The Great British Bake Off, Season 10 Episode 4: My Thoughts

Last week, the remaining eleven bakers faced Paul’s area of expertise: bread. Michael won Star Baker and Amelia was the next baker to leave the tent.

Aside from more job searching, writing (both a little bit of my WIP and some stuff for a fiction writing course I joined after my holiday) and getting bits for my sister and I’s birthday next week sorted, I sat down to watch bakers delve into three dairy based challenges in a first for the Great British Bake Off: Dairy Week!

Some bakers performances were legenDAIRY (I am so sorry) whilst others nearly had me crying…over something other than spilt milk! (Before I go off on a terrible baking pun tangent) here’s my breakdown of this week.

The bakers

I think, this week, more bakers showed themselves to be competitors. I think Alice has shown she’s competition from the start, though Henry and Steph also proved that they are ones too watch. I think Dairy Week was particularly hard, though, considering so many bakers who I would consider to be top contenders in previous weeks (Helena, Priya, Michael) struggled to get to grips with the challenges.

The challenges

I wasn’t really sure what the challenges would be in a new week that hasn’t been done in the Bake Off tent before. Turns out, it began with a Signature Challenge which asked the bakers to use cultured dairy in their cakes (such as buttermilk, yoghurt etc). The tent was full of fruit this week, with some bakers packing a punch into their bakes by adding alcohol. Rosie impressed, as well as Henry and Steph. Last weeks Star Baker Michael ended up with a broken cake but he redeems himself with its flavour.

Onto the Technical Challenge, which saw the bakers make Maids of Honour (something which, despite studying the Tudors for my A-Level, I had no clue was a thing!). Turns out, they’re just posher egg custards with lemon curd and a rose, essentially! They also proved to be a nightmare for the bakers, though. Priya and Helena have a terrible time, and the rest of the bakers don’t fare too well either. Paul immediately addressed how bad all of them were and somehow narrowed it down to Helena at the bottom and Steph at the top.

The Showstopper Challenge was a bit strange, I think. I expected them to bake some sort of huge milk cake but, instead, they were asked to make a selection of Indian sweets called mishti. A lot of bakers went British, a few traditional and one literally took inspiration from his back garden. Everyone did well, aside from Phil.

The result

Paul and Prue once again teased that two bakers could go this week. Luckily, I went from shouting down the train carriage to a strange sense of relief when Michael was saved. Despite Priya and Helena’s mishaps, it was Phil who left the tent. On the other hand, Steph scooped Star Baker this week.

Again, I honestly don’t have a clue who will come out on top at the end. The challenges this year at once seem easier and more likely to trip even the best bakers up, so it’s about as unpredictable as what shirt Noel will wear each week.

Next week, there’s another first in the tent as the bakers face a week of all things 1920s. Can I go as far as saying it’ll be Bake Gatsby or….no?

I can’t wait to see how next week pans out, stay tuned for my thoughts!

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