On your marks, get set… bake! The Great British Bake Off returns August 24, but you might be wondering what this pun-derful British baking phenomenon is all about. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the seventh season.
You’ve likely passed by The Great British Baking Show on your quest for your next Netflix binge-watch, or seen the buzz over on the GBBO hashtag and thought, “What’s all the fuss about?”
Don’t fall into a pitta despair — Hypable has got you covered. We’re going to give you the lowdown on why The Great British Bake Off is the perfect remedy to that Olympic void in your heart, and make you a Bake Off expert ahead of the premiere.
(Fun fact: The reason it’s called The Great British Baking Show in the U.S. is because Pillsbury owns the trademark for Bake Off. The more you know.)
‘Bake Off’ Basics
“But Hypable,” you cry, “reality TV just isn’t my cup of tea.”
Hear us out. Even if you’re not a fan of reality shows, or baking, we guarantee you’ll find something to love in The Great British Bake Off — especially if you’re sick and tired of manufactured drama, judges that are more interested in throwing around expletives than actually judging, and contestants that are ready to go for the jugular.
The Great British Bake Off is everything that reality television should be.
The hosts are unashamed of their oft-ridiculous baking puns — which, honestly, just makes us love them even more. The judges are undeniably fair when it comes to scrutinizing each bake, and offer constructive comments when one goes awry. The show is not only entertaining, but educational as well — and you’ll catch the baking bug before the season is out.
The contestants themselves are kind, considerate, and supportive from day one — it is not unheard of for them to give advice, and share ingredients and tools with their competition. The judges and contestants have genuine respect for one another — and that cultivates a show that is an absolute delight to watch.
So, what do you need to know about the Bake Off before throwing those eggs into one basket, and getting stuck right into the mix with the rest of us #GBBO fanatics?
- The Great British Bake Off unfolds over the course of 10 weeks.
- The competitors consist of 12 amateur bakers, three of which make it to the final.
- The show takes place in the now-iconic Bake Off tent. Welford Park in Berkshire is the tent’s regular home since it moved channels from BBC Two to BBC One in season 5.
- Each episode involves three challenges — Signature, Technical, and Showstopper. (More on these later.)
- The above challenges follow a weekly theme. For example: bread, pastry, and biscuits.
- Each week a baker is crowned “Star Baker,” an accolade that celebrates the contestant who excelled that week. However, winning “Star Baker” doesn’t grant the bakers immunity from elimination the following week.
- At least one baker leaves the competition every week. Multiple eliminations are rare, but have been known to happen.
- There is no official prize for winning the competition — though some bakers have secured book and televised media deals following their win.
Now, let’s get back to those challenges, and what each one entails.
Signature Bake
The Signature Bake is the first challenge the bakers face each week. The judges provide a specific bake within the week’s theme, like a kind of bread or cake, and the bakers need to utilize a recipe that is a tried-and-tested part of their baking repertoire.
They’re able to use their own flavor combinations, and creative freedom, to complete the challenge — and it’s a proven way of showing off the contestants’ individuality and baking traditions.
Technical Bake
The Technical Bake is how the judges separate the wheat from the chaff. The bakers are given a bare-bones recipe from either Mary Berry or Paul Hollywood’s — the Bake Off judges — collection. The contestants need to fill in the gaps from their own baking knowledge, and succeed and fail on their own merit.
The bakes are then blind-judged, so it is the ultimate test of their skills. Sound simple enough? Just wait until you see it in practice.
Showstopper Bake
The final bake of each episode is known as the Showstopper. If the bakers have stumbled on the previous two challenges, this is where they can turn it all around to avoid elimination. Think the kind of spectacular bakes you might see on Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss — but they can’t be all style over substance. These bakes need to be as delicious as they are elaborate.
And Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood have very discerning taste.
The Judges
Mary Berry
Mary Berry is a British Institution that rivals the Queen herself. She has over 60 years of baking experience, and more than 70 cookery books to her name. Yeah, pretty damn impressive, right?
But don’t be fooled by her sweet yet incredibly stylish look — she’s also mastered the art of the “death stare,” which only ever makes an appearance when she’s disappointed in a baker. Oh, and if any of the contestants adds a generous dash of booze to their cakes? Well, let’s just say that it’ll earn them some extra point in their favor.
Paul Hollywood
Paul Hollywood is a professional artisan baker that specializes in savory bakes, with a smoulder that would put Flynn Rider to shame and a vendetta against soggy bottoms.
He is a leading authority on bread, so rest assured that nothing gets past him that week, and he is arguably the judge that is toughest on the bakers — though he’ll almost always follow it up with some Paul Hollywood baking wisdom.
The Hosts
Mel and Sue
Where do we even begin with Mel and Sue? A beloved British comedy duo, they’ve been presenting the Bake Off since its inception, injecting it with everything from saucy puns to full-on innuendo. Their baking punnery is second to none, and is as much a staple of the show as the baking itself.
Though they’re not just there for the occasional opportunity to crack a joke, they also provide emotional support to the bakers and often a helping-hand when things start going a little pear-shaped. We really weren’t kidding when we said everyone was nice.
The Scandals
Of course, no reality show is without its scandals — and The Great British Bake Off is no exception, though “scandal” may be too strong a word in comparison to other shows. Nevertheless, it’s useful to have these scandalous moments in your back pocket — they’re likely to come up at least once over the course of the season.
#Custardgate, the first major Bake Off scandal, occurred when Deborah accidentally switched her custard with Howard’s during a trifle challenge — which in turn forced Howard to use Deborah’s arguably sub-par version. This was taken into account when it came to judging, and there were no hard feelings between the two.
Though, that scandal wasn’t a patch on #Bingate — also known as #Alaskagate. During the Baked Alaska Showstopper, Iain’s freezer was full, so he used space in Diana’s freezer in order to set his bake. Diana took Iain’s Alaska out of the freezer and set it to one side, causing it to melt. Iain dumped his Baked Alaska in the bin, and presented that to the judges as his Showstopper.
Needless to say, Iain left the competition that week — but he didn’t hold a grudge against Diana. Further footage was shown on Extra Slice, the Bake Off after show, which confirmed the Alaska had been out of the freezer for less than a minute — which wouldn’t have caused it to melt as rapidly as it appeared on camera. That didn’t stop the nation from launching a #JusticeForIain campaign, however.
This year’s Bake Off has already seen its first scandal, when the BBC released promotional images for the contestants using pink icing for the women, and blue for the men. Gendering the icing caused some truly spectacular side-eye from the fans, and the BBC later adjusted the icing to include yellow and green.
Hopefully that will be the first and last incident for 2016…
The Contestants
Though they’ll be hard-pressed to beat out Nadiya Hussain (the winner of 2015’s competition) and Tamal Ray (one of 2015’s runners-up) as the undisputed baking Queen and King of our hearts, this year’s crop of bakers will undoubtedly try their damnedest.
The BBC has released profiles for each of the contestants, which you can read on their dedicated Bake Off website, to give you an idea of which baker you might root for ahead of the premiere. (Is it just us, or does Michael remind anyone else of a certain legendary wizard?)
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