The Great Canadian Baking Show (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - Pastry Week - full transcript
The remaining six bakers revel in Pastry Week and the opportunity to showcase their creativity.
Alright.
Okay.
A large mouth smiling.
No!
Oh, okay.
Um... a fascinator!
Absolutely not.
Here.
Okay, try this.
A circle!
No.
A circle!
No, no!
Uh, a UFO!
It's Intergalactic Week!
It's not
Intergalactic Week, Julia.
This is a baking show.
I'm drawing pastries
for pastry week.
Don't see it.
This is a pie.
It's a croissant.
Nope, sorry.
Last time, the bakers
wowed with whimsical creations
for International Week.
Grazie mille.
And Megan's
Northern Lights cookie scene...
This is
a great Showstopper.
...earned her
the Star Baker's crown.
And Sadiya...
It's restrained.
I was scared.
...had to
say goodbye.
I would have loved
to stay on longer, but...
all is well that ends well.
Now it's pastry week,
and the remaining six bakers'
technical skills
are put to the test.
It is a bit tricky.
Please cook.
They're falling apart.
But who is next in
line for the Star Baker's crown?
This looks
pretty darn good.
Mmm!
This is a good way
to start the day.
And who
will flake out?
No!
Your dough is raw.
Oh, dear.
Opa!
It feels good
coming off of Star Baker,
but I feel like the
pressure's on to maintain
a little bit of a status.
Just to do what I know
and kick ass.
We're down to,
uh, six now,
and it just keeps getting
harder and harder here.
I'm so excited to be
here because I got off to this
competition in
a really rough start,
so to still be here
past the halfway point,
you know,
it's all I can ask for.
I have practised
so much this week
that I injured my elbow,
which I'm calling
"baker's elbow."
Good morning, bakers,
and welcome to Pastry Week.
For this week's
Signature Bake,
you will be
making a slab pie.
It's a pie that is rectangular
as opposed to round,
and the filling is a fruit
of your choice.
What does that
mean for me though?
More slices per pie.
Got it.
Alright, bakers, you have
2 hours and 15 minutes
on the clock.
On your marks...
Get set...
Bake.
This is just like
another day in the kitchen...
I wanna say,
but it's never like that.
I'm good.
We'll see...
this...
Ugh...
time is of the essence.
Have you ever
made a slab pie before?
No.
And so it begins again.
It's Pastry Week.
Pastry demands precision,
control, and patience.
Pastry is so unforgiving.
Are you a pastry chef?
Yeah, I mean, sure?
We'll see after today goes.
The perfect slab pie
with the right ratio of fruit,
a nice crust; you want
that contrast of a mushy
sweet filling and a nice
bit into the dough.
I'm working
on the dough right now.
Oh, geez.
Each baker will bring
their own pie crust recipe
for this challenge...
but at the centre
of all of them,
is that one important
ingredient.
I think the perfect
pie crust, to me, is...
I mean, I was raised on
my grammy's; it's butter.
Lots of butter.
Why butter?
Because I find that
butter will give
a crispier crust
than shortening or lard.
I just want
chunks of butter,
just because it's better
to have more than less.
Devon is
making a plum butter,
peach, and
apricot pie,
decorated to honour
a favourite activity
with his friends.
We're
a little bit of a...
uh, how do I word this?
A geeky bunch,
so we get together,
we play Dungeons & Dragons,
and I might serve
something like this.
Are you rolling
the dice on this one?
Gee, that's
a big chunk of butter.
So this dough,
now that I've made it,
I'm just gonna give it one final
mix and put it in the freezer
just to firm up a bit.
You see, it's quite soft,
and, uh...
that's not gonna be very good
when I go to make
a pie out of it.
Sachin's pie will be
adorned with an elegant peacock,
and filled with
thinly sliced green apples
and frangipane.
Now, by using frangipane
are you concerned
that you won't
have enough fruit?
Uh, you know, I'm using
quite a thin layer in there.
Okay.
I'm not gonna keep it
too thick,
and I'm placing a nice
layer of apples
on top of it.
So right now
I'm just rolling out my dough.
I'm kinda like,
"Oh my God, oh my God,"
'cause I'm not a rolling guy!
I'm not the best roller,
but I've been working on it.
Timothy's slab pie
will showcase a tiny dancer
on a curtained stage
above a filling
of blueberries
and banana.
I don't think I've ever
tried a banana in a pie before.
No, 'cause
usually you only find it
in, like,
a banana cream pie.
What are you
gonna do with the banana?
I just throw it in,
and you know, it...
No, I--
What does that mean?
It sounds flippant,
but I don't mean it like that!
Getting this
big pie to bake in time
will be my biggest challenge.
It's just so gosh-darn big.
The size of the slab
pies means there's a real risk
of the dreaded soggy bottom.
Let's get this in there.
To prevent this,
most bakers will blind bake
their crust before
they fill it with fruit.
But not everyone
is using this technique.
I'm not blind baking it.
No?
I'm just sticking true
to how I was raised.
We don't blind bake pies.
Real family,
family tradition.
Yeah, I'm trying to
represent where I come from.
Who you are.
Yeah.
Megan's pie
is an ode to her farm,
depicting the
flora and fauna
she can see
through her window,
and filled with
Saskatoon berries
hand-picked just
outside her door.
I would like to say
I helped picking these
Saskatoon berries,
but I refuse.
My philosophy is if my husband
and kids want me to bake,
they need to pick.
The bakers must
consider how much juice
their fruit will release
while it cooks.
Adding extra liquid
should be done with caution.
So, what kind of filling
are you using today?
I'm doing something that
was very popular among chefs
about 20 years ago where
they mixed strawberries
with balsamic vinegar
and pepper.
Yes.
Only strawberries?
Just strawberries.
Yea, so now
that's a very juicy fruit.
Yes.
Oh, yes.
Andrei's
Strawberry balsamic slab pie
will be decorated
in the bold, modern fashion
of one of his favourite
artistic styles.
I'm just doing a,
sort of like,
art nouveau inspired
strawberry pattern
just to show that...
let me go total strawberry.
These are
Nimbus's best friends.
Nimbus is my puppy,
and, um...
she has two best friends.
Mengling's wild
blueberry and elderflower pie
will depict Nimbus
and her doggy BFFs
howling at the moon.
Where did they meet?
No, um...
Did they go to
summer camp together?
Close.
Uh-huh, anyway!
Dogs and friends,
and friends and dogs.
Okay.
So I just finished
blind baking my crust.
Oh, God, okay...
Uh, there's
a lot of butter in here.
Way too much butter.
That's not good.
It's just not baking
the way it should have.
Back in the oven.
In goes the fruit...
And on goes the top
crust decorations.
It's going in the oven.
Cook, my pretty.
Please cook.
Okay.
Thirty minutes remain.
It's my dogs.
While everyone else
waits for their pies to bake,
Devon is just
starting to assemble.
Okay.
I am sweating.
What can I do to help?
I can make some dice for you?
Dice?
Yeah, sure.
How many do you want?
Um, just all of it.
Oh, wow!
I'm just using the tip
just to cut out circles.
Thanks, Andrei.
I really appreciate it.
When do I get
to sample something?
Oh!
Guess what?
You're a star!
It's just pie crust.
Mmm!
Okay, do your best.
Twenty minutes, bakers.
Twenty minutes remain.
Devon, how much--
how much, uh,
fat did you put
into your pie?
In general, like how much...
There's a lot.
Way too much butter.
What's happening?
Well, we're smoking...
Is that a good thing?
Um, not usually.
Are you
doing a smoky pie?
A smoked pie.
Yeah, that's right.
It's gonna taste smoky.
Well, it's a dragon.
It's a big freaking pie.
Right?
Are you
feeling confident?
When do I ever feel
confident in this tent, Julia?
It's true.
Not too shabby,
there's five minutes remaining
on your slabbies.
Game time.
I think that's done.
Okay, I'm pulling it.
It's a little runny.
Wow, that could be
a weapon it's so hot.
Okay.
Agh!
Oh...
Bakers, you
have one minute left.
Look at it go.
So liquidy.
That's not good.
Time is up, bakers.
Hands off your slabs, please.
Okay.
The slab pies will now
be judged by Bruno and Rochelle.
Do you know,
Timothy, one ballerina,
under the spotlight
with the drapes of the stage,
it just looks so spectacular.
Thank you.
Did you
blind bake this?
For around
twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes
is just like warming it up.
If you're blind baking, you're
blind baking to bake it through.
You can see this layer
of translucent.
Yeah.
It's not baked enough.
Okay.
I'm just
gonna go with the top.
Yeah.
I've never done
a pie with banana in it.
Um, but the flavour works.
Thanks, guys.
This looks
and smells divine.
Mm.
Yep.
Good bake.
That's
a perfect slab pie for me.
Thank you.
The pastry at the
bottom is beautifully crispy.
The fruit is sweet,
but not overly sweet.
And look at that shine.
It's beautiful.
Thank you very much.
Yes, really good.
Well done.
Thank you.
Sachin, I can
see great concept...
However, it's a bit lost
in the lack of contrast.
I wanted a bit more pop
with my little peacock.
No, totally, I see that.
You got great
flavour with the apple,
but you have so much
dough on the top.
Yeah.
So you don't have
the distinct apple taste.
The frangipane's
made it really cake-like...
Okay.
...and pie is
fruit and pastry.
Okay.
I cannot see
clearly the dragon.
Yeah, I agree.
Oh, boy.
Your dough is raw.
But you
blind baked this.
I did, but there was just
too much butter in the dough.
It's a shame
that it's really under-baked.
Yeah.
Nimbus, Cali, and...
Maisy!
Maisy, okay.
I just love the design.
However, it's lacking
a bit of bake in this part.
And you've
got a bit of bleed here.
Yeah.
Oh, dear.
I mean,
the fruit's holding.
That's a good sign.
This is sensational.
Oh, yes!
This is
really elegant.
The wild blueberries
are so punchy.
And you've got
a good ratio of filling.
A lot of fruit, which is good.
Yeah, a lot of fruit.
Thank you.
I love that
you've used the meringue.
It's a nice little extra.
Thanks.
It looks wet.
And your dough
is not cooked at all.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I can see
you're so upset.
I am.
Sorry.
It's gonna be great.
The flavour's amazing.
Okay, good.
The Amaretto with the
lemon and the Saskatoon berries
is just perfect.
The three of them
are perfect together.
Should I have
blind baked it?
But my grammy
told me not to.
Maybe don't
listen to Grammy?
She's so cute, though.
For once.
Only for once.
She's so cute.
It's just frustrating.
Still tasted good.
Still looked pretty.
It's okay.
I'm pretty disappointed.
I mean, it's entirely my fault.
I have no one to blame
but myself.
I've never
made a slab pie before,
but now I have,
and if I have to go to
like a 30-person gathering,
I know what to bring now.
It's time to get technical.
And technically,
Bruno, Rochelle,
you're not really
supposed to be here,
but before you leave,
any words of advice?
Remember, keep your cool.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Bye.
Okay, so this next
challenge is extremely delicate,
fussy, and flaky.
Kind of like you, Dan.
Gonna choose to take
that as a compliment, Julia.
Do.
You have been asked
to bake 12 sweet
and 12 savoury palmiers.
Oh, no.
These French
puff pastries are light,
layered and in
a precarious palm shape.
Palm?
You have 2 hours
and 15 minutes.
On your marks...
Get set...
Bake.
Oh, my God.
Making palmiers.
Palm-eers?
Palmees?
Palm trees?
Do you know
what they are?
No.
So, Bruno,
it's Pastry Wseek.
We're asking our bakers
to make us palmier.
Why?
Well, every baker should
know how to make a rough puff.
Which gives us
a similar result
to a more traditional
puff pastry.
Flaky,
crispy, and buttery.
So you can see all
the layers of the dough.
You can see the perfect bake.
Mm-hm.
It's crispy,
very light,
and has a good
taste of butter.
Mmm.
We need to get them
to make 12 sweet,
which is very traditional,
but we've thrown
them a curveball
and we're asking them
to make us a savoury version.
Super delicious.
The most important
thing about a palmier
is the...
the shape.
It's a heart
with a round bottom.
And so if our bakers
don't know what a palmier is,
there in real trouble
this week, aren't they?
Yes,
that's Pastry Week!
Do you know
about the rough puff?
Done that before?
I've made rough puff,
but not frequently, so...
Okay.
Rough puff pastry is
quicker to make than traditional
flaky pastry,
which usually takes hours.
A food processor
is used to incorporate
the butter into the flour.
But it comes with a risk.
If the butter
is over-pulsed...
it will prevent the dough
from puffing up in the oven.
I think I maybe
missed half a cup of flour.
Maybe.
Are we
familiar with palmier?
And you know, growing up
they're one of our favourites.
Oh, great.
Used to have this little
place in Halifax called
The French Pastry Shop.
It was like an
old-school pastry shop,
and my father
used to take us.
Well it's really
good that you know
what they should taste like.
I do.
Alright, my love.
This is gonna be fun.
Good luck.
Yeah, thank you.
Working up
a sweat because cold dough
is hard to roll.
Once
the dough is ready,
the bakers need to do
three rounds of rolling,
folding, and chilling.
Okay.
But if they
do more than three turns,
the pastry will be
overworked and won't puff.
That was turn five,
and now I'm gonna
do turn six now.
This is number four.
I saw Andrei doing this.
I trust Andrei.
He's my friend.
He knows what he's doing.
That's my strategy
for this technical.
I'm blessed that
he's in front of me.
I don't really know
what to do with this bad boy.
The savoury palmiers
will be filled with speck
and Gruyere cheese.
I like that combination.
I don't even
know what speck is.
It's ham, right?
Yeah.
It's a kinda like cured ham.
It's tasty?
Yeah.
Okay!
Delicious.
The sweet ones
are sprinkled with sugar.
Oh, God.
I still don't know
what these look like?
Have you seen them before?
No.
I'm just gonna
make them look like trees.
Some people
call them elephant ears
cause they look like the
shape of an elephant ear.
To achieve
the classic palmier shape,
the dough must be folded,
not rolled.
I have made
the shape of a palmier,
which requires you
to fold it three times
then flop it over.
Uh, cut to
perfect thickness,
and place on prepared sheets
and egg-wash if needed
for browning.
These are
the sweet palmiers.
Just trying
for consistency.
If we get there,
I don't know.
Oh, geez!
They're falling apart.
Oh!
I think maybe Andrei
has the right idea.
His palmiers are
more like more thin.
Less Princess Leia.
Goin' in the oven.
I hope
they look okay.
Those look
like palmier.
Do they?
Yeah.
I still don't
really know what they are.
I don't think anyone
really does or why they exist.
Palm-yay!
We're almost done!
Minute and a half, bakers.
No!
I have extras.
I have spares.
Oh.
Do they look cooked?
They're
a puff pastry disaster.
Are they?
They just didn't puff
as much as they should.
Do they look baked?
They're so pale.
Look at these
little nuggets.
They should be
nice and flaky and crisp.
Careful
you don't burn yourself.
Ow.
Five seconds.
4...
3...
2...
1.
Palms in the air, bakers.
Time is up.
Please bring your palmier
up to the gingham altar,
and place them
behind your photo.
The judges will be
looking for the correct shape,
flaky pastry,
and a good bake.
First baker.
The classic palmier shape
is like of a heart
with no point at the bottom.
You need to fold your
pastry in order to create
that sort of elongated
palmier shape
as opposed to rolling
the pastry inwards.
Let's try
the sweet one first.
Yes.
It's beautifully baked.
Very flaky.
Beautiful buttery flavours.
Let's try the savoury one.
Nice snap.
You can see.
Nice,
crispy, light.
And that's because of
a nice lamination of the dough.
Excellent effort.
Second example.
They're quite thick.
It's undercooked.
The sweet ones.
It's not as flaky as I expect
with a laminated dough.
This was pulsed
a little too far.
Third baker.
This baker has
actually folded the pastry,
which is really nice to see.
It's a bit tight.
Mmm.
You don't have much--
Puff.
You can see I have to
fight it a little to break it.
Beautifully
laminated, but overworked.
The savoury one...
It's lacking some flavour.
I would have
used more cheese.
Fourth baker.
The shape is not perfect,
but there is
definitely a nice bake.
Let's try the sweet ones.
Uh, the sweet ones.
It's too thick,
and it's undercooked
in the middle.
Fifth baker.
The texture of the dough,
just by looking at it,
is not right.
And it
was clearly pulsed
way too long
in the food processor.
Lacks a lot of sugar,
therefore the flavour
is one-dimensional.
It's kind of flat.
Last but not least...
The outside layer
is crispy and nice.
The inside is a bit dense.
Let's try the savoury one.
Very flaky and very nice,
and it has a good flavour.
Really tasty.
Bruno and Rochelle
will share their assessment
by ranking the palmiers
from last to first.
In sixth place,
whose are these?
Devon!
Well, yeah.
The dough was too dense.
Not enough sugar.
Wrong shape.
Yeah.
In fifth place?
Timothy.
These were...
Yeah.
...quite doughy.
Yeah.
In fourth place?
Whose are these?
Megan.
The roll was inconsistent
with a lot of holes
in the sweet ones.
So, in third place,
whose are these?
Andrei.
Great shape, perfect shape,
but they were really
just dry and tough
from overworking the pastry.
In second place,
whose are these?
Sachin.
Good amount of sugar,
good flavour, and crispy.
And in first place...
whose are these?
Mengling.
You've had a cracker of a day.
Well done.
Thanks.
Yay, me!
I got first
in the Technical
for the first time!
I'm really happy.
I knew
how to make palmiers
so I'm going to be
annoyed about it,
but it's not going
to cause any problem
in the future I don't think.
Looking forward,
I have a bit of a
reputation as somebody
who does well
in Showstoppers,
so hopefully
I can stay focused.
What would you say is
the most important thing
that these bakers
should keep in mind
going into this last challenge?
They need to forget
everything that they did
yesterday and focus on today
and just give us their A-game,
and I think every single
one of our bakers today
realizes what's at stake.
No one is safe.
Good morning, bakers.
Today the judges
would like you to make
18 breakfast pastries.
Specifically six danish,
six croissant,
and six sweet buns.
Now the croissant
and danish can be made
both sweet or savoury
but the sweet buns
should be, well--
they should be sweet.
That's right.
You have four
and a half hours
to make the breakfast
basket of my dreams.
On your marks...
Get set...
Bake.
Have at 'er, mixer.
Little knocked
down yesterday.
Little knocked down.
Yeah, yesterday
wasn't a great day.
Today I just want to have fun.
Today we are asking
our bakers to present us
with a basket of
breakfast pastries.
Time management is going
to be the trickiest part
of today's challenge.
I mean,
I just thought, like,
"What would I
want for breakfast?"
Like, if I had
a big day coming up,
like, that's what I want.
Pastry is one of
the most important skills
you need to know as a baker.
The tricky part is your dough.
Is it fluffy?
Is it over-proofed?
Under-proofed?
A lot of things
to worry about.
You know,
the worst that can happen is...
my dough is under-laminated,
and under-proofed
and under-baked, you know?
Creating 18 pastries
with two different doughs
and three different
shapes and flavours
is going to push the bakers
to their limits.
I am doing my
croissants and danish first
because that one is
the hardest dough to make.
I just decided
to start with croissant
because C comes before D
in the alphabet
or something,
I don't know!
Andrei's Breakfast
in Paris pastry basket
will include a
cocoa-stripe croissant,
an apricot danish,
and a swirly
sweet bun.
It'll be like
a pecan-cinnamon scroll.
No raisins?
No, I didn't
put raisins in it.
No?
Alright.
It's for the best.
I'm not a raisin guy.
Yeah, but this...
Not that this is
about me, but I...
Thank God.
I am stupidly
obsessed with anything pear.
I'm doing pear danish with a--
it's called caged pear.
So there's actually a lattice
cut top on top so it looks like
the pear's caged,
trying to break free.
Megan's pear danishes
will be partnered with
hibiscus
croissants,
while her
husband's favourite
coconut-lime buns
will round out
her breakfast basket.
What is breakfast like
in your home full of hungry,
hungry boys and man?
We don't do a lot of
pastries for breakfast.
I usually have egg
whites every morning.
It's very boring.
Well, this is a bit
more decadent than that.
Little bit.
I love the
feel of this dough.
It's stretchy-soft.
Smells awesome.
Croissant and danish
dough must be laminated,
meaning that the butter
is folded multiple times
into the dough to create
alternating layers.
So, it hasn't
really incorporated
the butter very well.
I did cut it
and you can see layers,
which is generally
a good sign.
The number
of folds, or turns,
determines how flaky
the pastry will be.
This is gonna
be my third turn.
I've done two folds,
two turns.
I'm just gonna do two more.
Timing is
gonna be really tight
so I'm only doing two turns.
Mengling's
two-turn dough
will be shaped
into yuzu croissants
and strawberry cream
cheese danishes.
Maple-pecan sweet buns
will complete
her breakfast basket.
I'm working on
my sweet roll dough.
It is quite sticky,
but it's okay,
it's supposed to be.
I'm not sure if it's supposed
to be this sticky, though.
What did I
come over here for?
Your danishes?
I don't know.
Eggs.
Gosh-darn it!
This whole challenge
seems very Christmassy to me,
because I don't have much
time to make croissants
on a regular day,
but during the holidays,
lots of time.
I am doing an almond croissant.
My favourite,
my mom's favourite.
Along with
almond croissants,
Sachin's Christmas morning feast
will include an orange spice
sweet bun and a
smoked cheddar danish.
I love laminated doughs,
I love croissants.
I worked at a bakery
and would have
two every morning.
Yeah.
And then regretted it
deeply by the end of the summer.
Let's just put it that way.
Just a helpful
hint, bakers...
You have two hours remaining.
Finally, the shaping
of the pastries can begin.
I'm using black cocoa
to put a coloured stripe
in my croissants.
I just have to laminate
it to the croissant
when I do the final shaping.
It is a bit tricky.
This is the
morning bun filling.
Not too tight, not too loose.
This is pretty darn good.
I'm making a chocolate
espresso covered croissant.
There's chocolate covered
espresso beans on top.
It's breakfast!
So I think you have
to start with coffee right?
Devon's
breakfast pastries include
chocolate espresso
croissants
and savoury
Swiss chard danishes.
And he'll make
a hazelnut
chocolate bun
out of the
leftover dough.
Growing up we would
never waste scraps of dough,
so I wanted to pay homage to
my mom and where I come from.
That's really lovely.
Great.
Good luck.
Thanks!
Mine's gonna be
an almond croissant.
I'm just creating
the little danish cages
for my mushroom filling.
I don't know
if it's too soft.
Orange-cinnamon
sweet bun.
Is that the
stress release ball?
No, no, no.
This is cookie dough.
I'm making melonpan
or Hong Kong Pineapple bun,
so it's...
Okay.
Oh!
Yeah, I know those.
It's the bread
that's covered by a cookie...
so you get kind of like
a crunch on the outside
and the sweetness
of the cookie,
plus the softness
of the bread inside.
And they're gonna be
decorated like bears.
Like what?
Like bears.
I hope it's cute.
Timothy's
bear-shaped sweet buns
will be paired
with almond croissants
and caramelized onion
and mushroom danishes.
It's a pretty
good breakfast.
It's a hearty breakfast.
It's a good way
to start the day.
While the shaped
pastries are proofing,
the bakers work on
fillings and toppings.
Cream chard
for my danish.
I love cream chard.
Mushrooms, thyme,
it's awesome.
Ontario strawberries.
I'm making
a creme patissiere.
A lot of egg yolks
and cornstarch and sugar
and vanilla,
which I forgot to put in.
You have
one hour left!
Time for the pastries
to get ready for the oven.
I'm working on
the cream cheese filling
for my danishes.
Strawberry jam and cheese.
Mmm.
Smoked cheddar.
I'm making an
apricot and pistachio danish.
My dainty man hands don't
make this process very easy.
Okay, alright.
Okay, go.
Be free, pretty things.
Turn it up.
I'm shocking it
with high heat,
so I can get
all that butter
and all the different
layers to explode.
It's so nerve-wracking
trying to figure out
when to take them out.
Mmm...
Bakers, this is
your two-minute warning.
Oh, yeah.
Let 'em cool, Megan.
Let 'em cool.
- Oh Lord, help me.
Oh, dear.
Mmm.
It's breakfast.
You have
one minute remaining.
Ugh...
So imbalanced.
Would you like to
try some almond croissant?
If you like almond croissant...
Oh, wow, that was a bite.
Mmm!
Nice and crispy.
Mmm.
That's ugly.
That's awful.
Oh, my God,
that feels nice.
Five seconds.
4...
3...
2...
1.
Alright, bakers,
time is up!
Breakfast is served!
Opa!
The judges will now
sample the breakfast pastries
to decide who will
get Star Baker,
and who will
have to go home.
Sachin, your
pastries please.
The aromas coming
off this are beautiful.
Thank you.
We're gonna
start with the croissant.
I can see the lamination.
Great flavour.
Great.
And a lot of butter.
Thank you.
Next, mushroom
and cheddar danish.
Mushroom
and smoked cheddar, yeah.
You can see all
the layers almost like a book.
The choice of smoked cheese
is very clever.
Thank you.
Your
orange-cinnamon sweet bun.
Look at those layers.
It just opens.
Great Showstopper.
Thank you so much.
I'm taking
those home tonight.
I love
the rustic presentation.
Oh, my gosh.
Thank you.
So it's
cardamom-yuzu croissants?
I can see
that it's laminated,
it's just not
laminated enough.
How many turns did you do
in this croissant dough?
I just did two.
Minimum three.
And because it
wasn't laminated enough,
your dough does not
cook properly inside.
Did you do that
because you've tried that before
or you were running
out of time, or..?
Um, I thought
that was one step
that I could cut for timing.
That's
the thing with pastry.
You cannot cut corners.
Mm-hm.
The maple-pecan
sweet buns...
Yes.
Good flavours.
Slightly overbaked,
as you can see.
These
are your strawberry
and cream cheese danish.
Taste is great.
Too bad you
don't have that flakiness.
Mengling, some
technical problems.
Don't cut corners.
So these are your
coconut and lime sweet buns.
Yes.
Clean flavours.
A lot of coconut,
so it's very delightful.
Next is your
pear and cinnamon danish.
You've put this beautiful
delicate lattice on the top.
They have created
this lovely cage.
Great flavour.
Your pears are poached
to perfection.
Beautiful.
The chocolate
and hibiscus croissant.
It's very heavy
and almost bread-like.
Oh.
I think
it's lacking moisture.
Oh, okay.
So, not enough liquid.
Your dough is--
To give that puff.
The flavours are really good.
Yeah, and again,
overall, great presentation.
Lovely.
Okay, thank you.
Devon, it's a lovely
brunch presentation.
Thank you.
So it's your
chard and gruyere...
Yeah.
...danish.
So you got
a beautiful bake all over.
The gruyere
and the chard
work really nicely together.
There's not a lot of
flake happening here.
I had some real
challenges with my dough today.
Remember
when you make pastries,
you've got to have it right
from the beginning.
Yeah, I've learned
that this week.
The croissant.
The croissants.
Does not have the flakiness.
What saves you here
was your flavour.
So, the sweet buns.
Chocolate hazelnut
spread with pecans.
These were, um, made
with the scrap dough
from the croissant
and the danish.
You can taste
the chocolate and the nuts.
However,
it's scrap dough of dough
that wasn't perfect
to begin with.
Great flavours.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you so much.
If I was in Paris
and if I call room service
to get breakfast,
that's what I will get.
And you can see the swirls.
Um, wow.
You've nailed lamination.
Okay?
Okay, good.
The texture
is amazing.
I just wanna big pot
of jam and just--
it's a really good croissant.
Thank you.
So this is your
apricot and pistachio danish?
Yes.
From the side
you can see the layers
that puffed up.
Beautifully laminated layers.
Now, there is
nothing better than eating
a sour apricot
and a crème patissiere.
Oh, I know.
The contrast just
collide and explode.
Marry.
It's just beautiful.
Cinnamon sweet buns.
You could almost
peel every layer one by one.
Let me ask you something,
did you ever consider
moving to Paris,
opening your own
little bakery?
No.
Maybe you should?
You pushed
yourself and it showed.
So, thank you so much.
Incredible skills.
Yeah,
Thank you.
Mm.
Go on a bear hunt.
Very cute.
Instagram worthy.
So this is the cookie
dough on the outside,
and then on the inside
is the sweet bun dough.
Yes.
Your dough reminds me
of a German stollen.
Oh, yeah!
Raisins...
Mm-hm.
Orange zest.
These are
your almost croissant?
Yes.
That's a
really great croissant.
Okay, thank you.
So we have
a mushroom-mozzarella
onion danish.
They smell divine.
Great flavours.
Okay.
What you've produced
is really impressive.
Thank you.
Good job.
So this was a really
tough challenge that yielded
some pretty amazing results.
So who really impressed you
out of the bunch?
I think Andrei
overall was a rock star.
Sachin also delivered
technically brilliant pastry.
Timothy was very playful,
yet very professional.
And he was
really ambitious.
Megan, she knew she needed to
up her game and she did.
Mengling had
a really good day yesterday,
and today... was
a little rough on her.
Today she cut corners,
and it shows.
Devon had a lot
of challenges this week,
and we obviously
have to look at him.
At this stage we're heading
into the quarterfinals
and we really need to make
sure that the five
that go through
are our strongest bakers.
Well,
congratulations, bakers,
on successfully surviving
Pastry Week.
We've tested
your precision,
we've tested your patience,
and now we have the very
sweet task of telling you
who is this week's Star Baker.
Now, this baker has
impressed us from the start
but today produced pastry
that could be found
in any Parisian bakery...
Andrei, congratulations
for the second time
you're Star Baker.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Now, that of course means
that I have the unsavoury task
of sending someone home.
The baker that will we
will be saying, very sadly,
goodbye to today is...
Devon.
I'm so sad to see you go.
Thank you.
This experience has
taught me to, you know,
take risks and to
try new things,
and to not be so worried
about the outcome.
I'm this guy from a small town
in Saskatchewan,
and it's been incredible.
What an experience.
Well, Devon always
delivered great flavours,
but this week
we were looking for
exceptional pastry techniques.
But he brought
a lot to the tent.
Amazing guy.
Andrei
is just next-level.
He's so incredibly thorough.
So we're going into
the quarterfinals.
This is the second time Andrei's
been awarded Star Baker.
Our other bakers
better watch out.
Being Star Baker
this week means a lot to me.
After Bruno and Rochelle's
comments about
the quality of my baking
is really overwhelming.
I'm gonna remember that
for the rest of my life.
Next time,
the five remaining bakers
battle in the quarterfinals.
Whew!
Okay, I can do this.
They'll face
a temperamental Signature...
I'm so
nervous right now.
...rise
to the challenge
with a tricky Technical...
You're just pushing
the eggs around the chocolate.
I know, Dan!
...and walk
through the black forest
with a reimagined classic.
Holy panic mode!
Oh, my God,
I'm shaking so much.
Oh, my God!
Well done.
Who will survive
and claim their spot
in the semi-finals?
Everything here seems
to be turning into a disaster.
Okay.
A large mouth smiling.
No!
Oh, okay.
Um... a fascinator!
Absolutely not.
Here.
Okay, try this.
A circle!
No.
A circle!
No, no!
Uh, a UFO!
It's Intergalactic Week!
It's not
Intergalactic Week, Julia.
This is a baking show.
I'm drawing pastries
for pastry week.
Don't see it.
This is a pie.
It's a croissant.
Nope, sorry.
Last time, the bakers
wowed with whimsical creations
for International Week.
Grazie mille.
And Megan's
Northern Lights cookie scene...
This is
a great Showstopper.
...earned her
the Star Baker's crown.
And Sadiya...
It's restrained.
I was scared.
...had to
say goodbye.
I would have loved
to stay on longer, but...
all is well that ends well.
Now it's pastry week,
and the remaining six bakers'
technical skills
are put to the test.
It is a bit tricky.
Please cook.
They're falling apart.
But who is next in
line for the Star Baker's crown?
This looks
pretty darn good.
Mmm!
This is a good way
to start the day.
And who
will flake out?
No!
Your dough is raw.
Oh, dear.
Opa!
It feels good
coming off of Star Baker,
but I feel like the
pressure's on to maintain
a little bit of a status.
Just to do what I know
and kick ass.
We're down to,
uh, six now,
and it just keeps getting
harder and harder here.
I'm so excited to be
here because I got off to this
competition in
a really rough start,
so to still be here
past the halfway point,
you know,
it's all I can ask for.
I have practised
so much this week
that I injured my elbow,
which I'm calling
"baker's elbow."
Good morning, bakers,
and welcome to Pastry Week.
For this week's
Signature Bake,
you will be
making a slab pie.
It's a pie that is rectangular
as opposed to round,
and the filling is a fruit
of your choice.
What does that
mean for me though?
More slices per pie.
Got it.
Alright, bakers, you have
2 hours and 15 minutes
on the clock.
On your marks...
Get set...
Bake.
This is just like
another day in the kitchen...
I wanna say,
but it's never like that.
I'm good.
We'll see...
this...
Ugh...
time is of the essence.
Have you ever
made a slab pie before?
No.
And so it begins again.
It's Pastry Week.
Pastry demands precision,
control, and patience.
Pastry is so unforgiving.
Are you a pastry chef?
Yeah, I mean, sure?
We'll see after today goes.
The perfect slab pie
with the right ratio of fruit,
a nice crust; you want
that contrast of a mushy
sweet filling and a nice
bit into the dough.
I'm working
on the dough right now.
Oh, geez.
Each baker will bring
their own pie crust recipe
for this challenge...
but at the centre
of all of them,
is that one important
ingredient.
I think the perfect
pie crust, to me, is...
I mean, I was raised on
my grammy's; it's butter.
Lots of butter.
Why butter?
Because I find that
butter will give
a crispier crust
than shortening or lard.
I just want
chunks of butter,
just because it's better
to have more than less.
Devon is
making a plum butter,
peach, and
apricot pie,
decorated to honour
a favourite activity
with his friends.
We're
a little bit of a...
uh, how do I word this?
A geeky bunch,
so we get together,
we play Dungeons & Dragons,
and I might serve
something like this.
Are you rolling
the dice on this one?
Gee, that's
a big chunk of butter.
So this dough,
now that I've made it,
I'm just gonna give it one final
mix and put it in the freezer
just to firm up a bit.
You see, it's quite soft,
and, uh...
that's not gonna be very good
when I go to make
a pie out of it.
Sachin's pie will be
adorned with an elegant peacock,
and filled with
thinly sliced green apples
and frangipane.
Now, by using frangipane
are you concerned
that you won't
have enough fruit?
Uh, you know, I'm using
quite a thin layer in there.
Okay.
I'm not gonna keep it
too thick,
and I'm placing a nice
layer of apples
on top of it.
So right now
I'm just rolling out my dough.
I'm kinda like,
"Oh my God, oh my God,"
'cause I'm not a rolling guy!
I'm not the best roller,
but I've been working on it.
Timothy's slab pie
will showcase a tiny dancer
on a curtained stage
above a filling
of blueberries
and banana.
I don't think I've ever
tried a banana in a pie before.
No, 'cause
usually you only find it
in, like,
a banana cream pie.
What are you
gonna do with the banana?
I just throw it in,
and you know, it...
No, I--
What does that mean?
It sounds flippant,
but I don't mean it like that!
Getting this
big pie to bake in time
will be my biggest challenge.
It's just so gosh-darn big.
The size of the slab
pies means there's a real risk
of the dreaded soggy bottom.
Let's get this in there.
To prevent this,
most bakers will blind bake
their crust before
they fill it with fruit.
But not everyone
is using this technique.
I'm not blind baking it.
No?
I'm just sticking true
to how I was raised.
We don't blind bake pies.
Real family,
family tradition.
Yeah, I'm trying to
represent where I come from.
Who you are.
Yeah.
Megan's pie
is an ode to her farm,
depicting the
flora and fauna
she can see
through her window,
and filled with
Saskatoon berries
hand-picked just
outside her door.
I would like to say
I helped picking these
Saskatoon berries,
but I refuse.
My philosophy is if my husband
and kids want me to bake,
they need to pick.
The bakers must
consider how much juice
their fruit will release
while it cooks.
Adding extra liquid
should be done with caution.
So, what kind of filling
are you using today?
I'm doing something that
was very popular among chefs
about 20 years ago where
they mixed strawberries
with balsamic vinegar
and pepper.
Yes.
Only strawberries?
Just strawberries.
Yea, so now
that's a very juicy fruit.
Yes.
Oh, yes.
Andrei's
Strawberry balsamic slab pie
will be decorated
in the bold, modern fashion
of one of his favourite
artistic styles.
I'm just doing a,
sort of like,
art nouveau inspired
strawberry pattern
just to show that...
let me go total strawberry.
These are
Nimbus's best friends.
Nimbus is my puppy,
and, um...
she has two best friends.
Mengling's wild
blueberry and elderflower pie
will depict Nimbus
and her doggy BFFs
howling at the moon.
Where did they meet?
No, um...
Did they go to
summer camp together?
Close.
Uh-huh, anyway!
Dogs and friends,
and friends and dogs.
Okay.
So I just finished
blind baking my crust.
Oh, God, okay...
Uh, there's
a lot of butter in here.
Way too much butter.
That's not good.
It's just not baking
the way it should have.
Back in the oven.
In goes the fruit...
And on goes the top
crust decorations.
It's going in the oven.
Cook, my pretty.
Please cook.
Okay.
Thirty minutes remain.
It's my dogs.
While everyone else
waits for their pies to bake,
Devon is just
starting to assemble.
Okay.
I am sweating.
What can I do to help?
I can make some dice for you?
Dice?
Yeah, sure.
How many do you want?
Um, just all of it.
Oh, wow!
I'm just using the tip
just to cut out circles.
Thanks, Andrei.
I really appreciate it.
When do I get
to sample something?
Oh!
Guess what?
You're a star!
It's just pie crust.
Mmm!
Okay, do your best.
Twenty minutes, bakers.
Twenty minutes remain.
Devon, how much--
how much, uh,
fat did you put
into your pie?
In general, like how much...
There's a lot.
Way too much butter.
What's happening?
Well, we're smoking...
Is that a good thing?
Um, not usually.
Are you
doing a smoky pie?
A smoked pie.
Yeah, that's right.
It's gonna taste smoky.
Well, it's a dragon.
It's a big freaking pie.
Right?
Are you
feeling confident?
When do I ever feel
confident in this tent, Julia?
It's true.
Not too shabby,
there's five minutes remaining
on your slabbies.
Game time.
I think that's done.
Okay, I'm pulling it.
It's a little runny.
Wow, that could be
a weapon it's so hot.
Okay.
Agh!
Oh...
Bakers, you
have one minute left.
Look at it go.
So liquidy.
That's not good.
Time is up, bakers.
Hands off your slabs, please.
Okay.
The slab pies will now
be judged by Bruno and Rochelle.
Do you know,
Timothy, one ballerina,
under the spotlight
with the drapes of the stage,
it just looks so spectacular.
Thank you.
Did you
blind bake this?
For around
twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes
is just like warming it up.
If you're blind baking, you're
blind baking to bake it through.
You can see this layer
of translucent.
Yeah.
It's not baked enough.
Okay.
I'm just
gonna go with the top.
Yeah.
I've never done
a pie with banana in it.
Um, but the flavour works.
Thanks, guys.
This looks
and smells divine.
Mm.
Yep.
Good bake.
That's
a perfect slab pie for me.
Thank you.
The pastry at the
bottom is beautifully crispy.
The fruit is sweet,
but not overly sweet.
And look at that shine.
It's beautiful.
Thank you very much.
Yes, really good.
Well done.
Thank you.
Sachin, I can
see great concept...
However, it's a bit lost
in the lack of contrast.
I wanted a bit more pop
with my little peacock.
No, totally, I see that.
You got great
flavour with the apple,
but you have so much
dough on the top.
Yeah.
So you don't have
the distinct apple taste.
The frangipane's
made it really cake-like...
Okay.
...and pie is
fruit and pastry.
Okay.
I cannot see
clearly the dragon.
Yeah, I agree.
Oh, boy.
Your dough is raw.
But you
blind baked this.
I did, but there was just
too much butter in the dough.
It's a shame
that it's really under-baked.
Yeah.
Nimbus, Cali, and...
Maisy!
Maisy, okay.
I just love the design.
However, it's lacking
a bit of bake in this part.
And you've
got a bit of bleed here.
Yeah.
Oh, dear.
I mean,
the fruit's holding.
That's a good sign.
This is sensational.
Oh, yes!
This is
really elegant.
The wild blueberries
are so punchy.
And you've got
a good ratio of filling.
A lot of fruit, which is good.
Yeah, a lot of fruit.
Thank you.
I love that
you've used the meringue.
It's a nice little extra.
Thanks.
It looks wet.
And your dough
is not cooked at all.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I can see
you're so upset.
I am.
Sorry.
It's gonna be great.
The flavour's amazing.
Okay, good.
The Amaretto with the
lemon and the Saskatoon berries
is just perfect.
The three of them
are perfect together.
Should I have
blind baked it?
But my grammy
told me not to.
Maybe don't
listen to Grammy?
She's so cute, though.
For once.
Only for once.
She's so cute.
It's just frustrating.
Still tasted good.
Still looked pretty.
It's okay.
I'm pretty disappointed.
I mean, it's entirely my fault.
I have no one to blame
but myself.
I've never
made a slab pie before,
but now I have,
and if I have to go to
like a 30-person gathering,
I know what to bring now.
It's time to get technical.
And technically,
Bruno, Rochelle,
you're not really
supposed to be here,
but before you leave,
any words of advice?
Remember, keep your cool.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Bye.
Okay, so this next
challenge is extremely delicate,
fussy, and flaky.
Kind of like you, Dan.
Gonna choose to take
that as a compliment, Julia.
Do.
You have been asked
to bake 12 sweet
and 12 savoury palmiers.
Oh, no.
These French
puff pastries are light,
layered and in
a precarious palm shape.
Palm?
You have 2 hours
and 15 minutes.
On your marks...
Get set...
Bake.
Oh, my God.
Making palmiers.
Palm-eers?
Palmees?
Palm trees?
Do you know
what they are?
No.
So, Bruno,
it's Pastry Wseek.
We're asking our bakers
to make us palmier.
Why?
Well, every baker should
know how to make a rough puff.
Which gives us
a similar result
to a more traditional
puff pastry.
Flaky,
crispy, and buttery.
So you can see all
the layers of the dough.
You can see the perfect bake.
Mm-hm.
It's crispy,
very light,
and has a good
taste of butter.
Mmm.
We need to get them
to make 12 sweet,
which is very traditional,
but we've thrown
them a curveball
and we're asking them
to make us a savoury version.
Super delicious.
The most important
thing about a palmier
is the...
the shape.
It's a heart
with a round bottom.
And so if our bakers
don't know what a palmier is,
there in real trouble
this week, aren't they?
Yes,
that's Pastry Week!
Do you know
about the rough puff?
Done that before?
I've made rough puff,
but not frequently, so...
Okay.
Rough puff pastry is
quicker to make than traditional
flaky pastry,
which usually takes hours.
A food processor
is used to incorporate
the butter into the flour.
But it comes with a risk.
If the butter
is over-pulsed...
it will prevent the dough
from puffing up in the oven.
I think I maybe
missed half a cup of flour.
Maybe.
Are we
familiar with palmier?
And you know, growing up
they're one of our favourites.
Oh, great.
Used to have this little
place in Halifax called
The French Pastry Shop.
It was like an
old-school pastry shop,
and my father
used to take us.
Well it's really
good that you know
what they should taste like.
I do.
Alright, my love.
This is gonna be fun.
Good luck.
Yeah, thank you.
Working up
a sweat because cold dough
is hard to roll.
Once
the dough is ready,
the bakers need to do
three rounds of rolling,
folding, and chilling.
Okay.
But if they
do more than three turns,
the pastry will be
overworked and won't puff.
That was turn five,
and now I'm gonna
do turn six now.
This is number four.
I saw Andrei doing this.
I trust Andrei.
He's my friend.
He knows what he's doing.
That's my strategy
for this technical.
I'm blessed that
he's in front of me.
I don't really know
what to do with this bad boy.
The savoury palmiers
will be filled with speck
and Gruyere cheese.
I like that combination.
I don't even
know what speck is.
It's ham, right?
Yeah.
It's a kinda like cured ham.
It's tasty?
Yeah.
Okay!
Delicious.
The sweet ones
are sprinkled with sugar.
Oh, God.
I still don't know
what these look like?
Have you seen them before?
No.
I'm just gonna
make them look like trees.
Some people
call them elephant ears
cause they look like the
shape of an elephant ear.
To achieve
the classic palmier shape,
the dough must be folded,
not rolled.
I have made
the shape of a palmier,
which requires you
to fold it three times
then flop it over.
Uh, cut to
perfect thickness,
and place on prepared sheets
and egg-wash if needed
for browning.
These are
the sweet palmiers.
Just trying
for consistency.
If we get there,
I don't know.
Oh, geez!
They're falling apart.
Oh!
I think maybe Andrei
has the right idea.
His palmiers are
more like more thin.
Less Princess Leia.
Goin' in the oven.
I hope
they look okay.
Those look
like palmier.
Do they?
Yeah.
I still don't
really know what they are.
I don't think anyone
really does or why they exist.
Palm-yay!
We're almost done!
Minute and a half, bakers.
No!
I have extras.
I have spares.
Oh.
Do they look cooked?
They're
a puff pastry disaster.
Are they?
They just didn't puff
as much as they should.
Do they look baked?
They're so pale.
Look at these
little nuggets.
They should be
nice and flaky and crisp.
Careful
you don't burn yourself.
Ow.
Five seconds.
4...
3...
2...
1.
Palms in the air, bakers.
Time is up.
Please bring your palmier
up to the gingham altar,
and place them
behind your photo.
The judges will be
looking for the correct shape,
flaky pastry,
and a good bake.
First baker.
The classic palmier shape
is like of a heart
with no point at the bottom.
You need to fold your
pastry in order to create
that sort of elongated
palmier shape
as opposed to rolling
the pastry inwards.
Let's try
the sweet one first.
Yes.
It's beautifully baked.
Very flaky.
Beautiful buttery flavours.
Let's try the savoury one.
Nice snap.
You can see.
Nice,
crispy, light.
And that's because of
a nice lamination of the dough.
Excellent effort.
Second example.
They're quite thick.
It's undercooked.
The sweet ones.
It's not as flaky as I expect
with a laminated dough.
This was pulsed
a little too far.
Third baker.
This baker has
actually folded the pastry,
which is really nice to see.
It's a bit tight.
Mmm.
You don't have much--
Puff.
You can see I have to
fight it a little to break it.
Beautifully
laminated, but overworked.
The savoury one...
It's lacking some flavour.
I would have
used more cheese.
Fourth baker.
The shape is not perfect,
but there is
definitely a nice bake.
Let's try the sweet ones.
Uh, the sweet ones.
It's too thick,
and it's undercooked
in the middle.
Fifth baker.
The texture of the dough,
just by looking at it,
is not right.
And it
was clearly pulsed
way too long
in the food processor.
Lacks a lot of sugar,
therefore the flavour
is one-dimensional.
It's kind of flat.
Last but not least...
The outside layer
is crispy and nice.
The inside is a bit dense.
Let's try the savoury one.
Very flaky and very nice,
and it has a good flavour.
Really tasty.
Bruno and Rochelle
will share their assessment
by ranking the palmiers
from last to first.
In sixth place,
whose are these?
Devon!
Well, yeah.
The dough was too dense.
Not enough sugar.
Wrong shape.
Yeah.
In fifth place?
Timothy.
These were...
Yeah.
...quite doughy.
Yeah.
In fourth place?
Whose are these?
Megan.
The roll was inconsistent
with a lot of holes
in the sweet ones.
So, in third place,
whose are these?
Andrei.
Great shape, perfect shape,
but they were really
just dry and tough
from overworking the pastry.
In second place,
whose are these?
Sachin.
Good amount of sugar,
good flavour, and crispy.
And in first place...
whose are these?
Mengling.
You've had a cracker of a day.
Well done.
Thanks.
Yay, me!
I got first
in the Technical
for the first time!
I'm really happy.
I knew
how to make palmiers
so I'm going to be
annoyed about it,
but it's not going
to cause any problem
in the future I don't think.
Looking forward,
I have a bit of a
reputation as somebody
who does well
in Showstoppers,
so hopefully
I can stay focused.
What would you say is
the most important thing
that these bakers
should keep in mind
going into this last challenge?
They need to forget
everything that they did
yesterday and focus on today
and just give us their A-game,
and I think every single
one of our bakers today
realizes what's at stake.
No one is safe.
Good morning, bakers.
Today the judges
would like you to make
18 breakfast pastries.
Specifically six danish,
six croissant,
and six sweet buns.
Now the croissant
and danish can be made
both sweet or savoury
but the sweet buns
should be, well--
they should be sweet.
That's right.
You have four
and a half hours
to make the breakfast
basket of my dreams.
On your marks...
Get set...
Bake.
Have at 'er, mixer.
Little knocked
down yesterday.
Little knocked down.
Yeah, yesterday
wasn't a great day.
Today I just want to have fun.
Today we are asking
our bakers to present us
with a basket of
breakfast pastries.
Time management is going
to be the trickiest part
of today's challenge.
I mean,
I just thought, like,
"What would I
want for breakfast?"
Like, if I had
a big day coming up,
like, that's what I want.
Pastry is one of
the most important skills
you need to know as a baker.
The tricky part is your dough.
Is it fluffy?
Is it over-proofed?
Under-proofed?
A lot of things
to worry about.
You know,
the worst that can happen is...
my dough is under-laminated,
and under-proofed
and under-baked, you know?
Creating 18 pastries
with two different doughs
and three different
shapes and flavours
is going to push the bakers
to their limits.
I am doing my
croissants and danish first
because that one is
the hardest dough to make.
I just decided
to start with croissant
because C comes before D
in the alphabet
or something,
I don't know!
Andrei's Breakfast
in Paris pastry basket
will include a
cocoa-stripe croissant,
an apricot danish,
and a swirly
sweet bun.
It'll be like
a pecan-cinnamon scroll.
No raisins?
No, I didn't
put raisins in it.
No?
Alright.
It's for the best.
I'm not a raisin guy.
Yeah, but this...
Not that this is
about me, but I...
Thank God.
I am stupidly
obsessed with anything pear.
I'm doing pear danish with a--
it's called caged pear.
So there's actually a lattice
cut top on top so it looks like
the pear's caged,
trying to break free.
Megan's pear danishes
will be partnered with
hibiscus
croissants,
while her
husband's favourite
coconut-lime buns
will round out
her breakfast basket.
What is breakfast like
in your home full of hungry,
hungry boys and man?
We don't do a lot of
pastries for breakfast.
I usually have egg
whites every morning.
It's very boring.
Well, this is a bit
more decadent than that.
Little bit.
I love the
feel of this dough.
It's stretchy-soft.
Smells awesome.
Croissant and danish
dough must be laminated,
meaning that the butter
is folded multiple times
into the dough to create
alternating layers.
So, it hasn't
really incorporated
the butter very well.
I did cut it
and you can see layers,
which is generally
a good sign.
The number
of folds, or turns,
determines how flaky
the pastry will be.
This is gonna
be my third turn.
I've done two folds,
two turns.
I'm just gonna do two more.
Timing is
gonna be really tight
so I'm only doing two turns.
Mengling's
two-turn dough
will be shaped
into yuzu croissants
and strawberry cream
cheese danishes.
Maple-pecan sweet buns
will complete
her breakfast basket.
I'm working on
my sweet roll dough.
It is quite sticky,
but it's okay,
it's supposed to be.
I'm not sure if it's supposed
to be this sticky, though.
What did I
come over here for?
Your danishes?
I don't know.
Eggs.
Gosh-darn it!
This whole challenge
seems very Christmassy to me,
because I don't have much
time to make croissants
on a regular day,
but during the holidays,
lots of time.
I am doing an almond croissant.
My favourite,
my mom's favourite.
Along with
almond croissants,
Sachin's Christmas morning feast
will include an orange spice
sweet bun and a
smoked cheddar danish.
I love laminated doughs,
I love croissants.
I worked at a bakery
and would have
two every morning.
Yeah.
And then regretted it
deeply by the end of the summer.
Let's just put it that way.
Just a helpful
hint, bakers...
You have two hours remaining.
Finally, the shaping
of the pastries can begin.
I'm using black cocoa
to put a coloured stripe
in my croissants.
I just have to laminate
it to the croissant
when I do the final shaping.
It is a bit tricky.
This is the
morning bun filling.
Not too tight, not too loose.
This is pretty darn good.
I'm making a chocolate
espresso covered croissant.
There's chocolate covered
espresso beans on top.
It's breakfast!
So I think you have
to start with coffee right?
Devon's
breakfast pastries include
chocolate espresso
croissants
and savoury
Swiss chard danishes.
And he'll make
a hazelnut
chocolate bun
out of the
leftover dough.
Growing up we would
never waste scraps of dough,
so I wanted to pay homage to
my mom and where I come from.
That's really lovely.
Great.
Good luck.
Thanks!
Mine's gonna be
an almond croissant.
I'm just creating
the little danish cages
for my mushroom filling.
I don't know
if it's too soft.
Orange-cinnamon
sweet bun.
Is that the
stress release ball?
No, no, no.
This is cookie dough.
I'm making melonpan
or Hong Kong Pineapple bun,
so it's...
Okay.
Oh!
Yeah, I know those.
It's the bread
that's covered by a cookie...
so you get kind of like
a crunch on the outside
and the sweetness
of the cookie,
plus the softness
of the bread inside.
And they're gonna be
decorated like bears.
Like what?
Like bears.
I hope it's cute.
Timothy's
bear-shaped sweet buns
will be paired
with almond croissants
and caramelized onion
and mushroom danishes.
It's a pretty
good breakfast.
It's a hearty breakfast.
It's a good way
to start the day.
While the shaped
pastries are proofing,
the bakers work on
fillings and toppings.
Cream chard
for my danish.
I love cream chard.
Mushrooms, thyme,
it's awesome.
Ontario strawberries.
I'm making
a creme patissiere.
A lot of egg yolks
and cornstarch and sugar
and vanilla,
which I forgot to put in.
You have
one hour left!
Time for the pastries
to get ready for the oven.
I'm working on
the cream cheese filling
for my danishes.
Strawberry jam and cheese.
Mmm.
Smoked cheddar.
I'm making an
apricot and pistachio danish.
My dainty man hands don't
make this process very easy.
Okay, alright.
Okay, go.
Be free, pretty things.
Turn it up.
I'm shocking it
with high heat,
so I can get
all that butter
and all the different
layers to explode.
It's so nerve-wracking
trying to figure out
when to take them out.
Mmm...
Bakers, this is
your two-minute warning.
Oh, yeah.
Let 'em cool, Megan.
Let 'em cool.
- Oh Lord, help me.
Oh, dear.
Mmm.
It's breakfast.
You have
one minute remaining.
Ugh...
So imbalanced.
Would you like to
try some almond croissant?
If you like almond croissant...
Oh, wow, that was a bite.
Mmm!
Nice and crispy.
Mmm.
That's ugly.
That's awful.
Oh, my God,
that feels nice.
Five seconds.
4...
3...
2...
1.
Alright, bakers,
time is up!
Breakfast is served!
Opa!
The judges will now
sample the breakfast pastries
to decide who will
get Star Baker,
and who will
have to go home.
Sachin, your
pastries please.
The aromas coming
off this are beautiful.
Thank you.
We're gonna
start with the croissant.
I can see the lamination.
Great flavour.
Great.
And a lot of butter.
Thank you.
Next, mushroom
and cheddar danish.
Mushroom
and smoked cheddar, yeah.
You can see all
the layers almost like a book.
The choice of smoked cheese
is very clever.
Thank you.
Your
orange-cinnamon sweet bun.
Look at those layers.
It just opens.
Great Showstopper.
Thank you so much.
I'm taking
those home tonight.
I love
the rustic presentation.
Oh, my gosh.
Thank you.
So it's
cardamom-yuzu croissants?
I can see
that it's laminated,
it's just not
laminated enough.
How many turns did you do
in this croissant dough?
I just did two.
Minimum three.
And because it
wasn't laminated enough,
your dough does not
cook properly inside.
Did you do that
because you've tried that before
or you were running
out of time, or..?
Um, I thought
that was one step
that I could cut for timing.
That's
the thing with pastry.
You cannot cut corners.
Mm-hm.
The maple-pecan
sweet buns...
Yes.
Good flavours.
Slightly overbaked,
as you can see.
These
are your strawberry
and cream cheese danish.
Taste is great.
Too bad you
don't have that flakiness.
Mengling, some
technical problems.
Don't cut corners.
So these are your
coconut and lime sweet buns.
Yes.
Clean flavours.
A lot of coconut,
so it's very delightful.
Next is your
pear and cinnamon danish.
You've put this beautiful
delicate lattice on the top.
They have created
this lovely cage.
Great flavour.
Your pears are poached
to perfection.
Beautiful.
The chocolate
and hibiscus croissant.
It's very heavy
and almost bread-like.
Oh.
I think
it's lacking moisture.
Oh, okay.
So, not enough liquid.
Your dough is--
To give that puff.
The flavours are really good.
Yeah, and again,
overall, great presentation.
Lovely.
Okay, thank you.
Devon, it's a lovely
brunch presentation.
Thank you.
So it's your
chard and gruyere...
Yeah.
...danish.
So you got
a beautiful bake all over.
The gruyere
and the chard
work really nicely together.
There's not a lot of
flake happening here.
I had some real
challenges with my dough today.
Remember
when you make pastries,
you've got to have it right
from the beginning.
Yeah, I've learned
that this week.
The croissant.
The croissants.
Does not have the flakiness.
What saves you here
was your flavour.
So, the sweet buns.
Chocolate hazelnut
spread with pecans.
These were, um, made
with the scrap dough
from the croissant
and the danish.
You can taste
the chocolate and the nuts.
However,
it's scrap dough of dough
that wasn't perfect
to begin with.
Great flavours.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you so much.
If I was in Paris
and if I call room service
to get breakfast,
that's what I will get.
And you can see the swirls.
Um, wow.
You've nailed lamination.
Okay?
Okay, good.
The texture
is amazing.
I just wanna big pot
of jam and just--
it's a really good croissant.
Thank you.
So this is your
apricot and pistachio danish?
Yes.
From the side
you can see the layers
that puffed up.
Beautifully laminated layers.
Now, there is
nothing better than eating
a sour apricot
and a crème patissiere.
Oh, I know.
The contrast just
collide and explode.
Marry.
It's just beautiful.
Cinnamon sweet buns.
You could almost
peel every layer one by one.
Let me ask you something,
did you ever consider
moving to Paris,
opening your own
little bakery?
No.
Maybe you should?
You pushed
yourself and it showed.
So, thank you so much.
Incredible skills.
Yeah,
Thank you.
Mm.
Go on a bear hunt.
Very cute.
Instagram worthy.
So this is the cookie
dough on the outside,
and then on the inside
is the sweet bun dough.
Yes.
Your dough reminds me
of a German stollen.
Oh, yeah!
Raisins...
Mm-hm.
Orange zest.
These are
your almost croissant?
Yes.
That's a
really great croissant.
Okay, thank you.
So we have
a mushroom-mozzarella
onion danish.
They smell divine.
Great flavours.
Okay.
What you've produced
is really impressive.
Thank you.
Good job.
So this was a really
tough challenge that yielded
some pretty amazing results.
So who really impressed you
out of the bunch?
I think Andrei
overall was a rock star.
Sachin also delivered
technically brilliant pastry.
Timothy was very playful,
yet very professional.
And he was
really ambitious.
Megan, she knew she needed to
up her game and she did.
Mengling had
a really good day yesterday,
and today... was
a little rough on her.
Today she cut corners,
and it shows.
Devon had a lot
of challenges this week,
and we obviously
have to look at him.
At this stage we're heading
into the quarterfinals
and we really need to make
sure that the five
that go through
are our strongest bakers.
Well,
congratulations, bakers,
on successfully surviving
Pastry Week.
We've tested
your precision,
we've tested your patience,
and now we have the very
sweet task of telling you
who is this week's Star Baker.
Now, this baker has
impressed us from the start
but today produced pastry
that could be found
in any Parisian bakery...
Andrei, congratulations
for the second time
you're Star Baker.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Now, that of course means
that I have the unsavoury task
of sending someone home.
The baker that will we
will be saying, very sadly,
goodbye to today is...
Devon.
I'm so sad to see you go.
Thank you.
This experience has
taught me to, you know,
take risks and to
try new things,
and to not be so worried
about the outcome.
I'm this guy from a small town
in Saskatchewan,
and it's been incredible.
What an experience.
Well, Devon always
delivered great flavours,
but this week
we were looking for
exceptional pastry techniques.
But he brought
a lot to the tent.
Amazing guy.
Andrei
is just next-level.
He's so incredibly thorough.
So we're going into
the quarterfinals.
This is the second time Andrei's
been awarded Star Baker.
Our other bakers
better watch out.
Being Star Baker
this week means a lot to me.
After Bruno and Rochelle's
comments about
the quality of my baking
is really overwhelming.
I'm gonna remember that
for the rest of my life.
Next time,
the five remaining bakers
battle in the quarterfinals.
Whew!
Okay, I can do this.
They'll face
a temperamental Signature...
I'm so
nervous right now.
...rise
to the challenge
with a tricky Technical...
You're just pushing
the eggs around the chocolate.
I know, Dan!
...and walk
through the black forest
with a reimagined classic.
Holy panic mode!
Oh, my God,
I'm shaking so much.
Oh, my God!
Well done.
Who will survive
and claim their spot
in the semi-finals?
Everything here seems
to be turning into a disaster.