The mere sight of a checked cloth on a countertop is enough to give our bakers a case of the collywobbles, but if you think you’re brave enough to take on the gingham altar, have a look at our pick of this series’ Technical Challenges. Been practicing? You can apply for Series Ten of The Great British Bake Off here.
This seventies classic was one of the few Technical Challenges in which having a wobble was encouraged. Prue’s helpful advice? “Follow the recipe really, really carefully.”
Paul’s Naan Bread with Garlic Ghee
Making your own takeaway? Most takeaway lovers would be having naan of it, but Paul’s Technical forced the bakers to have a bash at these harder-than-they-look flatbreads in Bread Week. The bakers had a very tight time limit, but it’s up to you whether you get your nan (the knitting-loving grandma, not the bread) to shout out timecalls à la Noel and Sandi.
It sounded like a cruel joke, but the Vegan Week Technical was to whip up perfect meringues without any eggs. Cue the miraculous aquafaba, the liquid from cooked chickpeas, which came to the rescue to help the bakers make a totally vegan tropical pavlova. Prue’s advice? “Trust me, trust yourselves and it will work.” We need to get that printed onto a motivational poster.
The first Technical Challenge of the series, during Biscuit Week, asked our bakers to whisk marshmallow, bake biscuits AND temper chocolate in once task to make Paul’s favourite childhood treat: Wagon Wheels… or, as French baker Manon called them, Wheeling Wagons.
There was sniggering around the tent when the rude connotations of the Puits d’Amour, or ‘well of love’ were revealed. But the giggles soon subsided when the bakers realised how tricky Prue’s Pastry Week Technical Challenge was going to be.
Any helpful tips from Ms Leith? “There’s a lot to do, so keep calm and keep going.”
If you think you’ve got the technical know-how to face the gingham altar in real life, apply here for Series Ten of The Great British Bake Off.