S06.E05: Alternative Ingredients

[biakbiak]

For a hot minute blooming basil seeds were being touted as a weight loss solution.

[Clanstarling]

9 hours ago, stillshimpy said:

PBS has made the decidedly evil decision to burn these episode off late on a Friday night.  Well, ten p.m. is probably not late by the standards of Friday night, but it is for the PBS crowd in general.  We get up at 5:30 a.m. with our dogs on a regular weekday, PBS, by 10:30 p.m. we're often eyeing up pillows instead of pitas.

I was all ready to say "hey, don't stereotype us" and then realized that I get up at 5 am and get to bed well before 10:30.  Just because I DVR the show, doesn't mean I don't fit the stereotype. LOL.

My daughter and I laughed long and hard over Paul's decoration. From the boobs to the other bits, it was just hilarious watching him make it.

[justmehere]

On 7/23/2016 at 0:03 AM, Bretley said:

How did Flora's absolutely gorgeous cake from the signature not get more love? It's in the show credits, for fuck's sake. Paul and Mary did comment that it looked quite good, but I was looking for a stronger reaction, I guess. I thought it was stunning.

It was beautiful. The problem was the cake itself. Mary called it "dodgy" -- not baked well, too wet. Paul criticized the use of apples. They did praise the appearance, but the substance wasn't there.

I'm so glad that Nadiya won star baker and finally did well in the technical. Loved her comment about things being better with a "Sue" hanging over her. She really is very inventive, and I hope she stays all the way through, even if she doesn't win. (Though it would be great if she did.)

I really want Tamal to get his chance at the top spot too. He's done well pretty consistently (almost no one did well with the pitas) but hasn't quite gotten there. Hopefully soon.

I'm sorry that Ugne's experiments didn't work out. I loved her cheery smile and positive outlook.

[dleighg]

16 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

And who the hell would want to go to the agony of making their own pita bread (except you, stillshimpy)?  Geez, that looks like WAY more trouble than it's worth.

I recently made pita bread and it was really good and really easy. I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/232719/chef-johns-pita-bread/

[stillshimpy]

I was all ready to say "hey, don't stereotype us" and then realized that I get up at 5 am and get to bed well before 10:30.  Just because I DVR the show, doesn't mean I don't fit the stereotype. LOL.

 

Sorry, clanstarling!  Didn't mean to impugn your coolness while copping to the fact that my husband and I have very little remaining coolness.  We recently moved to CA and while at the bank, in a suburb north of Los Angeles, the bank clerk who was helping us open all our accounts outlined her plans to move closer to L.A. because "not a lot of nightlife or much happening here", we both managed to squash our natural "Yeah, that's why we like it"  until we made it all the way to the car where we talked enthusiastically about light traffic.  

[Clanstarling]

@stillshimpy - there is no coolness to impugn. Never was. Even as a young fart I got up and went to bed early. I liked to beat the traffic (SF Bay Area at the time). Now I like to hit the grocery stores before anyone's there.

[meep.meep]

On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2016 at 11:52 PM, Zuleikha said:

I just can't get my head around the idea that someone would question peanut butter and grape jelly as a combination. I've had gourmet peanut butter and grape jelly chocolate bars, and they're amazing, so I don't accept the chocolate as a confounding factor. I agree that no one should judge American baking if they don't understand the brilliance of peanut butter and jelly. 

Paul doesn't like peanut butter.  I don't think they were questioning the combination of peanut butter and grape jelly so much as they thought putting the jelly into the ice cream was a bad idea.  And it turned out that it was a bad idea because the ice cream didn't set up.  If you have to roll something around it, an ice cream that fails to set up is a bad idea.  Remember that Alvin's ice cream was so hard that he was able to flake off long even sections of it.

If Ugne had made peanut butter ice cream, slathered the jelly on the face of the cake, and wrapped it up, she might have stayed.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Mary's Delighted By Alternative Ingredients And At Least One Unexpected Creation On The Great British Bake Off

And if you've got a hankering for coconut ice cream and soft cheeses, then you'll giggle, too!

[theatremouse]

On 7/23/2016 at 0:28 PM, Winter Rose said:

I'd just hope then that Paul's judging was based on a flavor combo that just didn't work vs. personal preference. It isn't always the case that when something tastes bad, it's because it wasn't made right. And I figure at some point every judge on any cooking show will have to taste things they know they don't like but still judge it fairly. I know that can be tough at times but I guess that's why they have more than one judge.

I don't doubt he judged fairly and without concern for his personal preference. I want to say I remember him saying something to the effect of he was worried about the flavor but he actually really enjoyed it? It was the technique that failed her there since I thought they said both the cake wasn't right, and the thing looked a mess, and the jelly inside the ice cream screwed it up and...just...not well executed. 

(My earlier comments about Paul and peanut butter were more about his unhappy looking facial expression when she originally told him her plan. He was not poker faced in the moment, but I don't think it biased him. Sort of like how I know someone who hates bananas and even if I just mention eating one, not eating one in that person's presence, they make a face.)

[Spunkygal]

Although putting the jelly inside the ice cream is what doomed Ugne since it never really set, I wonder if it would have been a bit more successful if she had copied Flora and made more of a buche that was put in the freezer to set. Surely having it in a pan like that would have contained the structure better. But yes, she should have put the jelly on the cake, not in the ice cream.

[Lamb18]

On ‎12‎/‎5‎/‎2015 at 10:11 PM, LittleIggy said:

I didn't know what "pittuh" was until they cut to Paul and Mary talking about it. Oh, you mean pita (peeta) bread! ;-)

I still love me some Paul Hollywood!

When whoever (Susan?) first introduced the challenge, I thought they said "pisser" and I was wondering what baked good that was!

[proserpina65]

On ‎07‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 3:55 PM, meep.meep said:

I have made pita.  It is very easy - if you can use flour.  It's so cool when they puff up in the oven making the pockets.

It was the ingredients they couldn't use that made these challenges so difficult.

I will admit to laughing out loud at the shot of Paul's bikini clad, and yet penis-equipped sun bather.

I do some Moroccan/Middle Eastern cooking, and have wanted to try making pitas but have been too intimidated by the recipes I've found.  Plus, I've had very bad luck with bread baking.  Is it easier than bread?

[DHDancer]

4 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I do some Moroccan/Middle Eastern cooking, and have wanted to try making pitas but have been too intimidated by the recipes I've found.  Plus, I've had very bad luck with bread baking.  Is it easier than bread?

It's super simple:  remember pita, like roti, tortillas etc, are everyday "peasant" foods.  The rolling out is time consuming but the recipe and ingredients are very basic.  The secret with pita is a very hot oven preferably with a baking stone in it.

[Nutjob]

2 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

When whoever (Susan?) first introduced the challenge, I thought they said "pisser" and I was wondering what baked good that was!

I thought the same thing! Glad I wasn't the only one--it took me a few minutes to get from "pisser" to "pitta" to PITA. Heh.

[meep.meep]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I do some Moroccan/Middle Eastern cooking, and have wanted to try making pitas but have been too intimidated by the recipes I've found.  Plus, I've had very bad luck with bread baking.  Is it easier than bread?

I followed a recipe in the booklet that came with my bread maker, then baked in the oven.  I made whole wheat ones.

[stillshimpy]

Try Dedemed, proserpina, recipe and video included on her site.  I use half white whole wheat flour, half all purpose.  You can grill or bake them and they're delicious.  Easier than bread :-)  She's actually got a ton of recipes and videos.  She's cute and funny too, so that's fun also :-)  Here's her site.  

[Rick Kitchen]

OMG, Mat's carrot cake sounded delicious.

I've never heard of polenta cake.  Is that a British thing?

It's kind of cheating to put truffles on your cake.  They're sweetened with sugar, aren't they?

Ugne's purple cake really looked ugly.

Alvin could have done something with his pineapple upside down cake.  Nuts?  Two layers?  Something.

Paul's cake looked gorgeous.

What the hell is a pitta?  Oh, maybe pita?

Oh, come on, Paul.  You don't think peanut butter and grape jelly is a good flavor combination?  Please! Brits are weird with their peanut butter prejudice.

I love how they help each other.

Hooray to Nadiya.  I love her.

I was sad Ugne had to leave, but I was relieved that it wasn't Flora.

[Eliza422]

10 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

 

It's kind of cheating to put truffles on your cake.  They're sweetened with sugar, aren't they?

 

I think the truffles she was talking about were the fungus, not chocolate truffles...so IMO, yuck....I don't like truffles at all. 

[Kohola3]

Didn't she get torpedoed by using truffle oil in another episode?  She must really like those things.  Somehow the word "truffles" and the word "baking" just don't seem to go together.

[DHDancer]

I think the truffles were chocolate cake type truffles, not fungus and not the chocolate truffles as we know them in the US  -- noone would pay the $s to put that many fungus "balls" on a cake.  No doubt she sweetened the truffles with an alternative sweetener

[Kohola3]

Whose bright idea was it to name a nasty fungus and a delicious candy concoction the same thing?

[Rinaldo]

51 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Whose bright idea was it to name a nasty fungus and a delicious candy concoction the same thing?

The people who invented the latter. They thought it looked like the former.

[biakbiak]

Quote

I've never heard of polenta cake.  Is that a British thing?

Italian though they do make it in Britain and the US it was fairly trendy at upscale restaurants in the US a few years ago.

Edited July 28, 2016 by biakbiak

[meep.meep]

Frequently also called an olive oil cake.

[Rick Kitchen]

52 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Frequently also called an olive oil cake.

Ah, that I have heard of.  Thanks.

[Clanstarling]

My first introduction to polenta was my Austrian uncle using it as fish bait. So, it took me a very long time to even consider it as something consumable, much less tasty.

[Rinaldo]

I had been thinking that it might be like the sweeter varieties of corn bread, which is itself a specifically American item, not much encountered abroad. Or the traditional item Indian pudding, which I always look out for on restaurant dessert menus and rarely find.

[Rick Kitchen]

Gordon Ramsay gives you serious marks down if you use truffle oil.  He loathes it.

[DHDancer]

Polenta simply means cornmeal.  We're not talking about savoury polenta, or grits or anything like that, it's simply using corn meal as an ingredient.  Look up olive oil cake --- it's quite common and quite delicious.  

[dleighg]

Truffle oil nearly always has no connection to real truffles. It is a manufactured thing. Sometimes they put a few slivers of truffle in there to make it more "authentic." 

[EyewatchTV211]

On 7/23/2016 at 1:41 PM, Kohola3 said:

I found Paul helping Alvin just delightful.  You'd never see that on an American show.  Contestants on this side of the pond cheer the misfortunes of other most of the time.  The camaraderie is just so refreshing. 

Late on the discussion because I was visiting family when the shows aired and forgot to record.

Never is a strong word. The American show Face Off is notorious for contestants helping each other and being friendly every season. Interestingly, while Project Runway is full of catty, dramatic people who also don't want to make friends, people on there have also helped others at times. While I got sick of the show, So You Think You Can Dance always had supportive contestants who were very friendly with each other and had nice camaraderie. Now that I'm thinking about it and writing about all these different shows, it actually seems like most of the talent-related reality shows are pretty friendly EXCEPT cooking/baking-related ones. I wonder why. I think the singing competitions are generally friendly as well. 

For those fellow lactose intolerant people, since we can take the easy way out (versus using difficult ingredients for a baking competition), I highly recommend Lactaid brand ice cream. There aren't a ton of flavors, but it's the only brand I've enjoyed. They benefit from still using milk but with the enzyme added in, so it tastes like regular ice cream. I guess the other milk substitutes don't do it for me.

[Enigma X]

My PBS station decided to skip this episode, and I am not sure why. Did this happen to anyone else?

[dubbel zout]

This was my least favorite ep so far. The idea was pretty lackluster, especially because it was so limited—one ingredient is the alternative. I also didn't think the recipes were that inspired, though some of the decorations on the ice cream rolls were great.

The whole thing felt like a sop to modern dietary practices instead of a genuine way to bake.

Edited August 1, 2016 by dubbel zout

[Mabinogia]

This episode might be my favorite ever soley for the amazingly hilarious "gusset" exchange between Mel and Paul. I watched it again last night was was rolling on the floor. It starts off sort of serious and then they both just start cracking up.

I do wish I had understood Udne's reasoning behind putting the jelly inside the ice cream rather than the regular way. Was it just an attempt to be different or did she have some logic behind it that just failed her. I think it was Tamal's looked like it should have been a pineapple, the one with the criss cross pattern. I kept wanting him to put some kind of green fondant leaves or something at the top end.

[rereader2]

15 hours ago, Enigma X said:

My PBS station decided to skip this episode, and I am not sure why. Did this happen to anyone else?

I don't know whether it aired Friday night or not here, I watch it Sunday afternoon. It's a very perfect show for a Sunday afternoon!

[dubbel zout]

21 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

This episode might be my favorite ever soley for the amazingly hilarious "gusset" exchange between Mel and Paul. I watched it again last night was was rolling on the floor. It starts off sort of serious and then they both just start cracking up.

That was definitely the best part.

[candall]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2016 at 8:10 PM, Enigma X said:

My PBS station decided to skip this episode, and I am not sure why. Did this happen to anyone else?

My PBS station skipped the "Bread" episode, so you're way ahead, IMO.  I've seen photos of that very cool lion head and it looked like much more fun than dozens of unappealing grey pita pockets.

 

I didn't really see the point of Ugne substituting the flour in the sugar-substitute challenge.  I mean, if non-wheat flour baked goods were generally considered to be tastier, there'd be a great deal more of them on offer.  (I've stopped eating wheat and it's a PITA.  Heh, small joke.)

 

Off to research olive oil cake; it sounds gloriously decadent and the one on the show looked delicious.

[DHDancer]

Way after the comments above but I came across an interesting 'reason' re the way people were saying pita in this episode.  I have several Australian "Women's Weekly" recipe books and I was just reading one today; lo and behold I came across "pitta" bread!  So if the UK spell it the same way (I can't remember -- I left the country long before pitas were commonplace) that would clearly explain why they said "pitta" and not "peeta".  So simple really :)

[SassyCat]

Love the show. Love Mary, love Paul, and of course Mel and Sue. I could watch this everyday. I am so happy Nadiya won this episode. I think her personality is so wonderful and really enjoy her humorous input. She is so genuine.

Paul the judge, I notice you have a bit of a mean streak in you, huh? I couldn't believe he was going to cut Paul's beach bathing beauty in half like that. It was unnecessary to do, to taste the cake. That artwork could have been a preserved souvenir , one of a kind, to Paul the warden. No need to destroy it for no reason. He also gets a bit snippy with the ones in the lead sometimes , making sure they don't get too too full of themselves. I noticed that with Marie, and this week with Ian. He wants them all to know their place, and that it's not up there, with him. Be nice Paul. Don't kill candy ladies just because you can. I hope governor Paul was able to salvage her.

Otherwise, LOVE YOU PAUL!

[kirklandia]

In my world there is only one pitta, and it is an extremely adorable type of bird. 

The full name is Antpitta.  I would not care for an ant pita.?