Dust off your apron and set the oven timer, Great British Bake Off has returned to our screens for this now annual institution of cake near-disasters, soggy bottoms and the poker straight faces of judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry.
Now in its fifth series, we’ve now felt the pain of the disaster of raw dough and the palpable feel of shock from Mary when she discovers she is eating pre-made icing and the nation is yet again hooked as they watch their favourite cakes being created by the group of eager contestants.
Three episodes in, this week saw the remaining would-be bakers face the now infamous ‘bread week’ where Paul Hollywood talks about crumb structure, gluten and various other yeast-related scientific trickery with his only advice to ‘be patient’. These words from the wise bread man ring true with it being Kate’s week due to her incredible patience in that she is the only one who was emulate the great Paul Hollywood ciabatta recipe in the technical round with many of the other contestants producing very disappointing and uninspiring offerings. Her success it seems was down to not falling for the trick of using the available proving drawer and being the last to turn out her dough probably had Paul quietly salivating as he took a piece from the final loaf.
The efforts of Jordan and his rather chaotic presentation of cheesecake brioche would have had the team at Dunn’s Bakery wondering if they could improve on his recipe by using their own freshly baked egg and butter packed sweet bread. Their brioche would never be raw in the middle though and the expert bakers at this proud North London bakery based in Crouch End would certainly be through to week 4 as everyone waved goodbye to Jordan as he was eliminated.
On sofas across the UK, whilst we all strained to smell and taste the amazing bread conjured up by Nancy, the HD clear images of the sunflower loaf stuffed with knock your socks off cheese conjured up pictures of a dough-baked octopus as Martha walked forward for the tasting.
As the episodes progress, they are bound to whisk up the viewing public more and more each week to a bun-baking frenzy with everyone having their own thoughts about who should be sent home and who should receive the winning crown.
Next week is desserts and we will all sit and lick our lips in pleasure as we bemoan our luck at not being alongside Mel and Sue as they get to cheekily try frostings and take the first smell of rich chocolate sauces as the aroma rises from the stoves. Norman is still hanging on by the skin of his teeth after his presentation of a loaf of bread which to everyone else looked like a pie and admits himself that he finds pesto ‘exotic’, so he’s going to have to really pull something amazing out of the pudding bag to stay in the quintessentially British marquee of macaroons and custard slices.
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