The Great British Bake Off: Bread Week

October 11, 2023 9:24 AM - Season 14, Episode 3

The bakers make a classic cottage loaf and head to Devon for the Technical. Whose plaited centrepiece will get the Breadmaster himself, Paul Hollywood, in a twist?
posted by ellieBOA (20 comments total)

I have to say Bread Week is never my favourite week. Bread takes time, and time constraints are a Bake Off thing, so having Paul taste 10 loaves in a row and say each time "it's underproved"... yeah, no shit! Of course it's underproved; in the allotted time the choice is underproved or underbaked.

Good bread is-- I won't say impossible, but vanishingly rare on Bake Off.

Still-- good to see Tash and Saku do well. (especially Saku, who struggled last week but definitely has more to offer.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:38 PM on October 11, 2023 [2 favorites]

I was so glad Dan survived, it was just an off week for him and hopefully he returns to form next week.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:24 AM on October 12, 2023

Scots pronunciation guide, edition: Nicky’s
“horn” : miss-spelling of “haun”.
“Ho-run”: part of a coo ye could hawd in yer haun.
posted by rongorongo at 3:24 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yeah, bread week always seems to turn into a bread plaiting challenge and sort of a nod to Paul Hollywood's reputation as a bread king. I mean, don't get me wrong, bread is an important part of baking and all, but it's absolutely a cozier sort of process that doesn't really work well in a competitive setting. That said, it sort of felt like they kind of acknowledge that and pay more attention to flavors and techniques, maybe?

I think we're actually down to mostly people I'd hate to see go, but I have sort of ideas about the next 2 or 3.
posted by Kyol at 6:15 PM on October 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

I would love to see a challenge or two where they alter the rules to say "Turn in whatever you have made whenever you are happy with it". In baking terms, that is probably a more realistic goal but, while it takes away the challenge of a hard time constraint - it opens up others such as when to stop.
posted by rongorongo at 12:56 AM on October 13, 2023 [3 favorites]

The Great British Baking Show Recap: Something to Prove [Vulture / Archive]
posted by ellieBOA at 11:33 AM on October 14, 2023

Tasha understands bread. That is quite a compliment. Between that and Prue wishing she'd made Tasha's signature, there wasn't much suspense on star baker this week. I would have liked to try the tiger though.

Really wanted Noel's penguin jumper this week, but it appears to be unavailable at the moment, even if I wanted to splurge. Loved Saku and Alison playing a bit of cricket to pass the proving time, even if that turned out to be a dangerous pastime.
posted by the primroses were over at 1:06 PM on October 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

Abbi was one of our favorites, bummed she's gone.
posted by Carillon at 5:57 PM on October 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Really baffled that Abbi was the one sent home after Rowan's showstopper and signature were both so rough. Maybe Paul felt guilty (ha!) About being such a dick to him.
posted by chaiminda at 5:55 PM on October 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

Agreed with Abbi leaving. That was Bullshit. Dan fucked up everything badly all week, and Rowen was also terrible.
posted by Windopaene at 8:08 AM on October 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Yes, Dan's mistakes were also really basic compared with Abbi's, I thought. Not making enough dough? Leaving out sugar? Seemed much more egregious than Abbi's mistakes. I'm sure there are reasons we don't know but I wish they would clarify them during editing if need be. I shouldn't be left wondering if Abbi committed a horrible crime like taking someone's ice cream cake out of the freezer.
posted by chaiminda at 12:38 PM on October 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

I love bread, but I loathe bread week on GBBO because Paul is just so insufferable about being the bread king and the deference shown to him just feels so gross to me. And I’m completely bewildered along with the rest of you why Abbi was sent home.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 2:48 PM on October 16, 2023 [4 favorites]

Agreed about Abbi. Let's not forget that she was chastised for her rudimentary showstopper design, while Dan...spelled the word "pizza" with bread?
posted by carrienation at 4:06 PM on October 16, 2023 [8 favorites]

I'm glad I'm not the only one baffled that Dan stayed. He forgot to add sugar! His "showstopper" wasn't baked! Just bad work and careless mistakes.
posted by maryellenreads at 2:09 PM on October 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Not So Great Defector Bake Off Proves Too Small for Bread Week: I felt like I could happily leap off of a skyscraper, to my death, except that I did not have the time for it.

Archive link, if anyone needs it.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:58 PM on October 18, 2023

Abbi should not have gone home. I expected them to send Rowan, because all of his bakes were catastrophes this week, and Dan really crashed out. I got very teary when Paul told Tash that she really understood bread and that her showstopper was stunning. That hasn't happened to me during GBBO in a long time. I'm glad they've gone back to a more simple, warmer time. I've missed that.

All that being said, Josh's tiger was amazing. He and Tash seem to be the ones to beat now.
posted by ceejaytee at 11:28 AM on October 19, 2023

Let's not forget that she was chastised for her rudimentary showstopper design...

Which baffled the heck out of me. There was nothing rudimentary about the design. It was stylized and childlike/whimsical. It was really cute. It kinda felt like Paul had a burr up his ass against Abbi for some reason. Dan should have gone.

And, yeah, bread week is never something I look forward to. Not enough time allotted to actually make a good loaf, and stupid challenges like plaiting, and all those odd, obscure british specialties that even the contestants have never seen.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:08 PM on October 19, 2023

... sort of a nod to Paul Hollywood's reputation as a bread king.

That seemed extra annoying this year and I wish they'd knock it off. I also can't believe that Abbi left before Rowan. Rowan's things seemed exceptionally bad- a cottage loaf that wasn't even in one piece (and had a big raw spot in the center that the judges didn't mention for some reason), bad technical, and nearly inedible showstopper. I couldn't understand why he was making everything so large?

Calling Abbi's design "rudimentary" when Cristy made a (beautiful) circular challah (and failed to make her showstopper a centerpiece) seems goofy. I'm glad Bread week is over.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:21 PM on October 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

... sort of a nod to Paul Hollywood's reputation as a bread king.

That seemed extra annoying this year and I wish they'd knock it off.

Yeah, I wouldn't call this episode a "nod" so much as a genuflection. Sheesh.

And another voice in the chorus that sending Dan or Rowan home made a lot more sense than Abbi based on what was presented to the viewer.
posted by solotoro at 2:42 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

hey yeah how dare they

Abbi's out here gathering nettles and garlic blossoms for your eating pleasure and you boot her? Absurd
posted by 4th number at 11:07 AM on December 28, 2023 [1 favorite]