Like many, I have a deep love for The Great British Bake Off (or as it’s known in the States, The Great British Baking Show). There’s something so soothing about watching a group of Brits be incredibly supportive of one another during a baking competition. I often cross-stitch to it or just simply lie in bed at night with it playing on my computer.
Currently, there are seven completed series (or if, again, you’re in the States, seven seasons). I refuse to acknowledge the current series after the departure of the shows beloved hosts, Mel & Sue, along with Queen Judge Mary Berry.
In terms of my baking expertise, I’m what would you call a “stress baker,” meaning that I find baking to be a meditative activity to do while I’m very stressed. However, the extent of my baking skills is mainly just cakes, pies, and cookies. I’ve never made anything needing yeast and it’s always sweet, never savory.
Because I’m clearly off my rocker and have seen every episode of GBBO more than once, I’ve decided it would be a fun challenge to try and do all of the technical bakes from the show.
If you’re unfamiliar, technical bakes are supposed to be a blind test (the judges don’t know who made what). Each home baker makes the same item according to a very vague recipe. It’s mainly used to test one’s technique and baking knowledge.
I will note there are some differences between me and the GBBO’s contestants:
- I will know the recipe ahead of time. (Point 1 for me)
- I do not have an amazing standing mixer. (Point 1 for GBBO)
I am giving myself the same time constraints used for the specific bake. I will also freely admit that the contestants have much more experience than I do (see above re: yeast). However, I want to expand my baking repertoire and I think this is quite a fun albeit challenging way to do it.
In each post, there will always be the same breakdown:
- Name of bake
- Episode it’s from, since I won’t be going in order
- Whose recipe it is: Paul Hollywood vs. Mary Berry
- Time given to complete the bake
- Link to recipe I’m using
- Of course, thoughts on the process and final bake
- Lastly and most importantly, a book recommendation! Maybe it’s an audiobook I’m listening to while getting my mise en place situated or whatever I’m cracking open while a cake is in the oven.
Below is a list of all the technical bakes featured in series one through seven. There are some repeats, which I won’t duplicate. Once a bake is finished, I’ll hyperlink to the post and include the book recommendation, so feel free to bookmark this post, or bookmark the Soggy Bottoms tag.
Series 1
- Victoria Sponge
- Scones
- Cobs (Bread Roll)
- Hot Lemon Souffle
- Cornish Pasties
Series 2
- Coffee and Walnut Battenberg
- Tarte au Citron
- Focaccia
- Brandy Snaps
- Miniature Pork Pie
- Chocolate Roulade
- Iced Fingers
- Sachertorte
Series 3
- Rum Baba
- Plaited Loaf
- Treacle Tart
- Creme Caramel
- Hand-Raised Pie
- Queen of Puddings
- Jam Doughnut
- Chocolate Teacakes
- Fraisier Cake
- Fondant Fancies
Series 4
- Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd
- English Muffin
- Floating Islands
- Egg Custard Tarts
- Tuiles with Chocolate Mousse
- Apricot Couronne
- Religieuses
- Hazelnut Dacquoise
- Charlotte Royale
- Pretzels
Series 5
- Cherry Cake
- Florentines
- Ciabatta
- Tiramisu Cake
- Mini Pear Pies
- Prinsesstårta (Princess Cake)
- Kouign-Aman
- Povitica
- Schichttorte
- Victoria Sandwiches, Tarte au Citron, Scones
Series 6
- Frosted Walnut Layer Cake
- Arlettes
- Baguettes
- Spanische Windtorte
- Gluten-Free Pita Bread
- Flaounes
- Tennis Cake
- Mokatines
- Chocolate Souffle
- Mille-Feuille
Series 7
- Jaffa Cakes
- Viennese Whirl
- Dampfnudel
- Heart-Shaped Lace Pancakes
- Bakewell Tart
- Herb Fougasse
- Marjolaine
- Jumbles
- Savarin
- Victoria Sandwich
All the recipes sound and look delicious, but there are some bakes that intimidate the hell out of me, such as the Charlotte Royale, the Tennis Cake, & every instance of a souffle.
Ideally, I’d like to ease into this little project, so which bake do you think I should attempt first? Have you attempted or made any of these, and can you offer any words of wisdom?
I don’t know about GBBO scones, but I’ve seen multiple recipes for scones, and they look pretty easy.
Second easiest is probably the tea cakes and then the focaccia.
I make scratch bread (no bread machine) with yeast fairly often even though I hate cooking (I like scratch bread enough to overcome it). The trick to yeast is to dissolve it in warm, but not too hot, water. I used to dissolve it in hot water, and the yeast would die, and the bread wouldn’t rise. After learning that trick, I have nicely fluffy bread.
Scones are very easy, I make them from scratch quite a bit and I’m not great at “fancy baking.” Just don’t overwork the dough. But the American in me is dying to hear what making a treacle tart is like.
Out of curiosity, I made the Schichttorte – a cake made of very thin layers cooked under the broiler. Trust me, the layers must be VERY thin. Or you need more batter. I could only manage 13 of the required 20 layers.
And flavorwise, I didn’t think it was really worth the effort.
Pretzels! Pretzels are easy once you figure out the baking soda wash bit. “Wait, is this too soggy or not soggy enough?” Plus, they’re fast and easy to do-over if things go pear shaped.
I have no idea how easy out is, but I eagerly anticipate your Schichttorte!
I want to do this SO BAD. ALSO you should totally get a stand mixer. It is the most amazing thing ever and I’m PRETTY SURE that if I had to flee a hurricane, my stand mixer would be in my car with me.
Where can you see all the seasons? Netflix only has 3, and YouTube has scenes and notes that “this video has been removed.”
This is such an amazing idea! I’m also a stress baker and I’ve been thinking about trying to bake my way through one of Mary Berry’s books this fall. I would never have the confidence (or patience) to try the more intricate technical bakes though. I have made scones and focaccia–both of which were fairly easy to do.
I WANT TO DO THIS SO MUCH! Of course, then I would have all of these baked goods, and then what would I do?
Don’t fear yeast! Soften it in water at 110 degrees Fahrenheit with a little bit of sugar. (Ignore any instructions to throw it dry in the flour and pour 130 degree water on it because “the flour will disperse the heat” — this is the propaganda of yeast murderers.) Yeast is literally the only thing I use a thermometer for in the kitchen. Let it do its thing for five minutes, and it will be obvious if it’s good (foam!) or a dud (sad flatness) and you don’t have to waste pounds of flour and hours of proofing to find out if it’s going to work.
I made a chocolate-chocolate-chocolate dacquoise once. Took a solid eight hours, mostly active labor, and I don’t think experience would trim off much time. It was a show stopper, but I’ll never make it again for less than true love. I’ll keep you in my thoughts.
I’ll second the suggestion for scones as the easiest one. Unless they have done something really unusual with the recipe, the technique is not much different than making American biscuits.
If you have made cakes before, then Victoria Sponge is also very easy. That’s what we made when my daughter had to bring some food to school that would have been eaten by characters in a book she read. As I recall, her book was by Jane Austen.
Cornish pasties would also not be difficult for someone who makes pies.
I succumbed and watched the revamped Channel 4 version: it’s a little different, but because the focus is on the bakers, it’s not *that* different. The little history of [insert this week’s baked good] segments have gone, probably because they’ve lost time to commercial breaks.
I do miss Mary, and Mel & Sue. Whilst Prue Leith is a good replacement for Mary, Noel and Sandi just aren’t quite the same. He makes less sense in terms of casting to me and doesn’t have the warmth of any of the others.
I succumbed and watched the revamped Channel 4 version: it’s a little different, but because the focus is on the bakers, it’s not *that* different. The little history of [insert this week’s baked good] segments have gone, probably because they’ve lost time to commercial breaks.
I do miss Mary, and Mel & Sue. Whilst Prue Leith is a good replacement for Mary, Noel and Sandi just aren’t quite the same. He makes less sense in terms of casting to me and doesn’t have the warmth of any of the others.
Good luck with your challenge!
I’ve made the Princess Cake from a Gale Gand recipe. It’s not hard — per se — just time consuming. I know on the show they had to make their Marzipan from scratch. When I made my cake, I used almond paste rather than grinding my own almonds so that was a little cheat. It is a super tasty cake, though. Well worth the time and effort! Good luck. This sounds like fun. Also, yeasted breads are not hard to make. You just have to have patience for the rise.
I’ve been on a Mary Berry kick lately – mostly because her food is pretty much similar to what I grew up with. My mother was a good, plain cook/baker and I regularly make her lemon bread in the same loaf pan she used. Don’t get me started on my sacred Yorkshire pudding pan, which traveled from England with her over sixty years ago.
I’d say the Victoria Sponge is a good place to start – a plain sponge cake filled with cream and jam. If you’re okay with shortcrust pastry, Bakewell Tart is easy (my go-to for the traditional roast beef, etc. dinner), but don’t bother with Treacle Tart unless you can get hold of proper golden syrup (Tate & Lyle); corn syrup is not the same thing.
Don’t be afraid of yeast, or soufflé for that matter. Everything is easy once you know how, after all, although some things are always going to be time consuming or fiddly. Victoria sponge is pretty easy, all those first cakes should be.
Personally, I would skip the hell out of the windtorte (I made one once and is only of intellectual interest) and the prinsesstårte holds no appeal in addition to being a ton of work, and that schichttorte frankly looked like it maybe wasn’t the best possible recipe (I made a chocolate and apricot one once that broke the broiler and was still worth it). But I used to work in bakeries, so I would usually wind up shouting at the TV during the technical challenges, like I could help the contestants if I were only loud enough. I don’t actually want to eat most of the technical challenges. But maybe I should work through some signature bakes…
This is amazing! I wish I was doing it with you! I made the prinsesstårte (though cheated with Odense marzipan) and it was TO DIE FOR. I share your fear of yeast and only use it for no-kneads and 24-hour rises, but I have faith that you will overcome! Good Luck!
I am a better baker than a cook and love Mary Berry’s recipes. The engineer in me likes to follow the directions exactly so the Technical Bake would slay me. Brandy Snaps may be a good one to try. Getting them to roll up right was a challenge but I think it was because I was too careful.
@ Francesca – I bought a can of Tate & Lyle golden syrup at my local Kroger store in Virginia! I’m now more inspired than ever to make a treacle tart.
Souffle is not as difficult as you might think. My very first one turned out perfect. As long as your ingredients aren’t too wet (like tomatoes) you’ll be fine just following the instructions.
Oh Lord, does this sound like fun! I was the kid who went home and made the recipes for cooking class (which we had in school in 7th and 8th grade, back in the day – alternating with sewing class) ahead of the day we were slated to make them in school. Just for the fun of it.
And I agree with the commentor who suggested you get hold of a stand mixer (if possible). I was lucky enough to receive one as a Christmas gift about 37 years ago (we’ve been married for 35 years, and it was a “you can’t really be a member of the family without this” gift from my husband prior to the getting married part). Yes, I still have the same one and it still works. Having said all that, you can make virtually anything by hand or with a small, portable style mixer – it just might be more work. Having said that, I admit to being the kid who once made an angel food cake completely by hand, just to see what it was like to beat all those egg whites the old fashioned way…
I’m not really an enthusiastic baker; I much prefer savory to sweet. However, a Victoria Sponge is easy peasy – my 7-year-old granddaughter and I made one Saturday. Very simple, basic cake – I use the Mary Berry recipe, converted to imperial units.
I’ve done scones several times, using different recipes, and although they’re ok, they aren’t nearly as good as ones I’ve eaten in the UK. I keep trying, though.
Souffles – I bought a souffle dish about a year ago because I wanted to learn to make them. I confess that I’ve used the dish for baking other things in and still haven’t tried a souffle. They’re so intimidating!
Don’t fear the yeast! I made Hot Cross Buns this year on Good Friday – first time – and they were wonderful. Yeast bread baking is so cathartic for me.
I will bookmark this for sure! I never saw the show, it’s really hard to find in my country, but I heard so many wonderful things about it.
Anyway, I want to tell you that I was terrified of yeast for years (had tried a few things with fresh yeast and it’s the worse: the ones I bought from the supermarket were always already half-dead) and my arms are not very strong: two minutes kneading bread and I’m already in pain. Anyway, I discovered the Artisan Bread in 5 a few years ago and it changed my baking life. It’s easy, works wonderfully and it gave me confidence to eventually try more complex recipes and even change some. I know you have a great project ahead, but after that you really should try the book (some recipes like the basic, challah and olive oil bread can be found on their site, so you may give it a try before buying the book)
@Jenny oh, interestingly I had the opposite reaction: I’m loving Sandi and Noel but find Prue grating (why does she make diet jokes??). It’s also made me more aware that Hollywood can be an uncomfortable presence. Sandi and Noel lack the chemistry of Mel and Sue and the duo moments are still awkward, but I like the way they both interact with the contestants individually and I’m hopeful they’ll start to gel with each other as the series goes on.
I’ve been watching the new BBC season the last couple of weeks while traveling around the UK. The original group will always be my favorite, but I quite like Prue. I’m also willing to give the new hosts/comedians a chance, although they have a tough act to follow. The first two show stoppers btw were, well, show stoppers. Amazing.
Fraiser Cake of course in honor of Jamie Fraser on Outlander.
Such a great idea!! I will follow along with gusto. I was also going to suggest scones as an easy place to start, as others have mentioned. Mainly because that is the one thing I have actually baked from this list. (I love to watch the show, but I’m at a very amateur level of participation right now…)
I haven’t seen the Channel 4 version yet, but I adore Noel Fielding, so my loyalties are torn.
@Leanne H: I enjoy Noel as well! But I know and love him from The Mighty Boosh, so I’m hesitant to see his humor translate to a baking show.
I second either scones or the Victoria sponge as easy bakes that will go down a treat.
The new show is fine, but nowhere near as good as the girl’s night that Mel, Sue and Mary have while it’s on.
Just for kicks, check out the movie Desk Set, which was one of our movie nights awhile back. Katherine Hepburn’s character serves Spencer Tracy’s character Floating Islands.
I love this idea and can’t wait to follow along! I have done a souffle and it is actually not that hard. Either that or I just had beginner’s luck. Agree with the others that scones are also hard to mess up, although I’ve never been able to get them just right, they usually taste too biscuity and don’t have just the right sweetness. I’ve always wanted to try Bakewell Tart and Harry Potter’s favorite, treacle tart, so I’m hoping that reading about your challenge will inspire me to be more adventurous in my baking. Good luck!!
I made a Battenberg for my sister’s birthday last month, and it was not the easiest thing, but manageable. I think if you have a nice amount of time, you can do all of these recipes successfully.
Why not start with the Plaited Loaf?
Also, who is going to help you eat all of this beautiful baked goodness?
I just took my first povitica out of the oven. I had fun with the fussiness, but it’s probably NOT the best place to start.
@Critterbee: My roommates! And some of my friends. I’ve already had some claim certain recipes for tasting.
I just binge-watched Season 2 on Netflix this weekend & am so excited you’ll be doing this! I love baking but stick mostly to cookies, brownies and crumbles – the easy stuff. Can’t wait to see how you do.
Scones are amazing; start with them and then you will have the POWER OF SCONES forever. Couronnes are less tricky than they look! (The best kind of bake, in my view…!) Foccaccia’s also a pretty low-stress intro. Trying Paul Hollywood’s VIctoria Sponge recipe turned out to be easier than I expected. The GBBO has inspired me to a lot of baking, so I look forward to following this series.
The Sachertorte might work, especially if you omit any “slice in half lengthwise” step it has and just put the jam glaze between the cake and the chocolate frosting on top. As a Euro-style torte, it’ll probably taste drier to you than an American-style chocolate cake would, so if that would feel too much like a mistake the teacakes might be a better idea. I like making scones, but tend to go for cream-based recipes instead of buttery ones. (They seem to be less fussy to me, and you don’t have to worry about getting the “some pea-sized bits, some crumbles” in your butter. Plus, there’s the trouble of not overmixing, but getting the dough to hold together, which can be a pain with lots of dry ingredients and butter as your only moistener.) Souffles actually are easier than they look, but the timing can be tricky unless you have one of those recipes that lets you just chill the mixture until baking time (and not make one of those foil collars!).
What to avoid: I’ve heard no less an authority than Rose Levy Beranbaum (who certainly isn’t afraid of complex recipes) claim that kouign-amann recipes are a lot of trouble, so I’ve stayed far away. (I’d say any laminated dough recipe like that would be a hassle for a beginner.) Tuiles or dacquoise (maybe even the brandy snaps) might be sensitive to humidity, so that could be annoying. Caramel burns are no fun, either! Angel food cakes look tricky to me, but people swear they’re not so hard if you follow a few guidelines (DON’T grease the pan, for instance)…sigh. I’d say a quick bread (baking soda or powder instead of yeast) or a simple cake would yield the best work-to-result ratio. Have fun–after all, even a flop can be good (fallen souffles make FANTASTIC baked puddings, for example).
For the Sachertorte to work as a one-layer, you’d have to strain the jam and let it soak into the cake first, I remember now. Or, you could just do liqueur or syrup (less authentic, but also less dry).
I am super excited you are doing this! I’ve watched the show on PBS-I think we have a few more seasons with the original cast since we are behind. I LOVE this show so much, the contestants are so good-natured and supportive of each other. They offer to help if they have time and someone else is in a crunch. I find it so soothing, and of course-I love to see the process and the finished products of the bakes!
Oh, how fun! I’m also a stress baker (I made a record number of pies in November….)
I agree with the others who recommend you treat yourself to a stand mixer. You will really be thankful with some of those recipes! With the holiday season approaching there should be some good deals coming up on stand mixers too.
I’m a few seasons behind as well – but really looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
What are sold as scones in the US are different from British ones. The British scone resembles at American biscuit but somewhat sweeter and sometimes contains raisins.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4622/classic-scones-with-jam-and-clotted-cream