S07.E02: Biscuit Week

[Athena]

Quote

It is week two of The Great British Bake Off, and it is crunch time as Paul and Mary set the bakers three biscuit challenges.

The bakers start with a signature challenge, but who will snap first with just a few hours to make 24 identical decorated biscuits?

Hidden under the gingham cloth is a technical challenge that requires perfect piping to avoid a crumbling whirl.

Sue Perkins drops in for tea and history as she discovers the etiquette of dunking biscuits, from Victorian high society right back to Greek survival biscuits.

The final showstopper challenge requires precision baking to build a biscuit structure that reveals a little more about each of the bakers.

 

[halopub]

I didn't fall in love with any of the gingerbread creations but at least there were some interesting flavor combinations in the signature bake. I happen to enjoy earl grey shortbread so the bergamot and lavender combo sounded good to me. Mixing scotch bonnets and lime certainly isn't boring. I wasn't as sure, though, about Tom's chai frappelatteccino biscuits. I think the mix of cloves and coffee threw me a bit.

I noticed that Mary had no comments about store-bought icing. Are we to assume they were all made onsite?

[Occasional Hope]

There were some very ambitious gingerbread houses, some of which amazingly didn't fall apart (metaphorically or literally - poor Louise and Val).  The Viennese whirls didn't look too hard to make, though; but I do think having to make their own jam is a step too far (for any bake0.  Does anyone do that IRL?

[feverfew]

1 hour ago, Occasional Hope said:

There were some very ambitious gingerbread houses, some of which amazingly didn't fall apart (metaphorically or literally - poor Louise and Val).  The Viennese whirls didn't look too hard to make, though; but I do think having to make their own jam is a step too far (for any bake0.  Does anyone do that IRL?

I do; I'm better at jams/chutneys/schnaps (hee) than baked goods actually. And I like using stuff I've made in my bakes (I've just made some sea buckthorn marmelade, which is sort of spicy-orangy and goes very well with savoury and cheese). The sort of jam they make in GBBO is the easiest kind (probably pound-to-pound sugar and fruit, a wee bit of water and/or citrus juice and voilá! Jam.)

[Margo Leadbetter]

2 hours ago, Occasional Hope said:

There were some very ambitious gingerbread houses, some of which amazingly didn't fall apart (metaphorically or literally - poor Louise and Val).  The Viennese whirls didn't look too hard to make, though; but I do think having to make their own jam is a step too far (for any bake0.  Does anyone do that IRL?

It's actually pretty easy when you use jam sugar (which I have to import to the US). Basically, it's just the fruit and the jam sugar in a 2:1 proportion and maybe some lemon juice. I make my own all the time when what I'm baking calls for it. Or just to have around.

Poor Louise was a goner from the get-go and Val probably isn't long for the tent. I like the whole lot of them this year, especially Andrew. And the Joachin Phoenix lookalike (Tom?)

Mel's face after she asked Rav if he needed her warm hands to hold his bag was priceless.

I think I'll be making Viennese whirls this weekend. They looked so good.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Margo Leadbetter

[Rinaldo]

23 hours ago, Occasional Hope said:

I do think having to make their own jam is a step too far 

As others have said, making the kind they do is a straightforward process, and it comes up on GBBO all the time over the years. They're not making it to be preserved all winter, so they don't get into the whole sterilized-jar business; it'll get eaten up relatively soon, so it's no more complex really than making any other kind of filling.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Rinaldo

[OnceSane]

Poor Louise, her weekend was a disaster.

[ceebee]

An innuendo-laden episode!

I never really enjoy the gingerbread challenge.  It just doesn't strike me as a 'real world' thing, but I guess it's televisual and suitably dramatic.

We had Sue doing a history bit about dunking biscuits and then they didn't really make anything dunkable. Tsk!

Mmmm. Viennese Whirls. Yummity, scrummity! I prefer them as they come, though, without a filling (which also makes them dunkable for the daring!)

Jam's easy and fun to make, though I would never rustle some up just to fill some bickies.  It's a store cupboard item made when the fruit's in glut. 

Edited September 1, 2016 by ceebee

[Schweedie]

5 hours ago, ceebee said:

An innuendo-laden episode!

I really did cackle at Mel's offer of her warm hands on Rav's bag and Mary's "I'll eat some carpet". Love me a good Bake Off innuendo.

Michael's pint-shaped biscuits looked pretty amazing, didn't they? The way he'd iced them made them look almost like cartoons.

I was so stressed out during the showstopper. Seeing all those creations wobble and come apart was nerve-wracking! Poor Louise, indeed. She was never gonna last very long, it seemed, but she had such a terrible weekend. And Paul's "I feel sorry for you and your future husband" line just seemed mean. But yeah, Val was lucky that someone else did even worse than her.

Candice's gingerbread house was fantastic, I thought. I think she might be my favourite, but I'm afraid she's gonna end up being one of those who tries to do too much and ends up failing because of it.

[pamplemousse]

Did that one lady (Kate?) with the daughters and lives on a farm bring her three different gingerbreads already pre-made from home? Because that is what it looked like to me. Each one was wrapped up in cling film and in neat labeled parcels. So all she had to do was bake, ice, and construct them? Sorry, but how is that acceptable? Sure, her icing job was accomplished, but she would've had a lot more time to do all of that since it looked like the others made their gingerbread from scratch there in the tent. I'm really confused as to how that was ok if that is in fact what happened. So they have to make their own jam in the Technical, but are allowed to bring their gingerbread mix pre-made from home for the Showstopper...that seems not quite on for a competitive cooking/baking show IMO. ETA: Thanks for explaining it, all!

Selasi, please stick slavishly to the brief of every challenge from now on because Mary and Paul do not appreciate your creativity and attempts to push the boundaries. Gingerbread must be very gingery, just stick to treacle, and mirror glazes must be able to reflect back Paul's smug visage.

I really like Candice but I thought her gingerbread pub looked a right mess compared to Andrew's "gingerbread story" (how silly and twee), particularly her pool table which just looked like a biscuit covered in ectoplasmic goo. Her story was really sweet, though.

I felt very sorry for Louise, I thought she had more potential than Val but she did badly in all three challenges where as Val came in 5th in the Technical, so it was fitting that Louise was eliminated.

Overall, the episode was great fun. Between Andrew's expression when Candice asked Mel to carry her jugs, Mel offering to put her warm hands on Rav's body and piping bag, and Mary saying she'd eat some carpet, I laughed out loud quite a lot. Best line of the night goes to Mel with her "you and Paul and a night on the town with all his friends would only count as two characters."

Edited September 1, 2016 by pamplemousse

[OnceSane]

I don't think her gingerbreads were made at, and brought from, home, @pamplemousse.  I think she wrapped & labeled them so she stayed organized.  I've seen people wrap different types of gingerbread (or other dough) in cling film in other seasons/versions of the show.  

The double entendres killed me this week…I could not stop laughing!

[Schweedie]

16 minutes ago, pamplemousse said:

Did that one lady (Kate?) with the daughters and lives on a farm bring her three different gingerbreads already pre-made from home? Because that is what it looked like to me. Each one was wrapped up in cling film and in neat labeled parcels. So all she had to do was bake, ice, and construct them? Sorry, but how is that acceptable?

Nah, you could spot her in the background while she was making the dough - they'd never allow the contestants to bring their dough already made. They just happened to get to her once she'd already finished making the dough and I'm guessing she might've wrapped it up to chill it some before rolling it and cutting it out.

[shandy]

Louise had that lovely celtic/welsh warmth that Beca had, so I was sad,  but I did think it was fair, as Val's 'Planet of the Apes' New York as some witty tweets called it, had a lot more design than badly iced panels.

Paul's priest of gingerbread act was getting old super fast - German gingerbread can be soft or hard and they invented Witch-house gingerbread masonry - Paul wanted hard british style ginger biscuit base, with that touch of heat, and that's not really most types of  Lebkuchen.

I know Sue has her legion of fans, but I didn't miss her at all. Mel's quite the innuendo glitter cannon ...

I loved Hollywood's bemused face when Mary was reciting the Brownie Girl Scout promise, and the fact she almost said King due to her long life. 

Are the Viennese whirls similar to Royal Danish butter cookies (in the blue tin grandparents always had/have during the holidays) without cream and jam? They look alike. They also look fun to make.

Candice was raised in a pub - she's leap frogged over Andrew and his love of musical theater  and the comedy stylings of disaster prone Val in the 'person I want to win' list.

[Occasional Hope]

I'm very impressed by you jam makers.  I admit, I did assume it was the same process as 'normal' jam which I understood was difficult and likely to cause permanent burn damage ;).

[ceebee]

4 minutes ago, Occasional Hope said:

I'm very impressed by you jam makers.  I admit, I did assume it was the same process as 'normal' jam which I understood was difficult and likely to cause permanent burn damage ;).

What's normal jam?   Wondering if there's a transatlantic difference!

[tenativelyyours]

Gingerbread dough made right can dry out extremely fast if you are not careful and ruin the bake.  So the clingfilm made huge sense.  Jam is easy.  In the U.S. a good confectioner's sugar with the right amount of cornstarch and dusted heavily on your fruit does a smack up job I've found.

 

Candice is proving once again to be able and willing to jump in and help someone else.  Coupled with her vision for the show stopper she is quickly stepping up further in my favorites ranking.  Its funny how reality show tropes are so shattered with this.  Normally whether in the US or the UK the girl with the most makeup is usually one I somehow find least likeable.  I loved her pub.

Selasi laid back and no worries is fun and entertaining.  But not going to lie, bothered and tense Selasi is hot as hell.  I just hope he can lift his game back up to the first week though his signature seemed to go over very well and Paul and Mary do like to be pleasantly surprised with tastes and techniques. The use of the scotch bonnet had me a bit worried so I was really glad they both seemed to really like it.   He did a great job with his church in appearance.  It is too bad his ginger wasn't coming through in the bake itself.  Probably for me the second best structure wise; edging out Andrew just a bit because I like the cleaner overall effect while Andrew's and Kate's were both a little "cutsey" for me.  More a style issue.  It is funny that he wins the technical with something he has never done and comes in last on the one he has gotten a go at in the recent past it seems.  It is one of those cookies that can come out almost flawless and yet inexplicably so and then go wrong when I seem to have done the exact thing another time.  It is a huge Christmas favorite since my gran always made special raspberry and black raspberry (the small little ones that now run wild in the Northeast US) and canned it just to make the cookies. 

 

I will say this, two weeks running and I know it is the tent in part but it surprises me as to the butter consistency.  European butter can work so much better, but Land-o-Lakes creams like a charm every time for me.  Also central air is so ubiquitous now in the US for so long with ventilation that is almost draft free it seems in most homes that it doesn't take long to get butter to a proper room temp creaming stage.  Funny what we take for granted and what we lose in terms of what I find a specific quality to butter in the UK compared to the butter in the US.

Benjamina seemed to really struggle a bit and so did Tom.  It's hard sometimes watching since we are only two weeks in and I suspect and hope that most have yet to shake off the new setting and nerves and get into the groove of things. 

Michael is so endearing.  Again a contest "youngster" who is so nicely centered self-deprecating and yet wonderfully keen on the whole baking aspect of it all.  I was so glad his gingerbread had a great taste.

Jane was mostly unmemorable this episode for me.  Not a bad thing and probably due to landing mostly in the middle I suspect. 

I felt so sorry for Louise.   I can't help but project on to the eliminated contestant a sense that part of the sadness is simply having to leave the tent itself and the fun of baking with these other people.  I always have a weird feeling on my face because I have been smiling for an entire hour which is rare for most people I suspect.  Politicians and game show hosts the rare exceptions.  And even as I am sad someone like Louise is going, overall the show just makes me so darn happy. 

The double entendres were pretty well represented this week.  Sue was probably sad she missed out.  From the holding the bag, warm hands and some comments about the piping itself, to the carpet eating (I know Extra Slice will spend some time on that) to Candice asking Mel if she could grab her jugs (complete with a shot of Andrew's face), it was a nice fun counterpoint to the tension of the gingerbread challenge.  Something I am not keen on as a whole. 

[Margo Leadbetter]

13 hours ago, ceebee said:

What's normal jam?   Wondering if there's a transatlantic difference!

I guess you could say it's the kind of jam where you have to sterilize the jars, process the jam for a specified period of time and make sure you've got a good seal on the jars since the jam has a long shelf life. You can make it with or without pectin and sometimes with low or no sugar. I make both kinds but only keep leftover quick jam in the fridge for about a week. I haven't found jam sugar in the US though, so I have to import it (Dr. Oetker). Precious stuff.

I love Selasi but don't have a problem that he got dinged for a gingerbread that wasn't gingery. And I can also understand the issue with a soft gingerbread when it's meant to be structural. S3's James used a soft gingerbread for his barn but it was for the roof shingles. The gingerbread for the actual structure was very crisp and I remember Paul commenting about how it made the complex barn incredibly stable. 

Quote

European butter can work so much better, but Land-o-Lakes creams like a charm every time for me.  Also central air is so ubiquitous now in the US for so long with ventilation that is almost draft free it seems in most homes that it doesn't take long to get butter to a proper room temp creaming stage.  Funny what we take for granted and what we lose in terms of what I find a specific quality to butter in the UK compared to the butter in the US.

I prefer European butter and use it for most of my baking. I just can't bake anything where butter is a main ingredient in the summer though because I DON'T have central air and the window of opportunity for optimum butter temperature is almost non-existent. It's gotten up to 88°F (30° or so C?) in my kitchen so fall can't come soon enough. All I'm missing for the complete Bake-Off experience is a downpour and a tent.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Margo Leadbetter

[ceebee]

3 hours ago, Margo Leadbetter said:

I guess you could say it's the kind of jam where you have to sterilize the jars, process the jam for a specified period of time and make sure you've got a good seal on the jars since the jam has a long shelf life. You can make it with or without pectin and sometimes with low or no sugar. I make both kinds but only keep leftover quick jam in the fridge for about a week. I haven't found jam sugar in the US though, so I have to import it (Dr. Oetker). Precious stuff.

 

Ah, okay.  Thanks.  No difference here, then, I don't think.

I've never bothered with jam sugar for some reason, so if I'm using low pectin fruit, I de-zest and juice some lemons (use those bits for something else) and chop up the pithy remains.  Boil them in a little water to extract the pectin and add to the fruit; tie the pithy pulp up in a muslin and add that to the pan too. Works a treat.  It might work with apple cores, too.

 

 

 

How is European butter different from American butter? (Sorry for all the Qs - am intrigued!)

Edited September 2, 2016 by ceebee

[Margo Leadbetter]

26 minutes ago, ceebee said:

Ah, okay.  Thanks.  No difference here, then, I don't think.

I've never bothered with jam sugar for some reason, so if I'm using low pectin fruit, I de-zest and juice some lemons (use those bits for something else) and chop up the pithy remains. Either boil them in a little water to extract the pectin and add to the fruit. I tie the pithy stuff up in a muslin and add that to the pan too. Works a treat.  It might work with apple cores, too.

 

 

 

How is European butter different from American butter? (Sorry for all the Qs - am intrigued!)

European has a higher percentage of butterfat, less water.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Margo Leadbetter

[ceebee]

25 minutes ago, Margo Leadbetter said:

European has a higher percentage of butterfat, less water.

Well, I never!

Cheers!

[sum]

15 minutes ago, ceebee said:

Well, I never!

Cheers!

I didn't know there's any difference between them either. Additionally European (cultured) butter has richer flavor as well.
What's the Difference Between European and American Butter?
Is European Butter Really Better for Baking?

[Occasional Hope]

7 hours ago, Margo Leadbetter said:

I guess you could say it's the kind of jam where you have to sterilize the jars, process the jam for a specified period of time and make sure you've got a good seal on the jars since the jam has a long shelf life. You can make it with or without pectin and sometimes with low or no sugar

Yes, that's what I was thinking of. 

[PepperMonkey]

NO ONE ELSE CAN LEAVE! I was sad enough to lose Louise, but I want to keep everyone else and have a 12 person finale (or however many are left). I guess I could lose the star baker from first week; don't remember her name and I like her fine enough, but I LOVE everyone else.

In other news, I need some European butter and jam sugar STAT!!!!

[Kromm]

Was it a specific requirement of the particular challenge that the biscuits be hard and snappy, or is that just what Paul and Mary always expect for ANY biscuit?

[ceebee]

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

Was it a specific requirement of the particular challenge that the biscuits be hard and snappy, or is that just what Paul and Mary always expect for ANY biscuit?

No idea about the rules of the challenge, but a British biscuit is invariably snappy or crunchy. If it's thick and chewy, it's called a cookie.  Just to confuse things, though,  'biscuit' is used as an umbrella term for everything from a cracker through to a cookie - but doesn't include the thing that is known as a biscuit in North America, which is closer to our scone.  (The Jaffa Cakes featured on the show give lie to all I've just said, as they are are neither snappy nor especially chewy.  More  'dry-cakey' ... but then the clue is probably in the name!!).  Quite where gingerbread falls, I'm unsure.  A ginger biscuit is definitely snappy, but gingerbread isn't quite a biscuit, in my book - more of a cake.  Or a construction material for TV baking comps ;-)

Edited September 4, 2016 by ceebee

[Kromm]

5 hours ago, ceebee said:

doesn't include the thing that is known as a biscuit in North America, which is closer to our scone.  

Although even there one could get into hot water, because while there are great similarities (mostly the same ingredients and a vaguely similar appearance), the actual texture and taste are totally different between American biscuits and scones.

Baking is so hard already, but when you place an ocean between versions of it...

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One of the important things on this show is good time management and making smart choices. For a challenge that requires a lot of pieces (like 24 identical biscuits), you have to make sure that the shape and icing combine to make an easily understood design that isn't too fussy or time consuming. Michael's malt, chocolate, and orange beer biscuits are a great example of this. The shape wasn't much to look at without icing, but it wasn't so intricate that it took a long time for him to cut each one. The icing wasn't too complicated and made it clear that we were looking at beer. And they were audibly crisp when they were dropped on the plate. Andrew's beehive biscuits were another good example The hexagon shape was very representative of the bees and the actual bees that he drew on with the icing were effective. It's too bad that they weren't hard enough for the judges' liking.

Loved Louise's sheep biscuits. Once again, a simple shape and an icing design that wasn't overly complicated but definitely conveyed the sheep. Loved the fake green grass she had on her plate too. I wonder if she intended for them to be that soft or if she was frazzled from having to start over again. High five to Candice for helping her pick up the ones she dropped and encouraging her.

Benhamina's bouquets did look like drumsticks before she iced them, so apt description! I thought the finished product was a little too messy looking, but I loved the dark color of her chocolate biscuits and I agreed that she had a good proportion of icing to biscuit. Jane's flower pot biscuits were a mess, but she made so many mistakes that I was surprised she managed to get so many of them iced.  I loved the idea of Val's ice cream cone biscuits but they were really messy and inconsistent. The number of stripes she drew on the cones was so haphazard.

Candice really gave herself a lot of extra work to do with her double heart biscuits, but I will never say no to salted caramel and chocolate. Hee, loved that Mel asked if she was going to have a different colored lipstick every week. I was not a fan of her dark lipstick last week, but I admire that she loves bold colors.

Selasi's motorbike biscuits looked like the icing was very messy (they showed one with a raised dollop of red icing at least twice) but I liked that he tried such a different flavor combination with the lime and spice. And I love when skeptical Paul and Mary end up liking something that they questioned earlier! Rav's Union Jack bunting biscuits were a fun idea but the execution with the three different colors of icing was a little lacking.

Kate's bergamot lavender butterfly biscuits were a little too intricate in the shape, which seemed like it cost her a fair amount of time. But another good example of Paul criticizing a flavor combination and then liking it! She loves her themes too - I noticed her tiny butterfly earrings! Tom's coffee biscuits were awkwardly shaped. At first glance they kind of looked like baby strollers.

Yay for the return of the history lessons! Loved that this week was the history of dunking biscuits.

I've never had a Viennese whirl, but a cookie with raspberry jam and buttercream? YUM!

Andrew's punting gingerbread was fun. I liked the zzzzzs. Val's Holland to New York display was a nice idea. I liked the texture she added to the Empire State Building for the windows. In contrast, Benjamina's Empire State Building looked really messy. Tom's near death experience was REALLY bright. I'm glad he isn't afraid to use color! It definitely made me want to hear the whole story about his near death experience with Pod.

Kate's girl scout gingerbread looked so polished and professional. Everything was neat and with purpose. Her piping was really effective. It's too bad that they said it didn't have enough ginger flavor. Jane's fishing village was a little to simple for me. Rav's fairground was a fun idea in theory. Michael's pictures of himself in Lapland were so cute!!

Loved Selasi's church. It was the best designed and most complicated shape of the showstoppers. Poor Louise. Her church was a mess, I wonder if part of the problem was too much icing. Her walls were totally coated in icing. Candice's pub was great. She put so much detail into everything from the sticky ginger cake carpet and the pool table.

[Kromm]

14 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

One of the important things on this show is good time management and making smart choices.

Yes, rarely in the first half of a series does anyone get sent home for a conservative but well executed project. That would seem to be the thing to do. Start simple and mid-show start to ramp up the difficulty. Save your dangerous projects for late in a series.  Make sure you have more than enough time for everything, even recreating something from a disaster, until such time as your competition is all just as disadvantaged as you in that department. And of course, don't overly challenge Paul and Mary's conservative tastes--if you go off "traditional" then it still probably shouldn't be anything too foreign.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Recipes from this week:

Mary's Viennese whirls
Candice's ginger thins
Michael's malt, chocolate and orange iced beer biscuits
Louise's Bara brith sheep biscuits
Benjamina's chocolate and orange iced biscuits
 

[PaulaO]

Paul said at the beginning that the biscuits must be crispy.  I could tell Louise was a goner when she produced soft sheep.  And Selasi looks like Idris Elba, which makes me happy.

[Primetimer]

Biscuits are their business and business is good!

View the full article

[LittleIggy]

"Who wants to eat some carpet?"::snerk:: Yes, Brits and Americans are separated by a common language (esp. slang).

Tom is adorable! I like Salasi, Candace, and Benjamina, too.  The lady with the broken Statue of Liberty should have said it was a space alien invasion movie scene.

[GaT]

I missed it, why wasn't Sue there?

The showstoppers were kind of "meh" IMO

I don't have any favorites yet, I'll have to see who captures my fancy :-) But I admit that Candice & her lipstick annoy me.

I miss the little historical lessons narrated by Sue or Mel that we've gotten in the past.

[AZChristian]

11 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

"Who wants to eat some carpet?"::snerk:: Yes, Brits and Americans are separated by a common language (esp. slang).

Even better - "Can you hold my jugs for me?" . . . with the little "trying to hide it" smirk from the young red-headed guy.

[J-Man]

Quote

Sue Perkins drops in for tea and history as she discovers the etiquette of dunking biscuits, from Victorian high society right back to Greek survival biscuits.

Unfortunately, they didn't include this segment on the PBS telecast.

Quote

In contrast, Benjamina's Empire State Building looked really messy.

Benjamina's was supposed to be the Chrysler Building.

[profreader]

One thing I liked about my 2 years in London was discovering all their biscuits. Jaffa cakes aren't really like anything we have in the US, at least as far as my cookie knowledge goes. (I see somebody described them upthread when this aired in the UK.) They remind me a little bit of Berger Cookies, made in Baltimore -- basically a soft cookie that is a delivery system for fudgey frosting.

I don't think I learned the strict definition of biscuit. But I did learn that the British are quite set on tea breaks -- at my job, when we moved into a new space, the very first thing that my colleagues did was set up a tea table with kettle / packets of biscuits / etc. Tea time is not to be messed with.

[swimmyfish]

On 9/12/2016 at 8:13 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Kate's girl scout gingerbread looked so polished and professional. Everything was neat and with purpose. Her piping was really effective. It's too bad that they said it didn't have enough ginger flavor. Jane's fishing village was a little to simple for me. Rav's fairground was a fun idea in theory. Michael's pictures of himself in Lapland were so cute!!

I was so sad that Kate's gingerbread didn't taste better - her build was so sunny and welcoming (which I feel like is a weird thing to say about cookies), I really wish it had won. 

4 hours ago, J-Man said:

Unfortunately, they didn't include this segment on the PBS telecast.

 

Thank you for mentioning that! I've been wondering if I passed out at some point during the episode and missed the dunking lesson.

[sum]

15 hours ago, GaT said:

I missed it, why wasn't Sue there?

The showstoppers were kind of "meh" IMO

I don't have any favorites yet, I'll have to see who captures my fancy :-) But I admit that Candice & her lipstick annoy me.

I miss the little historical lessons narrated by Sue or Mel that we've gotten in the past.

It wasn't mentioned in the show. 
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/30/great-british-bake-off-2016-sue-perkins-misses-episode-for-first/

Quote

Perkins, who has appeared alongside Giedroyc since the show began in 2010, was forced to leave the set before the filming of the second episode in the series, which took place in April, because of the death of a relative. ... Perkins has a reputation for guarding her privacy, and sources close to the presenter said she did not wish to elaborate on the reasons for her absence.

[adam807]

7 hours ago, J-Man said:

Unfortunately, they didn't include this segment on the PBS telecast.

Benjamina's was supposed to be the Chrysler Building.

Or, some might say, fortunately...

Whichever building it was, it was a mess. I liked how she made it 3D but the decoration was awful. Even though it fell apart and was un-iced, I was super impressed by Jane's windows! That's the kind of task that would drive me mad in about 30 seconds.

[jumper sage]

On 8/31/2016 at 8:46 PM, Margo Leadbetter said:

Poor Louise was a goner from the get-go and Val probably isn't long for the tent. I like the whole lot of them this year,

{nods in agreement}

22 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

"Who wants to eat some carpet?"::snerk:: Yes, Brits and Americans are separated by a common language (esp. slang).

Tom is adorable! I like Salasi, Candace, and Benjamina, too.  The lady with the broken Statue of Liberty should have said it was a space alien invasion movie scene.

 

10 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Even better - "Can you hold my jugs for me?" . . . with the little "trying to hide it" smirk from the young red-headed guy.

roflmao - yes I am 12 years old.

[mlp]

Quote

I was super impressed by Jane's windows! That's the kind of task that would drive me mad in about 30 seconds.

All I could think while I watched was that Richard or Ian (from previous seasons) would have come prepared with some kind of dough stamp he'd made at home.

My PBS station had technical difficulties halfway through the Showstopper judging so I missed some of it but I'm sure I saw Paul take a knife and chop up the groom from the wedding scene so I was puzzled when I saw the groom intact on the table when Paul and Mary and Mel were discussing who would be Star Baker and who would go home.  ???

[Kohola3]

8 minutes ago, mlp said:

My PBS station had technical difficulties halfway through the Showstopper judging so I missed some of it but I'm sure I saw Paul take a knife and chop up the groom from the wedding scene so I was puzzled when I saw the groom intact on the table when Paul and Mary and Mel were discussing who would be Star Baker and who would go home.  ???

I think a bunch of the stations had difficulty - I'm in northern MI and mine went out as did my sister's in southwest IN.  I think Paul did chop up one of the bridal couple, though.

[mlp]

I'm in Central Illinois so it must have been widespread.

[Amethyst]

On 9/12/2016 at 7:13 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Kate's girl scout gingerbread looked so polished and professional. Everything was neat and with purpose. Her piping was really effective. It's too bad that they said it didn't have enough ginger flavor.

IA.  I don't always like her flavors, but the simplicity of her gingerbread design got major points from me.  The piping was on point.

I felt bad for Louise, but the judges made the right decision.  Val and Louise both had disasters, but you could at least tell what Val's display was supposed to be; Paul even complimented the Statue of Liberty design.  That couldn't have been easy to do.  But Louise's church was a just a white, gloppy mess.  It looked like she really piled on the white icing, which probably made the finished biscuit heavier and less likely to hold up.  The walls looked pretty thick, too.  She'd poorly measured her sheep biscuits, and it looked like she had the same problem with the gingerbread.  So yeah, she was out.  

 

On 9/1/2016 at 1:39 PM, pamplemousse said:

I really like Candice but I thought her gingerbread pub looked a right mess compared to Andrew's "gingerbread story" (how silly and twee), particularly her pool table which just looked like a biscuit covered in ectoplasmic goo. Her story was really sweet, though.

Yeah, I thought that pool table looked pretty gross.  Unfinished and runny.  And visually, the only bright spots in the interior were the pub stools, but everything else was so dark.  Points for pulling off the whole thing, but Andrew would have won by a hair.  That said, I really liked Candice trying to encourage Louise while they were baking, so I'm cool with her winning this week.

Tom's was bright, but messy.  Reminded me of play-doh.

Selasi's wasn't bad, but he's done better.

Benjamina was the same.  Hers was messy, although I liked the stacked appearance of the walls in the Chrysler Building.

[LittleIggy]

Paul took a knife to the priest not the groom. Wonder if that is significant? ;-) 

42 minutes ago, mlp said:

I'm in Central Illinois so it must have been widespread.

Happened in the Shenandoah Valley in VA, too.

[vadare]

This is my first time watching a season of GBBO from the beginning. I've caught random episodes here and there previously, so when I heard it was starting a new season, I made it a point to watch it from beginning and (hopefully) to end.  I do some baking, but I usually stick to American cookies, cakes, and quickbreads.

Re:  European butter vs. American butter

I didn't know there was a difference...I'm going to have to try baking with European butter some time.  I've seen where I can buy Kerrygold (which is Irish I believe) in places as pedestrian as Wal-Mart, so I'll have to give it a shot.

But...while we're on the subject of butter, has anyone here had any experience baking with raw milk butter?  I might have to try that.  (And yes, I can try that.  One of the advantages of living in a definitively non-urban area.  I know...ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies.)

[Mabinogia]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 5:07 PM, tenativelyyours said:

I always have a weird feeling on my face because I have been smiling for an entire hour which is rare for most people I suspect.

I know. I feel so happy when I watch this show. It's different than a sitcom were I will enjoy it and laugh. This show is more like MASH for me. It is like visiting old friends, laughing at their funny stories and crying with them when things go wrong. I am drained at the end of the hour but in the best possible way.

Louise was far from my favorite and I'm not exactly sorry to see her go, but I did get a bit teary for her. All those mistakes, it's just a terrible way to go.

Candace grew on my this ep, but I'm still shallow enough to not like looking at her with that garish lipstick. It does her no favors. I did prefer Jane and the punting/bridge ones the best. Of course I can't taste them so I can only go by the visual.

[MerBearHou]

One other line I loved was Mel asking Andrew the significance of including a platypus in his punting gingerbread scene.  He laughed so cutely and said that was an un-iced bicycle.  Just so random -- a platypus.  Reminds me of Emma Thompson commenting in "Love Actually" about including the lobster in the school play of the birth of Baby Jesus.  Love the British humor of appreciating and subtly pointing out little absurdities.

[Mabinogia]

What was even cuter is it sounded like Andrew was about to make up a story about being attacked by a platypus before being cut off. I heard "well, I was attacked..." and then they moved on. I am a little bummed. I would have loved to hear that story.

[AZChristian]

2 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Reminds me of Emma Thompson commenting in "Love Actually" about including the lobster in the school play of the birth of Baby Jesus.  Love the British humor of appreciating and subtly pointing out little absurdities.

Is that a great movie, or what?  I think that the subtle British humour (see what I did there?) is one of the reasons I love GBBO so much.