On Your Marks, Get Set, Baaaaake! A Thread for Great British Baking Show / Bake Off & all of its sundry delights

oh shit King Louis :( loved watching him bake

rip. seemed like such a lovely guy

His season was the first I watched, he was such a force in the tent, and that two-fisted gif of him is all-time. :(

I wanted to mention that although I really enjoyed Japanese week, I thought it a tremendous missed opportunity that it happened so long after Kim-Joy was a contestant.

agreed

lol every single thing she made on her season was kawaii

lol exactly

Everything EXCEPT her finale bake!

we dont talk about that

Laughed out loud at Matt's "Paul is so strong"

gawd icecream is stressful

Sad to see Lottie go, I had a bit of a crush on her.

showstopper for this was painful. i feel like if a frozen component is required, the challenge should be broken up into blocks, like they've done sometimes when something has to prove a long time or w/e --- "gotta be in the freezer by x time, then we reconvene tomorrow." because when would britain's best amateur baker EVER try to make the whole ice cream shebang in one sprint like that, with or without hot weather? i mean obviously some people managed it just fine, but it just seems kinda cheap. let the focus be on outright bad decisions, like including things that will be tooth-breakingly hard when frozen.

Yeah, they could lean into this next year, if they have to go into complete seclusion again. No point in cramming everything into one day's shooting if you are all there for the whole week anyway. Make it more like the pros.

or have "wolverine week" where one angry wolverine is roaming the kitchen... how will they cope?

I am so so so sad Lottie's gone :(

i loved that Noel called her “catface” <3

she was rad & had THE best sense of humor. loved her

my boyfriend kept calling her "Shirley Manson" lol

haha

loved lottie's wit/energy, sad to see her gone too

otoh *thrilled* for hermine! she is my fave

also loved marc's shirt this week

hermine is such a treasure

yeah she's probably our #1

Hermine finally getting a win softens the blow a lot, that showstopper was super neat, love her steady yet delicate hand.

Echoing all the sentiments for Cat Face, really going to miss her dry humor.

and her eyeliner!

Yes! Dry eyeliner, until the very end.

i'm pretty done with Dave tho

i was hoping he’d go this week tbh

his overcooked donuts looked like baked potatoes, i loled so hard

Those donuts though! They look way more like hot dogs than fingers.

lol definitely

pretty clearly a final three of Hermine, Dave and Peter imo

also

“If you make mistakes, laugh at them”
Here’s a letter from lovely Lottie to all of you Bake Off fans. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/FSJ5Qclj1q

— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) November 3, 2020

Tie your hair back.

<3

Also, I don't know how feasible any of these recipes are for someone of my (in)experience, but one can hope: https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/

Yeah, I thought Shirley Manson too.

I think I'm a little bit in love with Lottie. I'm fully team Hermine from here on in, I think. I think it's between her and Peter.

That's a lot of unnecessary 'I think's.

I can see Lottie presenting it in a couple of years' time.

Well, you think she'll go be the next Nadia, but

There was an episode Of Flog It on from Reading a couple days ago and a girl from a past bake-off series popped up with some nice cakes. Didn't really remember her though.

Liam was the next Nadiya. His baking show off channel 4 was great but made my teeth ache - everything looked so unhealthy. And there doesn't seem to have been a second series yet. (Which makes him not the next Nadiya, I guess)

Liam's been doing Junior Bakeoff with Harry Hill (and has been really good on it).

I can see Lottie being the new Candice tbh.

Liam also presents Bakeoff: The Professionals with Tom Allen, and they are a really good double act.

What a weird week! I was excited when I heard cheesecake, but then the size limit made them all look like custards of tarts. Then the blobbiest technical ever, and rounded out by jelly art, which would require an incredible hand to make it look anything but tacky. Of course, Hermine had just that skilled a hand, it was breathtaking.

I liked Marc a lot! Lots of stuff unsaid, but his time on the show has been quietly moving.

*custards or tarts

I meant to post this after the ice cream cake episode but after all this time and investment in keeping the show going, they still can't figure out how to air condition the tent?

it's manufactured drama. they could also get working ovens.

They do have working ovens! Apparently the staff test and calibrate them all before each day of filming

I’m baffled Laura is still here, it feels like she’s constantly scraping by, like she’s perpetually second-worst and is saved by better and more consistent bakers who just happen to bomb that week

yeah Laura is def a disaster artist, i thought she’d go a week or two ago

i get a perverse pleasure out of a technical that fails across the board, because it reflects poorly on the challenge itself not the bakers. it happened to Pru with another challenge too. Like, you obv didnt allow enough time for them to assemble and cook so they all came out underdone.

the jelly cakes were amazing, i found it a really exciting showstopper, esp when they were all turning them out of the molds i was terrified for them! hermine’s was breathtaking! but even dave’s looked incredible.

v sad to see Mark go, he was a good bloke & fun to watch

we really thought Laura was doomed from the opening preview which appeared to show her having serious issues with three visibly different desserts. but then she really rallied for the showstopper.

we're more ready for the young lad (Spencer? Peter? Stewart?) to go. i'm sure he's a lovely person but my partner resents his golden-boy hypercompetence and i've joined in viewing him as a twerp

Peter is v lovely and a good baker but maybe just not ~great~ tv? idk. feels mean to say.

i am fully in Hemine Must Win It All camp now

dave is my least favorite bc he just seems kind of gormless

Definitely Team Hermine over here