S13.E03: Bread Week

[Ms.Lulu]

On 9/30/2022 at 10:01 AM, 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?

On the Baking Bad podcast (Harry and Ross) they talked about Carole's apple catcher pants and it means big granny panties. So big baggy panties that you can catch apples with. They are the opposite of the dental floss panties that some wear now.

I thought it was for comfort as she battled in bread week, ha!

Edited October 2, 2022 by Ms.Lulu

[janie jones]

I had pizza for lunch today. It was good, but I wished I'd had that extra cheesy pizza that Paul was complaining about it. I thought that looked delicious.

[marinite]

Well, that was…a show. I must say that this was the most disappointing Bread Week in the 11 seasons that I’ve watched (still praying that Netflix gets 1 and 2 someday).

Surely they can’t be running out of breads to make? Pardon the pun but bread-making was totally on the back burner in this episode.

I will admit that some of the flavors intrigued me, but that Showstopper idea was more about the fillings than the bread. 

[Rickster]

3 hours ago, meep.meep said:

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.

I saw a couple of pizza stones being used. I might have seen a pizza steel, or maybe it was just a pan underneath, a bit hard to tell. Maybe it was personal choice to bring one?

They definitely could have used hotter ovens.

[MisterGlass]

That showstopper was a mix of odd and interesting.  In a way the layers and fillings reminded me of hot water crust meat pies.  Now that I've read the mentions upthread about party sandwiches in old cookbooks, I do vaguely remember that from one of my mother's books.  The savory 'frostings' were a surprise to me. 

The pizzas were okay.  The only thing that disturbed me was the idea of mushrooms and pineapple sharing a pizza.  I noticed they were allowed to bring a starter to improve the dough outside of the time constraints.

I despise raisins, so I was never going to be in favor of the technical.

[dgpolo]

1 hour ago, marinite said:

Well, that was…a show. I must say that this was the most disappointing Bread Week in the 11 seasons that I’ve watched (still praying that Netflix gets 1 and 2 someday).

They are on the Roku Channel.

[kirklandia]

I didn't mind the Showstopper.  The "cakes" were gussied-up versions of those open faced sandwiches they have everywhere in Sweden. There can be some variety in the bread, the toppings were usually a creamy spread, maybe fish, eggs, avocado, mayo, cucumbers. 
Rather bland in flavor, but made into a "cake" they could be really pretty.

[HurricaneVal]

As many have said....this was a bit of a disappointing bread week.  It was much more of a bread accessory week.

My hope is that a subsequent week will be "sourdough week" or some such thing where we will get those beautifully shaped crusty bread showstoppers, the perfect classic dinner roll, and perhaps pancakes for the technical.  Or something "bready" for a non bread week.

[ABay]

There really is no American pizza because it differs by region.I live in New Haven CT and the best thing about New England other than gorgeous fall foliage is that thin crust pizza is the default. A sizable proportion of the CT population is Italian American, mostly from the Naples area. Only chain restaurants have thick crust. I've lived in the midwest and Great Lakes area and always had to special request thin crust and often couldn't get it.

I thought Sicilian referred to the way the crust was cut, not the thickness of the dough?

I love pineapple on pizza, no ham or other meat, just the crust, sauce, cheese, and pineapple. I will die on this hill.

The thought of deep dish/Chicago style pizza makes me gag. To quote...can't remember...that's a casserole, not a pizza.

Edited October 2, 2022 by ABay

[Athena]

19 hours ago, blueray said:

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

Of course. The discussion is why Brits would consider American pizza thicker and a lot of that could be influenced by American chains. Actual Italian or Brit-Italian owned pizza places in the UK do tend to have thinner doughs. In the US too, there are many regional differences and nothing uniform but for better or for worse, American fast food chains do play a role in how American food is perceived globally. 

[Deskisamess]

My how far the show has fallen. From Season 3, the bread lion that contestant Paul made, to a cucumber fisherman atop wilted asparagus and mini ears of corn. Gah.

The entire episode was terrible. What happened to actually baking bread? The raisin rolls looked ok, but how are they classified as bread?

Just so disappointing.

[iMonrey]

Quote

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.

I wonder how much influence Paul or Prue even have over the bakes though. I think they might be consulted but ultimately it seems like the producers want things that look elaborate and are visually impressive with strong potential for colossal failures. The bakes are just getting weirder and weirder, they have completely moved away from simple, obvious things that they used to make in the early seasons. The show probably thinks they are keeping it "fresh" by coming up with all these strange creations but it just isn't the same show anymore. 

[jpgr]

2 hours ago, ABay said:

I love pineapple on pizza, no ham or other meat, just the crust, sauce, cheese, and pineapple. I will die on this hill.

The thought of deep dish/Chicago style pizza makes me gag. To quote...can't remember...that's a casserole, not a pizza.

I'm with you on pineapple, but grew up in Chicago and adore deep dish and/or stuffed pizza. Thin crust isn't bad, but not my favorite.

[SemiCharmedLife]

2 hours ago, Deskisamess said:

My how far the show has fallen. From Season 3, the bread lion that contestant Paul made, to a cucumber fisherman atop wilted asparagus and mini ears of corn. Gah.

The entire episode was terrible. What happened to actually baking bread? The raisin rolls looked ok, but how are they classified as bread?

Just so disappointing.

I agree, especially since we see the same laminated dough technique every year in PASTRY week.  I don't think we would be so disappointed in bread week if at least one of the challenges had bread as the main focal point.  

I'm also of the opinion that it is perfectly okay to repeat challenges from time to time.  It won't get stale (pun intended 😉) if we occasionally see a challenge from a previous season.  In fact, I would be interested to see how the baking has evolved (or not).  They could also do a previous challenge, with a little twist on it, if they wanted to keep it fresh.

Edited October 2, 2022 by SemiCharmedLife
added another pun 😉

[Rickster]

3 hours ago, ABay said:

I thought Sicilian referred to the way the crust was cut, not the thickness of the dough?

Sicilian pies, at least in the NY area, are baked in square or rectangular pans and cut in squares. But the crust is definitely thicker than any round pies. I had one a few weeks ago and the crust was at least 1/2 inch thick, maybe an inch. 

[Aulty]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I wonder how much influence Paul or Prue even have over the bakes though. I think they might be consulted but ultimately it seems like the producers want things that look elaborate and are visually impressive with strong potential for colossal failures.

I'd say it also has a good deal to do with supermarkets being the head sponsor of the show now (it used to be Aldi, now it's Sainsbury's). They want to sell decorating stuff that surely has a better margin than flour and cream. That, in my opinion, is how we end up with cake houses and biscuit masks. From a retailer's view, even pizza seems a good earner.
Sure enough, Sainsbury has a Bake Off themed section on their website.

That they still never had a proper sourdough challenge in bread week is a criminal oversight imho.

Edited October 2, 2022 by Aulty

[MisterGlass]

It occurs to me that no one actually made dessert pizza.  That seems like a missed opportunity.  Talk about an acceptable time to put pineapple on pizza.

5 hours ago, ABay said:

The thought of deep dish/Chicago style pizza makes me gag.  To quote...can't remember...that's a casserole, not a pizza.

Jon Stewart, though he is a New Yorker.

A lot of the time square pan pizza is Detroit style.

Edited October 2, 2022 by MisterGlass
Spelling

[MerBearHou]

Just seeing this episode and two things:  1. I did not miss Rebs and her very distracting oversized, falling off shirt and 2. the ShowStopper bakes were 100% disgusting to me.  Some were at least sort of attractive, but the flavors were some I would never, ever, ever want to eat.

[janie jones]

7 hours ago, Aulty said:

That they still never had a proper sourdough challenge in bread week is a criminal oversight imho.

I wonder how they'd implement a sourdough challenge. Tell everyone in advance that they need to get a starter going if they don't already have one? Give them all a starter? When Syabira almost used up all her starter, I hoped it wasn't all of what she had had at home. I'd be bummed if I used up all of my starter at once and had to start over!

[Cetacean]

34 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I'd be bummed if I used up all of my starter at once and had to start over!

You only need three ounces to restart growing starter.  I've done it with less.

[kittykat]

I’ve had an active starter for two and a half years and would love to see a sourdough challenge.  They could always tell them to get one before the competition starts since they know the challenges beforehand.  I smiled when Syabira made her crust using starter because I make pizza dough using sourdough discard all the time.

[Athena]

I would like a sourdough challenge too. In addition, to them all being provided with a starter or bringing their own, they would need to allocate for more time for proofing so it'll be an overnight challenge. They could do something simple like rolls or add yeast and even then, sourdough takes more than the usual 2-3 hours this show gives. Part of the flavour of sourdough is the longer proofing.

[MartyQui]

On 10/1/2022 at 10:35 PM, Rickster said:

I saw a couple of pizza stones being used. I might have seen a pizza steel, or maybe it was just a pan underneath, a bit hard to tell. Maybe it was personal choice to bring one?

They definitely could have used hotter ovens

I have a pizza cookbook that has you alternate between the oven heat and the broiler when you put the pizza in the oven...it helps make sure that the top of the crust gets really cooked (which is important to me, I like it a little burnt like Prue described).

[AnnMarie17]

Bread week is always my favorite; I grabbed a blanket and a cup of tea and curled up on the couch ready to be entertained.  What a huge letdown.  This was the worst "bread" week they've ever had, IMO.  The pizzas were ALL soggy and disgusting; I cringed every time Paul or Pru picked up a piece.  The PASTRY technical challenge was....ummmm....not bread.  And the showstoppers were the most disgusting thing I've seen made on this show.  And, yes, the showstopper at least contained bread (unlike the technical), but the bread wasn't the focus of their judging, they focused on the filling!

I demand a do-over.  What a crock.

BTW, I wouldn't be at all upset if they repeated challenges from before.  This show has been on for YEARS, I understand the ideas have been used up.  I'd rather see new bakers attempt a previously used challenge than this week's shitshow.  

[marinite]

On 10/1/2022 at 8:35 PM, dgpolo said:

They are on the Roku Channel.

Oh, thank you. Another thing I would need to buy though! Many years ago, I saw some eps on YouTube, but they were taken down before I can get through everything. I think there also might have been some stuff on Dailymotion.

[janie jones]

15 hours ago, Cetacean said:

You only need three ounces to restart growing starter.  I've done it with less.

Yeah, but I was talking about using it up, which means she wouldn't have had three ounces.

4 hours ago, Athena said:

I would like a sourdough challenge too. In addition, to them all being provided with a starter or bringing their own, they would need to allocate for more time for proofing so it'll be an overnight challenge. They could do something simple like rolls or add yeast and even then, sourdough takes more than the usual 2-3 hours this show gives. Part of the flavour of sourdough is the longer proofing.

They did an overnight challenge once that I remember. Does anyone recall what the reason was for that?

[Ilovepie]

I agree with everyone calling this the worst week - I have never watched this show and seen so many unappetizing things in my life! Those sandwich cakes are the stuff of my nightmares - I hate eggs, mayo, and seafood. The only one I would have tried was Sandro's BBQ theme one. And the bread is not the star of those monstrosities - it's just the thing to make the layers for fillings. Please show, never again.....

I didn't mind the pizza challenge since crust is an important part of the whole thing, but again, it is just one component, not the star.

I always enjoy episodes that involve lamination in the dough. I feel like getting that right is such a skill and it's so soothing to watch them rolling and folding the dough multiple times ;-p

[illdoc]

42 minutes ago, janie jones said:

They did an overnight challenge once that I remember. Does anyone recall what the reason was for that?

It was for .... maybe Charlotte Royale? The idea is that whatever it was needed to set and the next day they got 1/2 hour to glaze it (finishing it off). I also think there was a challenge (showstopper) that they could start the day before, so whatever it was could set overnight, but it depended on what sort of dough (?) you were using, so some people didn't need that half-hour the day before (because their item wouldn't need to refrigerate overnight).

[tljgator]

1 hour ago, marinite said:

Another thing I would need to buy though!

It's actually free, marinite. 🙂

[Cetacean]

9 minutes ago, illdoc said:

It was for .... maybe Charlotte Royale? The idea is that whatever it was needed to set and the next day they got 1/2 hour to glaze it (finishing it off). 

I believe you are correct.

They have also done technical challenge where they had staggered starts. That was for a souffle.

[dgpolo]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

They have also done technical challenge where they had staggered starts. That was for a souffle.

And a self-sauced pudding.

[ninjakid]

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

It was for .... maybe Charlotte Royale? The idea is that whatever it was needed to set and the next day they got 1/2 hour to glaze it (finishing it off). I also think there was a challenge (showstopper) that they could start the day before, so whatever it was could set overnight, but it depended on what sort of dough (?) you were using, so some people didn't need that half-hour the day before (because their item wouldn't need to refrigerate overnight).

They also did an overnight one in series three, the sweet dough episode. 

[caitmcg]

18 minutes ago, ninjakid said:

They also did an overnight one in series three, the sweet dough episode. 

They had to do an enriched/brioche-based showstopper, and since such doughs need a longer rise, they made their dough on Day 1 after the technical and came back to it on Day 2, as I recall.

[Whimsy]

On 10/2/2022 at 10:26 AM, ABay said:

There really is no American pizza because it differs by region.I live in New Haven CT and the best thing about New England other than gorgeous fall foliage is that thin crust pizza is the default. A sizable proportion of the CT population is Italian American, mostly from the Naples area. Only chain restaurants have thick crust. I've lived in the midwest and Great Lakes area and always had to special request thin crust and often couldn't get it.

I thought Sicilian referred to the way the crust was cut, not the thickness of the dough?

I love pineapple on pizza, no ham or other meat, just the crust, sauce, cheese, and pineapple. I will die on this hill.

The thought of deep dish/Chicago style pizza makes me gag. To quote...can't remember...that's a casserole, not a pizza.

I’m also from New England and I LOVE our thin crust pizza. I grew up in Minnesota and the pizza there (30+ years ago) was all the thick crust stuff. I like the thin crust MUCH better.  I also love pineapple and ham pizza (ie, Hawaiian pizza). 

[jcbrown]

On 10/2/2022 at 7:26 AM, ABay said:

There really is no American pizza because it differs by region.

I love pineapple on pizza, no ham or other meat, just the crust, sauce, cheese, and pineapple. I will die on this hill.

Agreed on the differing regional styles. 

I will join you on your pineapple hill, though I will add red onions to my half.

Agreed with everyone that this bread week suffered from a lack of bread.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Whimsy said:

I’m also from New England and I LOVE our thin crust pizza. I grew up in Minnesota and the pizza there (30+ years ago) was all the thick crust stuff. I like the thin crust MUCH better.  I also love pineapple and ham pizza (ie, Hawaiian pizza). 

I grew up in Wisconsin with a similar pizza culture and that was true of the chain pizzas but the bar/bar cut pizzas (cut into sqaures) were cracker thin crust. 

My issue with the "American style" pizza mention in this episode is that a thicker crust American pizza (Chicago Deep Dish, Detroit style) is a deliberate thicker crust.  It's not just a NY style or a hand tossed pizza that just isn't rolled out enough.  The pizza in this episode looked like it was meant to be thinner but she just didn't roll it flat enough.  That's a different eating experience and doesn't make it "American."

[Cetacean]

4 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

That's a different eating experience and doesn't make it "American."

Seems like if he doesn't like it or it's not what he expected, Paul proclaims it "American".  

[AnnMarie17]

20 hours ago, tljgator said:

It's actually free, marinite. 🙂

OH. MY. GOODNESS.  Thank you so much!

[kittykat]

Count me in on the it's time to repeat challenges.  The Amazing Race does it I don't see why GBBO can't.  They can even reference the past one like "don't make a lion or you will get the inevitable comparison."

The brioche one would also be a good challenge redo since it does need an overnight proof.

It's getting a little old that after all these that Paul still disparages American style baking. I swear we need to spam his page with recommendations of mom and pop bakeries around the country to disprove his point because I feel like he's only going off of corporate brands that cram every element with sugar.  Plus, show him that being a big country that there are regional differences as well.  At least he's made a 180 on peanut butter in the last few seasons.

[P2C2E]

This was the least bread I've ever seen in Bread Week. I hated it. I want to see BREAD. I want technique and explainers. I want Paul to critique and tell me why bread ends up the way it does. I want bread lions and cornucopias. 

I used to feel watching this show that the contestants were bakers. They sounded knowledgeable and experts. When they did technicals you could tell they were drawing on experience. Now the contestants feel like they're hobby bakers. Or they bake like me, which is to pick a recipe, make it once, and hope it turns out. It's like they've made things once but they don't actually KNOW how to bake. Even the better bakers of this season feel unqualified for the early seasons.

I love this show. I hate that it leaves me so unsatisfied now. I want to want to bake. And now, I'm meh.

[cynicat]

On 10/1/2022 at 11:35 PM, dgpolo said:

They are on the Roku Channel.

@dgpolo, if you were the person who originally shared this fact, I posted a thank-you in the Tents, etc thread.  I'll post it here too. 

Those were a joy to watch!

[BusyOctober]

Very odd and disappointing Bread Week.  Pizza was an ok challenge.  I think the only one I truly think I’d eat was the fig and balsamic pizza.  I make one with prosciutto, fig jam, arugula, a light sprinkle of mozzarella and balsamic glaze.   The rest looked a mess and/or sounded gross.  The technical was less bread and more patisserie, no?  Aside from the raisins, I would of eaten those.  The showstopper was a big fat no.  And please don’t do that again.  

There are a few talented bakers, but not a super impressive lot this series IMO.  

[Dewey Decimate]

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. 

When they were holding up that particular slice of pizza (for some reason I thought it was Prue, but makes sense that Paul would take the opportunity to disparage America), and said "this looks more like..." I said out loud to the t.v. "looks more like foccacia". Color me befuddled when they said "...American pizza" instead! Another Nutmegger here (CT) who would be shocked to find a thick-crust pizza unless it's specifically labeled that way. I would have assumed default American pizza is a relatively thin crust.

That said, I totally would have enjoyed a slab of pink-haired lady's cheese-overflow pie. (Apologies, that sound disgusting.) And Matt, you are sent straight from the devil if you hate cheese. IT'S NOT NATURAL!

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, Dewey Decimate said:

And Matt, you are sent straight from the devil if you hate cheese. IT'S NOT NATURAL!

I'm old enough to remember Bryant Gumble on The Today Show, and whenever they had a food segment, everyone was reminded that he didn't eat cheese.

So in summary, you may be right about that devil thing, lol.

[AZChristian]

11 hours ago, Dewey Decimate said:

That said, I totally would have enjoyed a slab of pink-haired lady's cheese-overflow pie. (Apologies, that sound disgusting.) And Matt, you are sent straight from the devil if you hate cheese. IT'S NOT NATURAL!

Matt should have been a little more explanatory.  According to something I found online, he once said on a talk show:  "I really, really, really don't like it. I have an intolerance to it – it makes me sick. I don't like the taste or the smell. I can't eat it – it makes me feel very ill."

I don't hate the things to which I have an intolerance; I hate the result of eating them.  That might have been a better way for Matt to phrase his dislike of cheese.

[P2C2E]

Something about the exchange made me think that it was an allergy. Like she was apologizing because she knew Matt couldn't eat it, vs wouldn't eat it. So good to know I was right. I'm allergic to FD&C #40 and have a visceral reaction to unnaturally colored food so I get it. 🤣

[SuprSuprElevated]

Yeah, he's allowed to hate cheese for certain, I'm not mad at him.  I just can't relate.  On any level. 😄

[gaPeach]

Add me to list of someone that did not like the sandwich cakes.  What was all the white "frosting" and "filler"?  Mayo, cream cheese or sour cream.  That is what my nightmares are made of.  UGH.

Not the best episode of this great series.  Maybe because they knew going in no one was going home they thought to try something really different.  It just really sucked.

And the pizzas did not look good.  The only one I really liked was the over cheesed one.  Now that is a good pizza!

[illdoc]

11 minutes ago, gaPeach said:

Maybe because they knew going in no one was going home they thought to try something really different.

The challenges are set weeks (months?) before the show even begins filming. There was no way the show would know in advance that 2 contestants would be sick this week (so that no one would be sent home). To the best of their knowledge, someone was going home this week. 

[gaPeach]

18 hours ago, illdoc said:

The challenges are set weeks (months?) before the show even begins filming. There was no way the show would know in advance that 2 contestants would be sick this week (so that no one would be sent home). To the best of their knowledge, someone was going home this week. 

Ok in that case, whoever set up bread week needs to be fired.  It was pretty awful.