

Signature Dish: 24 Brandy Snaps

Perfectly baked lace biscuits, identical and have to have a good snap! Any shape but have to be coated, dipped or filled – two hour baking time.

Lizzie’s dog, Pru, has her own Instagram account and seemingly doing quite well with 1,779 followers. When Matt asked Lizzie if she had practiced in the tent yesterday, she admitted that she didn’t but watched Harry Potter instead!

Baking, I wouldn’t say it was rocket science, but…

Jürgen went to University in Germany and gained a Masters Degree in Physics

Freya’s “Brandy Snapuccinos”:
Scrumptious, look quite dark, nice lace and a good snap, too strong coffee flavour. Overall a decent job.

Amanda’s “Open Sesame” Brandy Snaps: Very thin so falling apart. Delicious flavour,

Jairzeno’s “Chocolate, Passion Fruit & Pineapple Brandy Snaps:
Messy. Flavours too strong. Not well executed.

Rochica’s Coffee Brandy Snaps:
Massive variety in size, delicious flavour.

George’s Cypriot Brandy Snaps:
Irregular in size, flavours work well together, but looks a mess. Original and sensational.

Crystelle’s “Apple of my P-eye” Brandy Snaps:
Lovely snap, beautiful flavour combination, done well with the textures.

Lizzie’s, Fast-Food Apple Pie Brandy Snaps:
Very little lace, delicious, nice creme diplomat, lovely mouthful.

Guiseppe’s Gianduja Snaps:
Really pretty, elegant and uniform in colour, nice lace, delicious, crisp, nicely flavoured. Chocolate doesn’t come through very much.

Chigs’ “Espresso Martini” Brandy Snaps:
Nice and lacey, chocolate comes through well, nice snap, right amount of sweetness, coffee flavour a bit weak.

Maggie’s Blackcurrant Brandy Snaps:
Very small and could have a bit more colour, not quite baked enough so are really chewy, but delicious.

Jürgen’s “A Cup of Chai” Brandy Snaps:
Overall look pretty good, nice and even, lovely and thin, blend of spices work beautifully well. Texture-wise done well. Creme pat perfect.

Jürgen received a handshake from Matt Lucas, which Matt admitted that it meant nothing getting a handshake from him.

Technical Challenge set by Paul – Sandwiched Jammie Biscuit

Words of advice from Paul: “This is pretty straight forward, but read your recipe, we want perfection.”

I wonder how many takes they had to redo when Jammie Dodgers was said instead of Jammie Biscuits!

Position in Technical Challenge:

1st – Jürgen
2nd – Guiseppe
3rd – Freya
4th – Amanda
5th – Maggie
6th – Lizzie
7th – Chig
8th – George
9th – Jairzeno
10th – Crystelle
11th – Rochica

Jürgen, the Baking Terminator as named by Guiseppe! Hasta La Biscuit baby!

Picture pinched from Twitter!

Those in trouble before going into the Showstopper Round:
Jairzeno
Maggie

Those in line for Star Baker:
Jürgen
Guiseppe
Chig

Showstopper Challenge – 3D Biscuit Replica of Favourite Childhood Toy

It has to be delicious but also have an interactive element.

Love this Tweet from Innocent drinks!

George’s “Paul and Prue Airlines”:
Interactive: airplane flies around in a circle
Great design. Not too hard, but very crisp. Well done.

Rochica’s Gingerbread Pinball Game:
Interactive: moving parts
Delicate and thin, texture spot on.

Guiseppe’s Reversi Board Game:
Interactive: you can play the game
Classic gingerbread. Properly engineered. Beautiful.

Chigs’ Snooker Table:
Interactive: you can play snooker
Very clever, a little bit cakey, but if it’s thick you don’t want it to be too hard. Perfect.

Lizzie’s “Paint a Truck”:
Interactive: you can paint the car
Interesting concept. Gingerbread and chocolate together – too strong. Tones down with icing and is delicious.



Jürgen’s “Grandpa’s Windmill”:
Interactive: sails go around
Very good, looks beautiful. Lovely flavour in the mouth, great job again.

Crystelle’s Vanity Playset:
Interactive: you can play with jewellery
Lovely flavour, beautiful, very clever design, flavours spot on.

Freya’s “Winne”:
Interactive: rocking horse
Beautiful, structurally sound.

Amanda’s Carousel Rocking Horse:
Interactive: structure had broken
Wouldn’t have chosen that type of biscuit to use as it’s so delicate.

Maggie’s Beach Playset:
Interactive: you can play with it
Basic, needs to be more elaborate. Should be a bit thinner. School report would say, “Needs to try harder.”

Jairzeno’s Tall Ship:
Interactive: Not sure
Rough and ready. Lovely blend, tastes delicious.

Freya and Amanda’s Rocking Horses – they had varying success!

Star Baker and Who Is Going Home…

Jürgen was able to tell his family this week!

Thoughts:

I think Jairzeno was the right choice to go home this week, personally I think he should have gone last week. Maggie didn’t have such a good week as she did last week, but I thought Lizzie and George had much better weeks.

Next week is Bread Week – who will rise to the top and who will knead to improve their baking skills? #sorrynotsorry