S08.E06: Pastry Week

[Athena]

Quote

The bakers face a tough triple challenge with a savoury signature, a multi-layered technical, and an ambitious traditional pie that pushes them to the edge.

[halopub]

In the preview it looked like pasteis de nata (aka dan ta, aka egg tarts) for the technical. I'm guessing the contestants get very little time to make their own pastry dough.

Eating-wise, I prefer puff pastry over shortcrust for these.

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

5 hours ago, halopub said:

In the preview it looked like pasteis de nata (aka dan ta, aka egg tarts) for the technical. I'm guessing the contestants get very little time to make their own pastry dough.

Ooh, one of my favorite things to get at dim sum! One of the food trucks near me has two crust options for them but I always forget which one I like better when I order.

[Occasional Hope]

Yan's showstopper pie looked amazing.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This week's recipes:
Stacey's old fashioned mince beef pies
Sophie's four seasons pies
Kate's Bombay potato curry pie
Steven's Christmas pie

Technical challenge:
Paul's pastéis de nata

Liam's Nan's Sunday dinner
 

Edited October 11, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Corgi-ears]

There's blowing on your baked goods to cool them down, and then there is spitting on them, Stacey.

Did Julia really not understand how one of those hinged pie tins work?!

Edited October 4, 2017 by Corgi-ears

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mmmmm, pies!

Loved Yan's science pies with chicken and curry! The fact that she had an equation to work out the perfect ratio of filling to pastry just made them even better. Crick's DNA helix and Turing binary code were obvious but I couldn't tell what she did for the Hawking and Darwin pies. I'm glad that once she knew she was running out of time, she made sure to get at least one pie fully baked so that they judges could taste it.

Steven's Fleetwood Mac pies with Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, and lingonberry jam sounded yummy. The decorations were pretty but they weren't obvious enough unless you knew what the theme was .

Kate's vegetarian pies with Einstein, Shakespeare, John Lennon, and Amelia Earhart with potatoes, onions, carrots, leaks, celery, and butterbeans sounded yummy (and this is coming from someone who loves meat pies) but my concern when she was describing her theme to the judges and showing them her drawings was that the faces wouldn't turn out well and they didn't.

Stacey's love pies with mincemeat, pine nuts, cinnamon, and chili flakes looked a little bit too simple and kind of juvenile, like something an adolescent girl would come up with.

Julia's tree pies with sausage, sage & onion stuffing, and apples were pretty but I was with Pru when she said grapes are found in trees.

Sophie's four seasons pies with roasted squash, blue cheese, and spinach were so pretty with the braided edge and the lovely decorations. Blind baking her crust beforehand really helped her.

Liam's chorizo, feta, and sweet potato FC pies sounded good. I wasn't a huge fan of his theme but at least his decorations were very clear and obvious.

I don't ever want anyone to fail at the technical challenge, but I had to laugh when Paul said that one of the baker's pastéis de nata looked like chocolate cupcakes.

Sophie's game pie with venison, rabbit, wild boar, guinea fowl, minced pork belly, and mushroom duxelles topped with a pomegranate port glaze looked really beautiful, from the raspberries on top to the smooth pastry on the outside.

Steven's Christmas pie with turkey, pancetta, brussel sprouts, chestnuts, and cranberry relish looked gorgeous. The pastry was so perfect and I can never resist glitter!

Kate's potato curry pie with mango chili glaze was so bright and colorful. I loved the way she fanned out the mango slices on top.

Liam's nan's Sunday dinner with curried goat, fried plantain, and mango avocado salsa looked really fun and colorful. And avocado makes everything better! Loved that he offered to have his nan come over to Paul's house to make her pie and then gave her a hashtag. Hee!

Yan's checkerboard pie with chorizo, chicken, black pudding, and spiced sausage looked amazing, both inside and out. The exploding flower design on top was really pretty and the checkerboard pattern of meat inside was awesome.

Julia's pie with shredded chicken, asparagus & pear salsa, and honey glazed pears looked a bit homemade.

Stacey's pie with eggs, spinach, paneer cheese, red lentils, and mango was a falling down mess. It looked like it was collapsing under its own weight.

I'm happy for Liam being named star baker, but I thought that Yan should have won the title this week because she won the technical AND her showstopper was really good.

I wasn't surprised that Julia was the one sent home this week. Between the baking soda in her signature and the judges' tepid response to her showstopper, I knew she was a goner. Stacey is really lucky that Julia did so poorly or she would have been the one going home.

Edited October 4, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Skylark]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm happy for Liam being named star baker, but I thought that Yan should have won the title this week because she won the technical AND her showstopper was really good.

I thought Liam should have been Star Baker during Caramel Week, so I'm not going to complain about that. Yan's signature pies weren't as good, but Liam was consistent all the way through.

[3 is enough]

I really like Yan.  She and Steven seem to have developed quite a nice friendship, and she jumps in and helps everyone.  Her showstopper looked amazing.

Also, I have to say that Noel and Sandi are really enjoyable to watch.  Being from North America I am not familiar with a lot of British personalities other than the actors who appear in movies and imported tv shows, so I had no prior knowledge of them, but they are doing a great job.

[halopub]

I'm meh about Liam winning this week but in response to a fan Yan tweeted that Liam handsdown made the best showstopper.

I'm glad Yan made a point to design a Franklin and Crick pie. Rosalind Franklin's someone my bio textbook never talked about.

I also laughed when she really wanted to assure everyone that the signature wasn't reflective of her pie making abilities. Steven owes her thanks for the assist.

This far into the season and my heart's not really into the competition part of it. Steven's not bugging me as much and I sympathize a little with his nerves. I can relate to Yan's geekiness though I think she needs some decaf. I'd like to get a better sense of Sophie, who is so guarded in the tent but has such a kickass job.

I thought the "Life of Pie" pun was painful but it was funny to see Prue interact with Sandi and Noel. And poor Sandi - she really was upset at Julia leaving.

 

On 10/2/2017 at 10:38 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

One of the food trucks near me has two crust options for them but I always forget which one I like better when I order.

Sweet! I envy you. I don't know if I've ever had an old school pasteis but the Cantonese take on it does look awfully similar in look and ingredients.

[Amarsir]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

Also, I have to say that Noel and Sandi are really enjoyable to watch.  Being from North America I am not familiar with a lot of British personalities other than the actors who appear in movies and imported tv shows, so I had no prior knowledge of them, but they are doing a great job.

Sandi hosts QI since Stephen Fry left. Which is rebroadcast in the US with some delay, so you might come across her again. Noel used to be a team captain on the music quiz Nevermind the Buzzcocks, and now does panel show appearances as he likes. He's a lot more eclectic than you'd think from this show. (He also had a recurring character on The I.T. Crowd.)

[Rinaldo]

I first encountered Sandi as one of the regular guests on the original Whose Line Is it Anyway?, back in the 1990s, so I associate her (rightly or wrongly) with improv comedy. Looking her up, I see that when she was a student at Cambridge, she performed in their comedy club alongside Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Emma Thompson.

[3 is enough]

OMG! I used to watch Whose Line all the time! I mostly remember Josie Lawrence and Tony Slattery, but I found some old episodes with Sandi, and I do remember her now. 

[Lois Sandborne]

I really thought Stacey was out of there. I mean, she and Julia have both had a few rough weeks, but Stacey straight up baked paper in her pie.

Hooray for Liam! I hope he keeps up his turnaround and rides it into the finale. His showstopper was gorgeous and sounded really yummy.  Yan's fig creation was absolutely beautiful too, and Steven's pastry looked so picture perfect I almost couldn't stand it.

I've never heard of those Portuguese egg tarts in the technical, but they seemed scrumptious, if the sort of thing one could only eat once or twice a year.

[Primetimer]

The bakers have raw meat on their soggy bottoms!

View the full article

[Charlesman]

I would watch a spin-off series that consisted only of Sandi trying to run and catch up with Steven. 

[killer.noona]

Kate, Kate, Kate. This is season 8 of the Bake Off. You just can't stand there during Pastry Week and say you've never made rough puff pastry before.  Sensible bakers would have been in the kitchen grating butter as soon as they got notified they made the cut. 

I'm glad Liam got Star Baker. #Cynthia. Yan came close, but I think her signature pies cost her. While Stacey made a mistake baking the parchment paper, Julia had really dark pie crusts and her food wasn't seasoned.

[SerenityInSpace]

On 05/10/2017 at 4:30 AM, Lois Sandborne said:

I really thought Stacey was out of there. I mean, she and Julia have both had a few rough weeks, but Stacey straight up baked paper in her pie.

Hooray for Liam! I hope he keeps up his turnaround and rides it into the finale. His showstopper was gorgeous and sounded really yummy.  Yan's fig creation was absolutely beautiful too, and Steven's pastry looked so picture perfect I almost couldn't stand it.

I've never heard of those Portuguese egg tarts in the technical, but they seemed scrumptious, if the sort of thing one could only eat once or twice a year.

Leaving paper in the pie was just a genuine brain fart on Stacey's part, whereas Julia didn't cook hers properly and that's something they should all be able to do by now.

Edited October 6, 2017 by SerenityInSpace

[halopub]

Chris called it "Tent Brain." He and week one Peter have created some gorgeous things away from GBBO that have impressed the Extra Slice panelists, including Prue.

[ceebee]

On 05/10/2017 at 4:30 AM, Lois Sandborne said:

 

I've never heard of those Portuguese egg tarts in the technical, but they seemed scrumptious, if the sort of thing one could only eat once or twice a year.

Gosh, no!  If you find somewhere that makes good ones, you should eat them at every opportunity!

 

I have one bakery near me who have perfected the pastry (crispy, caramelised shards) but use too much cornflour in the custard and another with decent enough pastry but the most perfect wobbly custard.  I have to keep buying them to decide which is the winner!  

 

I didn’t think Paul’s looked that great to be honest.  Pale pastry and tops, stiff custard.

 

I’ve bought the little tins to try making them myself one day, so loved the visit to the factory making them by the thousand every day and seeing the pastry technique.  One day I’ll make a pilgrimage!  Appreciated the lesson from Sandi on how to pronounce pastéis.

[sum]

That's two series in a row where the star baker of the bread week didn't make the final. Something happened only once (UK S2) before. It's like Paul jinxed it!

[Rinaldo]

If it's happened 3 times out of 8, maybe there was never a correlation to begin with.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Julie's exit interview

[DHDancer]

I was a bit concerned that Sophie's raised pie didn't meet the specifications as it had no top.  I thought it was a bit of a cheat really.   And I'm sorry but Mr Hollywood is not always RIGHT!  If you use a raised pie mould like Julia you HAVE to raise it on the inside otherwise you can't open the mould.  It's one of the few things about Paul I chafe at: he states thing as absolutes.

I love custard tarts, which is what those Portuguese tarts were in essence but I'm not about to go through all that effort.   Also, it's NOT the hardest pastry challenge  -- remember when they had to make filo dough (phyllo)??  Now, that's an exercise in futility imo.  And haven't they also had to make streudel in past seasons?

[mjc570]

On 10/4/2017 at 1:39 PM, halopub said:

I'm glad Yan made a point to design a Franklin and Crick pie. Rosalind Franklin's someone my bio textbook never talked about.

I know, that was wonderful!  I lover her science and nerdiness so much, she reminds me of my daughter, so I hope she does well.  I thought her showstopper looked not just beautiful, but like it would taste good as well.  Not that Liam's wasn't great, but I thought Yan's showing in the technical would have given her a boost.

I very much liked this episode, as I just love savory pies.  (In fact, I watch Men in Blazers for the pies), but have never tried to make one myself.  After watching, though, I think I will try and make one for Christmas dinner.  I've never made any kind of pastry, so will need to practice a lot. 

I really can't say that I can guess who's going to win - I originally thought it was Stephen, but it's become clear that his baking needs to measure up to his presentation.  Sophie makes smart choices, like using the syringe to make sure her game pie wasn't runny.  Both Yan and Liam are clearly very good.  The one I think has no chance, unless she really steps up her game, is Stacey. 

Much as I like the more relaxed PAul, I'm glad there were no handshakes, he was getting too free with them, I thought they might start to become a but devalued.  Prue made up for it, though.

[Luciano]

I'm really liking Sandi and Noel. Both cracked me up in this episode - Noel saying that Sophie will one day crack and burn the tent to the ground and Sandi's response to Stacey saying that perhaps Paul won't notice where she screwed it ("That could happen. That Paul would suddenly, you know, turn into a different person.")

[biakbiak]

Pastel de nata/de Belem and though I also love a dan tat and are made with most of the same ingredients they taste/eat very definitely and I go with the Portuguese overthw Chinese in this case!

[AZChristian]

I laughed out loud at the "Life of Pi(e)" skit at the beginning of the episode.  

[MorganSte]

On 7/15/2018 at 6:09 PM, DHDancer said:

And I'm sorry but Mr Hollywood is not always RIGHT!  If you use a raised pie mould like Julia you HAVE to raise it on the inside otherwise you can't open the mould.  It's one of the few things about Paul I chafe at: he states thing as absolutes

I think his issue was that it wasn't really "hand" raised by using a mold.

 

Also, how many of the bakers this episode had no idea how to treat ruff-puff pastry?  It seems like in past seasons everyone used it every chance they got.

[DHDancer]

4 hours ago, MorganSte said:

I think his issue was that it wasn't really "hand" raised by using a mold.

Also, how many of the bakers this episode had no idea how to treat ruff-puff pastry?  It seems like in past seasons everyone used it every chance they got.

OK, I can see that but I would argue that using a dolly also constitutes not hand-raising either.   :)

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, DHDancer said:

OK, I can see that but I would argue that using a dolly also constitutes not hand-raising either.   :)

I agree.  Dough inside or outside is pretty much the same thing.  You have to shape it by hand either way.

[rab01]

I've liked  Noel from the beginning but was meh about Sandi until tonight.  She was so genuinely sorry for Julia during the announcement that I almost choked up.  Also, I had completely forgotten how young Julia was; she's really not much older than Liam.

[festivus]

I thought Yan would get star baker this week. She was so cute standing there giggling after helping Julia figure out her pie mold.

[meep.meep]

I'm going to wear my scientist hat here - the reason that Yan used Franklin and Crick on the one pie was that Watson was American and no one knows who Crick was on his own.  It's always Watson and Crick!  If you just say Crick - crickets. If you want to do a British Scientist pie, go with Franklin and Crick.   Franklin was in my bio text books and I'm 62.  If she wasn't in yours, blame your school district/college/university.

I loved Stacey's soliloquy about her show stopper pie and how she had really planned to make it that way.  Followed by Sandi's brilliant rebuttal. 

[spaceghostess]

On 9/20/2018 at 4:52 PM, meep.meep said:

I'm going to wear my scientist hat here - the reason that Yan used Franklin and Crick on the one pie was that Watson was American and no one knows who Crick was on his own.  It's always Watson and Crick!  If you just say Crick - crickets. If you want to do a British Scientist pie, go with Franklin and Crick.   Franklin was in my bio text books and I'm 62.  If she wasn't in yours, blame your school district/college/university.

I loved Stacey's soliloquy about her show stopper pie and how she had really planned to make it that way.  Followed by Sandi's brilliant rebuttal. 

Wow. I was livid when I watched a documentary about what happened w/Franklin, Crick, and Watson a few years ago. I thought it was a worldwide thing that she wasn't credited for her contributions; now I find out that no, it may well have only been here in America that she was basically eradicated from history. Nice. And yup, my bio texts--both high school and college levels--were all Crick & Watson.

On topic: We were thrilled when Liam won Star Baker. He's adorable; all youthful exuberance and just the right amount of sass in the face of Hollywood. Was a bit surprised when he decided to mold his pastry the "traditional" way after all, but it worked out for him in the end, so yay!

Edited September 23, 2018 by spaceghostess
bad word choice

[Kohola3]

9 minutes ago, spaceghostess said:

He's adorable; all youthful exuberance and just the right amount of sass in the face of Hollywood.

He doesn't seem to be intimidated in the least by Paul which is refreshing.  So many others just seem to melt away and doubt every decision once he gives them the side eye.

[chaifan]

8 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

He doesn't seem to be intimidated in the least by Paul which is refreshing.  So many others just seem to melt away and doubt every decision once he gives them the side eye.

Yes, this!  I noticed the same thing in the very first episode.  I really love how Liam and Paul interact.  I was so happy Liam got star baker. 

I had pasteis de nata in Portugal many years ago.  I knew them as pasteis de Belem, as I was in Belem right by the monastery that Sandi was standing in front of.  They are tasty!  A wonderful afternoon treat with a cup of tea.  I loved the story on their creation - that the nuns needed something to do with all the egg yolks after using the whites for starching their laundry.  That's fabulous!  Back to the show - I think they made a great technical challenge, as they aren't well known and the pastry construction really is key.  

I loved how some of the show stoppers looked, but to be honest, there were very few that made me think "yum!  I really want to try that!" 

I can easily see Sophie in the finals, Steven almost seems too much of a shoo-in (shoe-in?) that part of me thinks production has been building him up as the obvious winner so much that he'll be eliminated just before the finals, I'd love to see Liam and Yan in the finals, too. 

[fib]

Im disappointed Julia went home - I found her bakes more interesting than Stacey's.  And Stacey baked parchment in her pie! And it was wonky!!! And her pastis de nata was terrible.  I felt like Julia had more upside, where as Stacey has been stuggling for weeks.  Bummer.  

[snarktini]

On 10/5/2017 at 6:51 PM, killer.noona said:

Kate, Kate, Kate. This is season 8 of the Bake Off. You just can't stand there during Pastry Week and say you've never made rough puff pastry before.  Sensible bakers would have been in the kitchen grating butter as soon as they got notified they made the cut. 

 

This floored me. WTF?

[satrunrose]

On 9/5/2018 at 6:21 PM, AZChristian said:

I laughed out loud at the "Life of Pi(e)" skit at the beginning of the episode.  

Noel's "I'm a tiger. I can't talk" cracked me up for some reason. 

[Fireball]

 

On 10/4/2017 at 7:12 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm happy for Liam being named star baker, but I thought that Yan should have won the title this week because she won the technical AND her showstopper was really good.

On 9/24/2018 at 2:44 PM, fib said:

Im disappointed Julia went home - I found her bakes more interesting than Stacey's.  And Stacey baked parchment in her pie! And it was wonky!!! And her pastis de nata was terrible.  I felt like Julia had more upside, where as Stacey has been stuggling for weeks.  Bummer.  

I feel like who got star baker Liam vs Yan and who went home Julia vs Stacey came down to how they did the dough on the showstopper: outside the mold vs inside the mold. 

On 9/6/2018 at 2:14 PM, Kohola3 said:

I agree.  Dough inside or outside is pretty much the same thing.  You have to shape it by hand either way.

I agree! I see no difference between the two. But the way Paul went on it seemed like doing it inside the mold was cheating or easier? I actual thought putting the dough on the outside of the mold looked easier.  If it has to be done outside the mold, why not put that in the brief? I thought they were all cheating because I thought hand raised meant no using any type of mold. 

On 7/15/2018 at 5:09 PM, DHDancer said:

I was a bit concerned that Sophie's raised pie didn't meet the specifications as it had no top.  I thought it was a bit of a cheat really.  

I did too! Julia got a comment about how her lid didn't fit well or something along those lines and then you have Sophie with no lid and no comment at all. And Sophie was mentioned as being in contention for star baker.  I don't always understand the judging.