S13.E03: Bread Week

[Athena]

Quote

The bakers put their stamp on a classic pizza, get in a twist with a classic pastry and tackle a showstopping Smörgåstårta, a decorative Swedish sandwich cake

UK Original Air Date: September 27, 2022.

Netflix USA Date: September 30, 2022.

[Lois Sandborne]

I thought this was an odd one, even for Bake Off. For a Bread Week, there wasn't a lot of bread baking. Paul didn't even get to stick his thumb in anyone's dough. The pizza challenge and whatever those things were in the showstopper were all about the toppings and fillings. And the fillings and such didn't sound great. I know breakfast is supposed to be the one meal the English really excel at, but the thought of beans and black pudding and runny egg on a pizza turned my stomach. Really, they hardly mentioned the pizza crusts or the breads that went into the cake sandwiches at all, and I think they all ended up just making white bread? Yawn. The pan au raisin (?) thingies for the technical challenge did look and sound delicious, but that was a pastry challenge, now come on. It did please me that as Paul was going on and on about not wanting "tails" on the buns, the camera zoomed in on the tails on the example plate.

In other news, Carole and her "apple catchers" made me laugh. And lucky for James, I finally learned his name this week since there were a manageable number of people to keep track of. 

I did presume from the start that no one would be eliminated, just out of fair play, so it wasn't very suspenseful on those grounds. Maybe that had something to do with the episode feeling weird.

[pfk505]

The only thing in this episode that didn't literally turn my stomach was the technical. Is that what the British think pizza is? And yet compared to the monstrosities in the showstopper the pizzas looked downright appealing.

Worst bread week ever.

Edited September 29, 2022 by pfk505
Typo

[oldCJ]

Compost Carole can’t leave soon enough. I hate people who brag that they don’t use “exotic” ingredients like that is something worth bragging about. This is the thirteenth season of GBBO, no one wants to see another lemon poppyseed cake or chocolate orange biscuit.

If you are going to use tried and true recipes, there is no excuse not to make them perfectly, but it looks like Carole doesn’t even practice her bakes beforehand.

First week, she used so much chicory it burned the judge’s mouth. And she lied and claimed she used coffee. Why? If she admitted it wasn’t coffee, the burning would not have been a strange outcome. Too much chicory extract has bad effects.

Second week, her use of orange essence in her macarons was unpalatable. And at this level of competition having your “decorations” be cut up bits of store-bought fondant is ridiculous. Her biscuit lard recipe would never have worked. There is no way she successfully baked the mask before trying it out for the showstopper. Paul even warned her about her recipe but she ignored him.

Now this week, she drowns her pizza with too much cheese. The pizza recipe she made was a classic recipe, so of course the flavour would be good. Her execution showed she hadn’t practiced. 

I can’t recall a previous time when Paul actually gave advice to a baker about fixing a recipe other than a raised eyebrow or saying “really?”. For her, he has done so at least twice. This time, he outright told her she had too much flour to water in her bread for the showstopper. Yet she still managed to screw it up.

She is going to keep squeaking through unfortunately, because Prue sees herself in Compost Carole.

/rant

Loving Syabira, Sandro, Januzs and Maxy. The other remaining bakers are so unmemorable, I don’t know their names yet. 

[Danny Franks]

Yeah, this was a bad week. I'd rather see them just asked to bake simple loaves of bread rather than pizzas, pastries and disgusting looking meat cakes.

I'm surprised that Paul allowed for such a mediocre bread week, considering it must be his favourite. I don't think there was any talk of what sort of pizza they should bake, or if they had a choice - it would have been interesting if people had gone for deep dish, Neapolitan or Detroit style instead of all of them apparently attempting a sort of oven-baked generic 'pizza.' And, because they were all doing the same thing, it just came down to execution and choice of toppings.

Maxy, Sandro, Syabira and Janusz definitely seem like the most consistently strong competitors so far, and I'd be surprised to see any of them go before most of the rest of them.

I guess it was inevitable that no one would go this week, given two bakers were off sick. But I'm 100% sure two will go next week so they can get back to the right number. My money is on Laura (I think that's the name of the older lady to whom the word "bland" was addressed more than once) and Rebs, who will likely be panicking and cocking things up again.

[TVbitch]

I know they must be hard-pressed for new bake ideas after so many seasons, but the smorgastartacakerfluffles (not their real name) were hard to look at. Who on earth wants to eat stacked up sandwiches covered in cream cheese? Seems like a bit of unnecessary nonsense. Also, remind me not to go out for pizza in the UK! 😉 

Hope this season doesn't fall into an Amazing Race Canada type situation, where quite a few contestants went out with COVID on different weeks and later came back in. At some point, they just had to move on as fairly as they could.

Edited September 30, 2022 by TVbitch

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

Also, remind me not to go out for pizza in the UK! 😉

Don't worry.  They have Pizza Hut there if you want something more American. LOL.

[jpgr]

18 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Yeah, this was a bad week. I'd rather see them just asked to bake simple loaves of bread rather than pizzas, pastries and disgusting looking meat cakes.

I'm surprised that Paul allowed for such a mediocre bread week, considering it must be his favourite.

I guess it was inevitable that no one would go this week, given two bakers were off sick. But I'm 100% sure two will go next week so they can get back to the right number. My money is on Laura (I think that's the name of the older lady to whom the word "bland" was addressed more than once) and Rebs, who will likely be panicking and cocking things up again.

Yeah this was the strangest "bread week" ever - no real discussion of techniques or ingredients, and the bread itself was an afterthought in the two main bakes.

I think you mean Dawn, not Laura. I really like her and hope this was just an off week. She did well in both cake week and biscuit week.

[dleighg]

Paul said that a ridiculously thick crust was more "American." Really? Obviously he's never been to New Haven. Or NYC for that matter. The pizza that looked really good to me was the one with figs and balsamic. Did anyone catch what the base was? I think he said sambal, and Paul mentioned "chili." What exactly would that be? Did he just spread the sambal on the bottom?

[Straycat80]

Agree it was a strange bread week. Pizza? And I love pizza but some of them I wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole. And those raisin roll thingy’s were more pastry IMO. 
Although those bread cakes were decorated nicely they sounded really gross and looked soggy with all the fish, meat and other stuff. 
I’m happy Janusz got star baker again and no one went home since two people were sick and not there. 
 

[Kiddvideo]

I liked that the showstopper was different than the ones I remember which were basically sculptures, iirc, demonstrating different kinds of breads and techniques, but from an appetizing POV? I can’t get my head wrapped around the visual of a sandwich covered in condiments that you eat with utensils but look like cakes. (I’m trying to not be provincial.)

I was really hopeful for Dawn at the beginning, but she’s disappointed on both technique and flavors the last couple of weeks.

Kevin (I think?) was going to warm his butter for the laminated bread?? I’ve never baked a bread in my life, but even I know you have to keep it cold and freeze between folds. Have none of these people watched previous seasons? You’re going to have to laminate bread, and you’re going to have to do it more than once if you make it far enough.

Carole: When she said she was wearing her Apple pants, what’s the meaning? Was she saying she had to behave like an adult and step-up to the challenge? And did she say “pants” which would mean underwear?

It’s fair that no one got sent home. 

[HelloooKitty]

James lisping through introducing his showcase was adorable! So many s’s!

[Cetacean]

Well, now, that was just bizarre.  Not one thing I would ever make.

And I can't imagine tasting the cold pizzas.  They cannot still be hot since the work areas have all been cleaned up which means the pizzas just sat there congealing.  Yuck.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Kiddvideo said:

Carole: When she said she was wearing her Apple pants, what’s the meaning? Was she saying she had to behave like an adult and step-up to the challenge? And did she say “pants” which would mean underwear?

That sent me to Google for sure:  "Apple Bottoms is a brand of jeans founded by hip-hop star Nelly in 2002. Apple Bottom jeans, as the name suggests, are generally designed for women with full hips."

This wasn't my favorite bread week, but not as bad as I thought it might be based on things I've read.  

And Kevin can stay to the end, just so I can hear that delightful Scottish accent.

[Cetacean]

58 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

And Kevin can stay to the end, just so I can hear that delightful Scottish accent.

James and Kevin both!  LOVE to hear them.

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Kevin (I think?) was going to warm his butter for the laminated bread?? I’ve never baked a bread in my life, but even I know you have to keep it cold and freeze between folds. Have none of these people watched previous seasons? You’re going to have to laminate bread, and you’re going to have to do it more than once if you make it far enough.

In fairness to Kevin, and because it was choppily edited, I’m pretty sure 25g of butter went into the preparation of the dough mixture and he thought it would proof quicker if the butter was melted and warm. That’s the dough you then use to laminate with the butter block that you keep cold. 

I agree this was a weird Bread week where comments and critique were more about fillings than, um, bread.

[Kiddvideo]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

That sent me to Google for sure:  "Apple Bottoms is a brand of jeans founded by hip-hop star Nelly in 2002. Apple Bottom jeans, as the name suggests, are generally designed for women with full hips."

I had no idea! (And I didn’t cap the A on “Apple” in my post. It autocorrected on my iPad, and I was too lazy to tap back and “correct” it.) Thank you for the details!

7 minutes ago, Rickster said:

In fairness to Kevin, and because it was choppily edited, I’m pretty sure 25g of butter went into the preparation of the dough mixture and he thought it would proof quicker if the butter was melted and warm.

Gotcha! I did think it was curious that someone wouldn’t have this basic skill. He backtracked off it so quickly when reading the rest of the instructions I went with it, though.

[dleighg]

3 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

but from an appetizing POV? I can’t get my head wrapped around the visual of a sandwich covered in condiments that you eat with utensils but look like cakes.

I totally agree. I laughed when one of the bakers said that "I don't even think this is a real thing." Very unappetizing. I think the Malaysian woman had the most interesting "cake." What were those egg-like things in the decoration? I was surprised that she didn't get star baker since the judges didn't seem that fond of his "English breakfast pizza" (yuk btw, but blood sausage and baked beans are not my cup of tea.)

[J-Man]

On 9/21/2022 at 7:03 AM, Athena said:

The bakers put their stamp on a classic pizza, get in a twist with a classic pastry and tackle a showstopping Smörgåstårta, a decorative Danish sandwich cake

It was Swedish, not Danish.

It was strange that Sandro chose barbecue for both of his bakes. Janusz's newspaper presentation stand for his fish & chips sandwich cake was very clever. I guess I'm a '60s person like Prue because I thought Carole's showstopper was beautiful. I especially liked the edible flowers. Syabira's was gorgeous as well.

[caitmcg]

3 hours ago, AZChristian said:

That sent me to Google for sure:  "Apple Bottoms is a brand of jeans founded by hip-hop star Nelly in 2002. Apple Bottom jeans, as the name suggests, are generally designed for women with full hips.

Amusingly, I once got on a bus is in Manhattan in the early aughts and there was a very slender woman with no hips or butt to speak of wearing Apple Bottoms (recognizable by the red apple appliqué on the back pocket).

I had heard of and seen photos of Smörgåstårtas before, but yeah, not appetizing even before you get into the mayo of it all (personal yuck for me). Related, I recall paging through a 1960s edition of American kitchen bible The Joy of Cooking when I was young and doing a bit of a double-take at the look and concept of a less-elaborate loaf-shaped version, “iced” and decorated with black olives and the like. Similar idea, if less trompe l'oeil.

As always, I’m flummoxed by what the show, and Paul specifically, thinks is typically American.

[SnapHappy]

This was kind of a throw-away week for me.  Nobody that impressive and not a single traditional pizza.  It wasn't forbidden, was it? 

And can the Malaysian woman possibly make anything that's NOT Malay?  Yes, her culture, her heritage, her flavors, so unique, yada yada.  But Janusz isn't making everything German, Polish Maxy isn't making everything Ethiopian from whatever country her family is ethnically from, etc.  I just can't see how the flavor comparisons are fair and it pisses me off when a contestant is cheered for being so rooted in the cuisine of their home country.  

And it irritated me that Paul practically harassed Dawn for not putting Coriander or sesame seeds in her Greek inspired sandwich cake.  Dick move.  Not EVERYTHING has to be so stereotypical, Paul!

Raisin buns.  Yawn.  Seriously? 

This episode just irritated me on so many levels.  I didn't want to eat a single thing except the fried potatoes from Janusz's cake.  

Edited October 1, 2022 by SnapHappy

[AZChristian]

2 minutes ago, SnapHappy said:

This episode just irritated me on so many levels.  I didn't want to eat a single thing except the fried potatoes from Janusz's cake.  

I've been blessed to be able to go to the UK several times.  Can't get enough of fish and chips with mushy peas.  Wanted to have a BIG slice of Janusz's cake . . . and then see him smile (and maybe giggle) when he saw how much I loved it.

[J-Man]

Carole's reference was to apple CATCHERS, which apparently means "large, spacious underwear."

11 minutes ago, SnapHappy said:

But Janusz isn't making everything German. Maxy isn't making everything Ethiopian, etc.

Janusz is Polish. Did Maxy ever mention having Ethiopian heritage? I've only heard her mention she was born in Sweden.

Edited September 30, 2022 by J-Man

[Athena]

1 hour ago, J-Man said:

It was Swedish, not Danish.

Fixed. All episode descriptions are from official sources and this one was copied from the Channel 4 episode page.

[kay1864]

Chuckled at Carole and her Groo-ee-ay cheese. (Gruyère)

[dgpolo]

2 hours ago, caitmcg said:

. Related, I recall paging through a 1960s edition of American kitchen bible The Joy of Cooking when I was young and doing a bit of a double-take at the look and concept of a less-elaborate loaf-shaped version, “iced” and decorated with black olives and the like. Similar idea, if less trompe l'oeil.

I was going to say I remember my mom making a sandwich loaf covered with cream cheese when I was very young (I'm almost 69) This link leads to some google images which are similar to what I remember.

[Cetacean]

Sandwich loaves were very popular at showers when I was young. I remember my mom and aunts discussing flavors for the big events.  However, I don't recall them having more than two fillings (three layers of bread).

[phalange]

Aside from the technical, almost everything they made looked extremely unappetizing. You know it's bad when pineapple on pizza is the least objectionable thing. Figs on a pizza? Just why? The showstopper was horrifying on every level. The only thing worse than fish is fish turned into some kind of "mousse." Gag. And how does the pain au raisin even count as bread when it's clearly pastry? What even was this episode?

As soon as they said two bakers were out sick, I knew no one was going home this episode, which is completely fair. It's going to suck when they have to send two people home, though.

[SemiCharmedLife]

I thought some high points this week were:

Syabira's showstopper - just beautifully decorated and the judges appreciated the taste.

Janusz' creativity and finishing touches.  (The flavors didn't sound that appealing to me, but he was going for something very traditionally British and I don't have experience with that.)

James' marbled bread and cute pandas.

Sandro's pizza - the stuffed crust sounded yummy.

Even though her pizza was pretty basic, I would have dived into Carole's pizza.  I loved that the cheese was overflowing- just my style!

Congrats to Janusz for another turn at Star Baker.

I'm glad everyone else stayed to bake another day! 

[GaT]

As soon as they said 2 people were out sick, I knew nobody was going home.

I've never heard of those showstopper things, but they actually sounded delicious to me.

[dleighg]

11 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

And can the Malaysian woman possibly make anything that's NOT Malay?  Yes, her culture, her heritage, her flavors, so unique, yada yada.  But Janusz isn't making everything German, Polish

I agree. It's starting to irritate me, despite her stuff looking delicious and beautiful.

7 hours ago, phalange said:

Figs on a pizza? Just why?

I've had it. It's really good!

[blueray]

I called right away when they said that two of them were not there do to being sick, that nobody was going home. As that isn't fair, as they don't know how they would have done. So I was glad to be proven correct at the end.

I will say the showstoppers looked gross. It didn't matter the flavors,  I don't want meat in my cake lol. I'm sure the taste was good but definitely didn't look appetizing. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

1 hour ago, blueray said:

I called right away when they said that two of them were not there do to being sick, that nobody was going home. As that isn't fair, as they don't know how they would have done. So I was glad to be proven correct at the end.

I will say the showstoppers looked gross. It didn't matter the flavors,  I don't want meat in my cake lol. I'm sure the taste was good but definitely didn't look appetizing. 

I agree that adding meat and fish to a traditional cake sounds less than appetizing. I think the term "cake" was more to describe the look of it.  They seemed to be more of a layered sandwich with a savory "icing" of sorts.  But, there was a lot going on in some of the dishes!

[janie jones]

On 9/29/2022 at 12:58 AM, oldCJ said:

Compost Carole can’t leave soon enough. I hate people who brag that they don’t use “exotic” ingredients like that is something worth bragging about. This is the thirteenth season of GBBO, no one wants to see another lemon poppyseed cake or chocolate orange biscuit.

Why is she called Compost Carole? Also, I'm not creative enough to use a lot of unusual flavors in my baking, but if I were on a show like this, I'd definitely spend some time researching and playing around with flavors so that my bakes wouldn't always be mundane.

On 9/30/2022 at 4:58 AM, dleighg said:

Paul said that a ridiculously thick crust was more "American." Really? Obviously he's never been to New Haven. Or NYC for that matter.

I just assumed that they call thicker crust pizza "American-style pizza." Like a "Canadian bacon" or "French toast" situation.

19 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Gotcha! I did think it was curious that someone wouldn’t have this basic skill. He backtracked off it so quickly when reading the rest of the instructions I went with it, though.

I think he might have gotten flustered. I'm no big bread maker, so I don't know how typical this is, but I've made more than one bread whose dough you add melted butter to. So I think he was trying (incorrectly) to combine two basic skills.

13 hours ago, phalange said:

Aside from the technical, almost everything they made looked extremely unappetizing. You know it's bad when pineapple on pizza is the least objectionable thing. Figs on a pizza? Just why?

I don't even like figs, and I wanted to try that pizza!

Have they ever done one where a baker was home sick and they still did an elimination? Like others, I just assumed no one would be going home at the end, so I was surprised that they were surprised (or told to act surprised). I guess the producers thought it would be uninteresting if there were no stakes? I really doubt the bakers would give up and not try if they knew they weren't risking getting eliminated.

[iMonrey]

I wonder if Rebs and Abdul tested positive for Covid.

Those pizzas made me hungry. Well, some of them did anyway. So what exactly distinguishes an "American" pizza from a British one? Do they just have thinner crusts in the UK? 

Quote

Who on earth wants to eat stacked up sandwiches covered in cream cheese?

{Raises hand.} I've had similar stacked sandwiches with meats and cream cheese. Dee-lish. That said, none were decorated to look like cakes, so that's kind of weird and pretentious.

Edited October 1, 2022 by iMonrey

[Athena]

32 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

So what exactly distinguishes an "American" pizza from a British one? Do they just have thinner crusts in the UK?

Pizza in the UK is largely dominated by two types of chain restaurants: American and Italian fast casual. The American ones are Dominoes, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut. They probably have thicker crusted when compared to the fast casual Italian ones (Zizzi, Pizza Express, Strada). This a generalization and I ate the latter so I can't compare the former to their American counterparts. 

[chaifan]

On 9/30/2022 at 7:58 AM, dleighg said:

Paul said that a ridiculously thick crust was more "American." Really? Obviously he's never been to New Haven. Or NYC for that matter. The pizza that looked really good to me was the one with figs and balsamic.

I love all things fig, and I've had a fig and balsamic flatbread before and it was wonderful. 

I lived in the UK for a summer many many years ago.  One day, the family I was staying with got one of those grocery store pizzas - the kind you pop in the oven.  It was the most disgusting pizza I ever had, and not because it was from the grocery store.  The crust was more like a 1"+ loaf of bread, it had tuna flakes on it, and corn.  They all thought it was perfectly normal pizza.  ugh.

I know I'm at a table for one here, but I love pineapple on pizza.  But not with ham.  Ham doesn't belong on pizza.  It goes so much better with pepperoni.  The sweet/spicy combo is what makes it work.  Ham & pineapple is just sweet and sweet.  ick. 

Does anyone know if there were any episode missing a contestant pre-Covid?  Could a baker just call in sick?  I have to assume Rebs and ... oh, whats his name...  that their absence was Covid related - tested positive or had exposure or whatever.  It just seems to be an easy out for a challenge that you know you're not good at. 

I'm with everyone else on the episode, though.  It was weird and failed to grab my attention at any point.  The Swedish things were interesting from an assembly/decoration standpoint, but I don't know if I'd want to eat any of them.  And I have no desire to bake one of those things. 

My only explanation for the weirdness that this episode was is that whoever came up with the bakes for this episode really really really doesn't like Paul.

[dgpolo]

7 hours ago, dleighg said:

15 hours ago, phalange said:

Figs on a pizza? Just why?

I've had it. It's really good!

My problem wasn't the taste of it, it was the size. How do you bite into a slice with a quarter of a fig sitting on it? It looked like you had to remove it to eat it separately.

36 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Does anyone know if there were any episode missing a contestant pre-Covid? 

Several. British season 3 I remember John had to leave in the middle of an ep to get stitches, no one was eliminated that day. Then Terry in 2018 was gone a week and no one was eliminated. Might be another I'm not remembering.

[Rickster]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

Pizza in the UK is largely dominated by two types of chain restaurants: American and Italian fast casual. The American ones are Dominoes, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut. They probably have thicker crusted when compared to the fast casual Italian ones (Zizzi, Pizza Express, Strada). This a generalization and I ate the latter so I can't compare the former to their American counterparts. 

It’s funny, here in the US we would call a thick crust “Sicilian”, but I see the point that Domino’s and Pizza Hut’s popular pan style pizza do have a thicker crust than a typical pizza, even those in the US.

Despite the discussion focused on toppings, I thought most of the pizza crusts looked pretty mediocre. I would think they should have had puffier rims. Maybe they didn’t have enough time to proof properly.

I have had a slice of ham and pineapple pizza once, in Europe actually, and found it surprisingly OK.

Edited October 1, 2022 by Rickster

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, janie jones said:

Compost Carole...

Carole is an organic gardener. They have showed her with her veggies. She apparently makes and uses her own compost.

[jackjill89]

17 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Sandwich loaves were very popular at showers when I was young. I remember my mom and aunts discussing flavors for the big events.  However, I don't recall them having more than two fillings (three layers of bread).

Yes! I remember those. My mom made some really yummy ones. Not one contained fish or fish mousse. Blech.

Between the pizzas and the sandwich cakes, this was a stomach-turning week.

[SnapHappy]

Most of those pizzas had the "show off" toppings.  And most will go rolling/dripping/dropping off when you pick up a slice to bite in.  We saw that more than once. 

For me, there needs to be a good layer of cheese on TOP of the toppings, to melt and adhere them to the sauce & crust.  Sometimes there's enough cheese UNDER the toppings to allow them to stick, but it's usually not enough. 

If it's pretty and you can see each item clearly on the top, you might as well use a knife & fork to eat the damn thing.  That's what this challenge was more concerned with.  Luckily, they can discard the film footage with the judges chasing the ingredients that have dropped off all around their plates!

Edited October 1, 2022 by SnapHappy

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

How do you bite into a slice with a quarter of a fig sitting on it? It looked like you had to remove it to eat it separately.

I did notice that the figs seemed to be falling off the slice of pizza in this episode. I don't remember it being a problem when I had that sort of pizza, but maybe we were eating with fork and knife.

[kittykat]

I'll jump in and say it was a weird bread week.  The pizza challenge I didn't mind.  Pizza dough is one of those harder than it looks because of the high water amount so it was interesting to see everyone's different takes.

As to Paul's "looks American" comment.  There are many different interpretations of pizza here and most of them delicious.  We see you Paul 😒.

The Pain aux Raisins looked fine enough and I think it was perfect for a Technical...on Pastry week.  Although once again people forget to research a creme pat recipe.  KNOW HOW TO MAKE CREME PAT because it always pops up in a Technical and you're not getting instructions.

None of the showstoppers looked that appealing to me because so. Much. Mayo. But I liked it fine in concept.  I think the judges definitely judged the bread more than the fillings but it seem like not many of them screwed the bread up too much so it just seemed like the judges were criticizing the fillings more.

Can't see Carole holding out longer even if Prue liked her showstopper.  I think Kevin lucked out as he probably would have gone home had it not been for the absentees.  Still it was pretty obvious nobody was going home.  Congratulations to Janusz, it was pretty close between him and Syabira.  It sounded like Prue made a case for Syabira while Paul clearly preferred Janusz and...well Paul's choice won out.

Soooooo, Mexican week!  Should be interesting.  So many wonderful ideas and flavors to explore from there but Paul and Prue's interpretations of international baking culture are hit or miss.

[buttersister]

I got contact heartburn from Carole's cheesy overload. Didn't help when Paul held up a slice and revealed it as a heavy, soggy mess.

Show makes me want to bake some no-knead bread, spread it with fig jam and either gruyere or an Italian fontina. 

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, kittykat said:

Although once again people forget to research a creme pat recipe.  KNOW HOW TO MAKE CREME PAT because it always pops up in a Technical and you're not getting instructions.

It’s like when a contestant says they’ve never made something like meringues. Even the less-experienced among them should know by now that they’re going to have to make pastry creams and meringues and laminated doughs, so ought to know the processes aside from practicing for showstoppers.

[meep.meep]

Agree that this week was weird.  No real bread baking for bread week?

If they wanted them to make pizza, why not give them proper equipment?  Either pizza ovens on the counters, or a pizza stone for the regular ovens.

After the horror of Japanese week a few cycles back, I'm not enthusiastic at all about Mexican week.  Especially since two bakers will probably go home.

[blueray]

6 hours ago, Athena said:

Pizza in the UK is largely dominated by two types of chain restaurants: American and Italian fast casual. The American ones are Dominoes, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut. They probably have thicker crusted when compared to the fast casual Italian ones (Zizzi, Pizza Express, Strada). This a generalization and I ate the latter so I can't compare the former to their American counterparts. 

What about family owned? The best pizza places here are family owned places. Still "american" but some of the owners are actually Italian. 

[libgirl2]

On 9/30/2022 at 6:58 AM, dleighg said:

Paul said that a ridiculously thick crust was more "American." Really? Obviously he's never been to New Haven. Or NYC for that matter. The pizza that looked really good to me was the one with figs and balsamic. Did anyone catch what the base was? I think he said sambal, and Paul mentioned "chili." What exactly would that be? Did he just spread the sambal on the bottom?

I thought the same one looked good too. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Looking at some recipes, the "frosting" on the sandwich cakes seems to be cream cheese blended with plain greek yogurt.  So any mayonnaise overload would be in the different fillings some folks made.  It would have been nice if they had to bake two loaves of bread; one for the sandwich cake and one to try on it's own.  That would give a better chance to judge the structure and flavor.

I too thought about cookbooks I have from the 40s - 70s that show similar sandwich loaves for parties.  I think they could be made tasty.

For the sandwich cake, I would have thought of doing a take on a muffuletta.  It would have been different and very flavorful.  

It seemed like everyone was afraid to do a more typical pizza so they went very far afield.  I have had egg on a pizza in French Polynesia.  It was cooked the way Janusz did it.  I didn't mind it.  Baked beans on a pizza was gag inducing to me.  Multiple bakers had beans on their pizzas. Yuck.  Otherwise I can see treating it as more of a flatbread and experimenting but it still needs to taste good.