Great British Bake Off 2019: Bread Week
Bread Week really tested the bakers' skills, taking them out of their usual cake-based comfort zone and pushing the limits of what a plain old loaf can look and taste like. Chetna Makan takes a look at what happened in the tent.
Great British Bake Off 2019: Bread Week
Bread Week really tested the bakers' skills, taking them out of their usual cake-based comfort zone and pushing the limits of what a plain old loaf can look and taste like. Chetna Makan takes a look at what happened in the tent.
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Great British Bake Off 2019
Its Bread Week! One of my least favourite weeks in the tent, as I am definitely a cake person and not a massive bread eater, which means I don't make it very often. Has anyone else noticed that they have the coldest day in the tent in bread week and the hottest day in chocolate week? Surely that doesn't help at all!
The signature challenge kicked off with tear-and-share bread, which is a great thing to make to share with family and friends. I love the fact that Michelle has so far tried to incorporate something Welsh into all her bakes, while Michael always adds Indian flavours into his creations.
I am really warming to Phil; he seems like the kind of person who puts a lot of love into his bakes. I’m also loving Henry and his ties – he might be the most formally dressed baker the tent has seen in its ten years!
I also get the feeling that we will be seeing Steph until the end, along with Michelle – let’s see if I am right in the coming weeks.
Amelia, on the other hand, does not have a good start with her tear-and-share bake, with both Paul and Prue not happy with her pale-looking bread. Michael manages to bag the first Hollywood Handshake of the season for his Kerelan star bread, which looked pretty delicious.
Another first in the tent was the making of burgers for the technical challenge. And while Paul clearly says that this is a bake off and not a cook off, the bakers are asked to cook their own vegetarian burgers. Those burgers were the strangest and least appetising things I have seen in a long time, so my question is why bother?!
Amelia is not having a good day and comes last in the technical challenge, while Henry comes tops with his very, very good burger buns.
Moving onto the showstopper, which is ‘a display of artistically scored decorative loaves’ – quite a mouthful. Skilful stuff, says Prue, while Paul informs us that it is one of the most difficult challenges they have set, although I am not sure that I agree with him here.
The bakers have five hours for this challenge, which sounds like a lot, but bread is very tricky and time-consuming to make. It’s no surprise that Helena once again goes for a spooky theme – every day is Halloween in her house! I would love to visit her on actual Halloween, because if this is what she is making on a regular day then I can only imagine what she prepares for 31 October. Her bake does not disappoint; a clutch of imaginative loaves that would be a guaranteed showstopper on any table.
I like Rosie’s elephant and giraffe and also Alice’s globe, while Steph gets a big thumbs up from both the judges. However, it is Michael that is crowned Star Baker this week, and sadly after two subpar days in the tent it is Amelia who is sent home.
If I could choose one bake to eat this week it would have to be Michael’s Kerelan tear-and-share, which looked really delicious. Next week we have another first in the tent – Dairy Week – which looks like an action-packed episode. I can’t wait to report back.
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