Uh-oh. “Bread Week” on the Great British Bake Off.
This is when famous dough fan Paul Hollywood really lets his claws come out.
He’s notoriously hard to please, and this week has claimed some significant scalps in the last few years.
Amelia didn’t end Biscuit Week well, but was ultimately saved from any real danger by Jamie’s genial ineptitude. Priya and Rosie both started strongly, but slipped into the middle of the pack with a bit of a whimper after that.
Phil constantly looks like he’s busking it. Michael is probably one step away from a near-fatal whisking accident.
So which of the current crop of bakers would prove themselves up to the task? (I’m told this is a bread pun, but I don’t really understand it. I think it has something to do with the mysterious drawer everyone used to store their mixing bowls last night).
There may have been the first Hollywood handshake this week (for Michael, for some delicious-looking “Keralan Star” tear-n-share bread in the signature challenge), but the criticism also kicked up a notch.
David’s showstopper African mask loaves were dubbed “all style and no substance”, while Amelia’s bread-y garden was dubbed “clumsy” and the baking called “terrible”.
I don’t know about you, but I think that seems a bit harsh on both counts. Take a look at the showstoppers below:
Those dough-lightful Bread Week showstoppers! #GBBO pic.twitter.com/N8l0PYnHfl
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) September 10, 2019
Ultimately Amelia had to go, though. She fared poorly in the signature, her burger baps placed last in the technical, and the critical mauling in the showstopper saw her head for the door. Well, the flap. It is a tent, after all.
Michael, limbs and digits surprisingly intact, was named Star Baker — though he was surely a shoo-in after that handshake from Paul.
The bakes
This week, the bakers tackled:
- A yeasty tear-n-share
- Burger baps (and, for some reason, the burgers inside them)
- An artistically scored loaf
We don’t do a lot of breadmaking here at the “Friend”, but when we do, we like to think outside of the box.
For example, why not try this recipe for avocado chocolate bread?
One of the most popular recipes on our entire website is this one for vegan banana bread. Bake it now, and see what all the fuss is about!
And if you have the “bread dread” like this week’s Star Baker, Michael, then follow our tips for buying a breadmaker.
Check back next week for our review of the Great British Bake Off’s first ever “Dairy Week”.
Bread isn’t everything. We have plenty of other recipes on our Cookery pages, here.
Iain McDonald I am the Digital Content Editor at the “Friend”, making me responsible for managing the flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine’s website and social media channels.
