S07.E09: Patisserie Week

[dubbel zout]

Right, it was Jane. I knew someone remarked they could use the time they were given for the entire bake could be used solely on decorating.

[jennylauren123]

On 10/20/2016 at 2:49 PM, PaulaO said:

I knew it would be Selasi because he hadn't won star baker.   Jane's petit fours were terribly lumpy under the fondant but I do predict she will win.  She has been the most consistent.  I will miss Candice's lipstick.  It's so pretty!  I could not understand what Mary was saying to Selasi about his flour.  I thought she said "turn the flour" but it was sift.  Maybe I need close captioning.

I used closed captions, and Mary was saying "sieve" the flour. Same as sift. I think!

[dubbel zout]

I rarely sift flour when baking, though I do aerate it by scooping it a couple of times. I might sift cake flour, because it can be lumpy, but otherwise, the scooping and/or whisking in the other dry ingredients is enough, IMO. That said, I enjoyed Selasi's knowing grin when he saw Mary was watching him!

[dleighg]

Just now, dubbel zout said:

I rarely sift flour when baking, though I do aerate it by scooping it a couple of times. I might sift cake flour, because it can be lumpy, but otherwise, the scooping and/or whisking in the other dry ingredients is enough, IMO. That said, I enjoyed Selasi's knowing grin when he saw Mary was watching him!

I'm with you. In fact, I've read that the whole sifting thing was *originally* to filter out little critters, and just became part of the standard drill. I certainly can believe that there is some small benefit to sifting, but hey, life is short and my cakes come out great :)

[Kohola3]

Ditto, double zout. I never sift.  Of course, now I will imagine Mary looking over my shoulder every time I skip that!

[Sandiscot]

I thought Jane would win star baker, but I guess Andrew just squeaked ahead with his smooth-sided fondants. 

[Cyranetta]

I think the current reason to specify sifting flour is that the sifting process incorporates some air, possibly enough to change the measurement, and since baking seems to require more exact measurement of ingredients than other kinds of cooking, it may be enough to make a difference.

[dubbel zout]

That's why professional bakers measure by weight rather than volume. More and more I see home recipes include weight.

[susannot]

Aww Selasi>>>he was wonderful but not quite up to the standards of the other 3.  I thought that Andrew would win when I saw the engineering precision of his petit fours compared to the others.  About to start an 8 week patisserie course tomorrow morning.  Wish me luck!

[Rinaldo]

That's wonderful, @susannot! Let us know if they drill you on puff pastry and the proper lamination!

[susannot]

I will!  I will report back!

[Kohola3]

Watch those soggy bottoms!

[Florinaldo]

11 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

That's why professional bakers measure by weight rather than volume. More and more I see home recipes include weight.

A little experiment can be very instructive: weigh the same volume of flour from two sources, for example the bag you just bought and the container you keep it in at home, and you will often a find notable difference. Same between sifted and unsifted. That being said, it does not make much difference for many recipes (as long as the flour you use was not too patted down), but for some precision tasks or delicate preparations it can.

As many others, I most often aerate my flour by whisking it after measuring.

[Clanstarling]

On 10/20/2016 at 0:39 AM, Catri said:

I was not as sad to see Selasi go as I should have been.  Honestly, I would not have been especially sad to see any of them go, which is not normal for me at the semifinal point in the series.  I don't know if it's because of the drama outside the tent, or perhaps this cast is less charismatic, or the bakes are less inspiring, or some combination of the three, but I'm just not as invested in the show this year.  I really want to be loving this last series of Bake Off as we know it, but I'm not.  Is it just me?

I find the bakes less than inspiring, mostly. The showstoppers used to be amazing to me, this season not so much. I've liked the contestants on a personal level, just fine. But there haven't been many bakes where I'm "wow, I could never do that." This season is more - "I would never do that." (in that I wouldn't do that much fussing, not that I'm criticising their choices - except maybe the playdough knights and unfortunately placed jousting "spears")

On 10/20/2016 at 4:24 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When Andrew decided to make a new batch of dough, I was worried that hiss palmiers wouldn't finish baking in time but they all looked firm, golden brown, crispy, and flaky.. I loved the little drawers he used for his presentation. His roasted red pepper and goat cheese palmiers looked great. I loved the inspiration for his rosemary, thyme, and sage treble clef palmiers.

Selasi's salmon, spinach and mushroom palmiers sounded worrisome to me because salmon is a bit chunky as a filling. Loved the butterfly shape of his sundried tomato, onion, pepper, poppyseed, and parmesan palmiers. It's too bad that the pastry was undercooked, but he just ran out of time.

Which made it awfully clear that Selasi's time management lacked - given that Andrew made two batches, and his were well cooked.

 

On 8/4/2017 at 7:18 PM, Mama No Life said:

I don't remember ever seeing Mary and Paul sit and watch them bake before, though that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. I just haven't noticed.

We were surprised at that as well. That would be pretty nerve wracking.

On 8/5/2017 at 11:21 AM, SirOsisOfLiver said:

Mel: "Where did you get the orange juice"

Candice: "From the orange?"

One of my favourite moments of the season.  I didn't have any problem with Candace, but men and women seem to watch TV differently.

:)

I don't have any problem with her either (though it took me a little bit to warm up to her), but I've never noticed that the critiques of her were gender biased. Perhaps I just don't pay attention.

On 8/6/2017 at 3:38 PM, dubbel zout said:

Did anyone else feel like this season had less-complicated challenges in general? I don't know if was the challenges themselves or that the bakers weren't as talented as in the past. I remember in at least two past challenges that took more than one day.

Yes.

16 hours ago, dleighg said:

I'm with you. In fact, I've read that the whole sifting thing was *originally* to filter out little critters, and just became part of the standard drill. I certainly can believe that there is some small benefit to sifting, but hey, life is short and my cakes come out great :)

I read that when I first started baking, so I never, ever, sifted. 

12 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

That's why professional bakers measure by weight rather than volume. More and more I see home recipes include weight.

I love weight measurements! I've had a number of different types of measuring cups/spoons, and never been confident that they actually measured as advertised (in fact, a few of them did not). I have one cookie cookbook where the recipes include both - and I always choose the weights. Then again, I weigh a lot of things to portion them out correctly (like my homemade sausages) and use grams because they're more precise. I may have a problem...

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

Two Spotted Dicks: One More Baker Melts Away In The Great British Bake Off's Patisserie Week

And we do mean 'melt'; that's a hot tent not even Selasi's icy expression can cool off.

[Mama No Life]

3 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I find the bakes less than inspiring, mostly. The showstoppers used to be amazing to me, this season not so much. I've liked the contestants on a personal level, just fine. But there haven't been many bakes where I'm "wow, I could never do that." This season is more - "I would never do that." (in that I wouldn't do that much fussing, not that I'm criticising their choices - except maybe the playdough knights and unfortunately placed jousting "spears")

Which made it awfully clear that Selasi's time management lacked - given that Andrew made two batches, and his were well cooked.

 

We were surprised at that as well. That would be pretty nerve wracking.

I don't have any problem with her either (though it took me a little bit to warm up to her), but I've never noticed that the critiques of her were gender biased. Perhaps I just don't pay attention.

Yes.

I read that when I first started baking, so I never, ever, sifted. 

I love weight measurements! I've had a number of different types of measuring cups/spoons, and never been confident that they actually measured as advertised (in fact, a few of them did not). I have one cookie cookbook where the recipes include both - and I always choose the weights. Then again, I weigh a lot of things to portion them out correctly (like my homemade sausages) and use grams because they're more precise. I may have a problem...

When Mary and Paul have done their masterclasses, showing how to make things from the competition, they almost always use weight for anything that doesn't involve spoons.

[rhys]

I just finished watching this epi in the US. I'm sorry to see Selasi go too. Seems like everyone likes him.

Apropos of nothing, I sift flour, then measure. I could never be on this show!

[Crs97]

Nothing like responding 3 years later, but I finally got to this season on Netflix and saw this episode.  Candace is an amazing baker, and her stuff is gorgeous, but I am tired of hearing Paul and Mary mention how much she had to do when she comes up for judging.  She chose to do that much!  Part of the challenge should be how you manage your time and expectations, and it always feels like they are ready with an excuse if her stuff fails.  It never seems to, but I have an irrational angry reaction each time they say it.  It’s like watching a figure skater fall in a jump, but for some reason we are supposed to give them extra points for trying it.  It also doesn’t help that her resting face on tv seems to be lemon-sucking.  Having said that, I think she would be fun to hang out with off the show, and her stuff is absolutely amazing.  I still can’t believe the peacock from the previous episode.

Andrew is adorable.  He was stunned to win star baker. I also like Jane.  Should be a fun final.