The Great Canadian Baking Show (2017–…): Season 5, Episode 4 - Bread Week - full transcript
It's bread week, and for the signature, the bakers are going to have to impress especially Kyla who grew up eating what they are asked to make, namely babka. They can use whatever flavors they want for their babka, but should incorpo
Ann? Ann, are you in here?
Yes, I'm in the real world,
alan. What are you doing?
Well, I'm in the virtual
rendering of the tent,
And it's bread week!
Okay, but like, the real tent
is right over here.
Oh, is that bruno?
Hey, man!
Sourdough, bannock!
All my faves are here.
Oh!
It's so realistic, you can
even smell it.
Yeah, yeah, that virtual
reality stuff is real intense.
Oh, yeah, I am so excited.
I feel like they made us wait
Forever for bread week
this year, am I right, ann?
Ann? Ann?
Oh, sorry, kyla.
Is that dan levy? Ho!
Dan levy? Where?
Last time...
- Agh!
- Agh!
The bakers brought the heat...
...To celebration week.
I just wanna cry.
- It's stunning.
- Thank you.
Vincent overcame a slip
with his choux...
Ugh, not good.
...With a miraculous meringue.
Your star baker is...
Vincent.
But other bakers melted
under the pressure.
Oh, my gosh.
And, in the end, the party
was over for caron.
Now...
Oh, gosh, things are happening.
The bakers dig into bread.
I don't know what I'm doing.
They'll take on a
twisted signature...
I think the babka can
smell my stress.
...Figure out a finicky
technical...
Math is not my strong suit,
people.
I'm just hoping it's cooked.
...And get tangled up...
Agh! Ugh!
...With a grueling showstopper.
More toothpicks and desperation.
I am speechless.
bread week!
Winning star baker,
it's an amazing feeling.
But it's all an even
playing field.
Any of us could be star baker.
Any of us could be on the
bottom every week.
We're at the halfway mark,
which is terrifying.
It's very weird. I did not
expect to make it this far.
I love bread week. This is a
good day no matter how you—
No matter how
you slice it.
Today's gonna be a
good day with dough.
I don't wanna say these things.
Good morning, bakers!
And welcome to bread week!
For your signature challenge,
you will be making
The sweet, braided
bread, babka.
With eastern european
jewish roots,
This yummy treat walks the line
between a bread and a cake,
Making it the perfect nosh
for bressert.
That's uh, breakfast and
dessert combined.
Mhm, I am very well
acquainted with that.
Your babkas can have a sweet or
savoury filling and should be
Braided, folded,
twirled, twerked,
Whatever it takes to get
that filling in there.
You have two and a half hours
on the clock.
- On your marks.
- Get set.
Bake!
It's bread week!
I'm feeling good-ish.
I am not that familiar
with making bread.
I am very familiar
with eating bread.
I do love my carbs.
The beauty about bread,
it's all about passion,
It's patience.
The understanding of basic
chemistry, but yet,
It always come out as a
magical presentation.
Two and a quarter.
I grew up on babka so, the bar
is really high because I've
Learned from multi-generations
of good babka makers.
And I wanna see what these
bakers bring to the tent.
The most important part of
babka is patience and
Rising and, honestly,
every single step.
Babka is a rich yeasted
bread, generally sweet...
180.
...That is easily identified by
the twisted shaping that
Reveals its luscious filling.
Didn't really know what a
babka was before
I started this
whole process.
Oddly enough, the first thing
that came to my mind was like,
The dutch, like sprinkle bread,
like hag— hagelslag.
Homemade chocolate
sprinkles and caramelized
Banana will top stephen's
dutch-inspired
Chocolate hazelnut babka.
Does bread week make you
a bit nervous?
It does. With bread,
Like there is living organism
you're working with.
Taking care of like
a starter is
Like taking care of like a
child or a pet.
Exactly like it.
- You have to feed it.
- Take care of it.
I've killed some
in my past, so...
if the bakers can master
this enriched dough...
Because butter makes it better.
...They'll be rewarded with
a babka that is
Soft and pillowy...
Let's do a little
scrape-y scrape.
...But sturdy enough to
hold the filling.
So, I'm looking for the dough
to be really smooth and elastic.
It's a beautiful big
ball of dough.
We gotta work the glutens,
we gotta get it stretchy.
We gotta get it happy.
Pull your dough apart
and see if you can
See the light
outside the tent.
And without it ripping.
Isn't that lovely?
- It's lovely.
- See, it's got gluten.
Sticky dough.
It smells pretty good.
That's going into the
proving drawer.
It's gonna burst
in size and,
Hopefully be a
beautiful bread dough.
Proof, baby.
Let's get it right today.
Vincent's elegant
star-shaped babka will be
Filled with chocolate and
orange blossom.
And, adorned with
candied orange peel.
I want to have a copy
of all your notes.
“Pace: Quick and fast.”
- I love it.
- Quick and fast.
- It's like a dance.
- That's right, that's right.
I'm chopping up some
fruit for my filling.
It's cranberry,
pineapple, and cherry.
Today is the most
delicious day in the tent.
Cherries? Come on,
you know you do.
I need a lemon.
Is there such a thing as
too much chocolate?
I don't think so.
Oh, don't walk away,
I heard you were giving out
samples, steve!
I am! This is just chocolate
with a little bit of cinnamon
And there's the cherry.
Oh, my god, the cherries
are so good.
Right? That's what
I'm talking about.
You'll be judging this
competition this week.
I appreciate that.
Steve will fuse two
cultures he holds dear by
Filling a christmas tree shaped
babka with his favourite
Dark chocolate,
Cherry, and pistachio.
I grew up eating a lot of babka.
And I also grew up with a
Great love for christmas
from all my friends.
So, a little bit of everything
going on.
Steve isn't the only
baker getting merry in the tent.
It's looking very
festive in here.
This is my christmas babka that
we have on christmas eve.
Amanda's hoping the
judges will love her
Christmas eve babka,
filled with
Spiced
cranberries,
Pineapple,
and cherries.
I've never seen a
babka for sale in pei.
So, the only babka I've ever
had in my life is my own.
I have no idea if this is the
way it's supposed to taste
Or the texture.
I make it and people eat it,
so it must be okay, right?
Look at that.
Wow, it's so soft.
I'm rolling out my dough.
How's it going, amanda?
It's going. It's not as
soft as it is at home.
We could maybe go all pizza?
Start flipping.
So, do you know like, what
measurements you have to do?
Oh, I just roll it out as
big as I can make it.
Mm, that's a good technique.
Raspberry,
pistachio,
And white chocolate
Will flavour dougal's
delicately knotted babka.
What is your shape?
Just a little like,
hashtag pattern.
- A hashtag pattern.
- A grid?
- A grid.
- A grid.
It's a babka grid.
There we go.
So, it's three teaspoons
of chocolate.
The filling needs to be
evenly spread...
You want a generous
amount of filling.
...Nearly to the edge
of the dough.
Pistachios will forgive
all my sins.
Oh, no. That looks very green,
which is artificial.
Bright green pesto and
sun-dried tomato will go inside
A herb-infused dough in
aimee's savoury babka.
I thought that everyone would
do savoury because I thought
Everyone would be sick
of sugar by this point...
- But apparently not.
- But no one followed you.
You're like, "oh,
I'm by myself here?
Okay, that's cool."
Bakers, you have one hour left.
I'm going to start
twisting my star, alright?
Oh, my gosh.
To create the
shape of babka,
The bakers must gently
twist their dough...
I think the babka can
smell my stress.
...Careful not to tear or
lose any filling.
The tricky part is, well,
dough likes to spring back,
So it's not that easy to shape.
Come on.
Trying to round it out
a little bit more.
We will twist this guy together.
Hopefully not over proved.
The proof is in the babka.
How do I get this up?
Here she goes.
In you go.
Bake nicely, little one.
Wee!
I am making some homemade
chocolate sprinkles right now.
I thought I would make some
decoration that match the
Flavours inside, so I've got on
the other side, my orange twist.
And now here, I'm making
some chocolate leaves.
The tempered chocolate
leaves will frame alina's
Decadent chocolate and
walnut babka,
Which she will finish with a
zesty orange syrup.
You have such a
steady hand, alina.
I think it's the dentistry.
Yeah, no you would have to,
so you don't like,
You know, kill someone.
Yeah.
This is ricotta that
I'm forming.
And it just makes
a pretty little...
I don't know what
to call this shape.
That is really nice.
Nobody puts babka in the corner.
20 minutes left, bakers!
I'm not opening the oven.
To ensure the
filling-rich babka is baked
Completely through, the bakers
will need expertise...
I don't really know
what I'm looking for.
I'm just hoping it's cooked.
...And patience.
The waiting is hard.
We should have a dance off.
I don't know what I'm doing.
The robot?
- No.
- Oh, we're not bad.
I'll come out.
What temperature is it
supposed to be?
Um, that's a good question.
I don't really know.
Did you just put a thermometer
in for show, stephen?
Not yet. Not yet at all.
Oh, my god, it's not baked.
Bakers, this is your final
two-minute warning.
I'm a little worried about it
being cooked in the middle.
We'll see when we open her up.
It's just gonna have to be done.
So many moving parts,
so little time.
It won't be baked.
And I know that.
10, 9...
8, 7...
6, 5...
4, 3...
2, 1!
Time's up! Bakers, break
away from your babkas.
Woo!
I do so want to eat all of that.
kyla and bruno will be
looking for perfectly baked,
Eye-catching babkas, layered
with delicious fillings.
Your babka has a
beautiful shine.
Thank you.
This is all beautiful, but this
area here looks pale.
So, we'll see when
we cut into it.
You are seconds away from done.
Seconds.
It's so close, but you can see
it's not bouncing back.
Great orange flavour,
very aromatic.
Thank you.
This is so wintery and festive.
It's fairly evenly baked.
The cranberries are tart,
But there is this
creamy texture to it.
It's interesting,
I'm not tasting
The pineapple on its own.
Yet, it's part of the
cranberry experience.
- So, that was well done.
- Thank you.
Oh, wow. You have so much
complexity in your design,
But it looks as though it
didn't proof long enough.
And you can see what happens
is, it starts to pull away.
It is definitely under proved
and undercooked.
It's just all over stunning.
Cuts so nicely.
Is all of the colour achieved
from the basil, itself?
- No.
- You know, you could have lied.
"The natural basil."
I love pesto, and I think
this is just a
Really great
rendition of babka.
- Amazing job.
- Thank you.
Well, your babka is very
christmas-y for sure.
I'm looking at the
actual height of it.
It looks like it may be
under proofed.
Here, it just looks
thin and tight.
- So, it's a black forest?
- Yes.
It's very tasty.
If only your dough would have
been more pillowy.
That's what's missing.
Oh, okay, good. Phew.
But you can see it's
very compact.
Maybe it's the weight
of the chocolate
That was suppressing it.
Chocolate orange classic.
It's very rich, very luscious.
Thank you.
This to me, looks so delicious.
You are showing us what you're
capable of by giving us
Homemade sprinkles,
giving us a beautiful glaze.
- Well done there.
- Thank you.
This thing is very tasty.
Yeah, it's quite good.
I think you nailed the
challenge overall.
Oh, thank you.
The judges really
enjoyed my bread.
Yeah, I'm just... Agh!
It could've been worse,
let's put it that way.
It could have been better, but
it could have been worse.
It's already shaken off.
There's no point in
dwelling on it.
It's shaken, it's already gone!
I can't shake it anymore.
Hello, bakers, it's time for
the toughest part of life
The technical challenge.
Kyla, bruno, it's time for
you to b-b-bounce!
- Bye!
- Bye!
Bakers, today you'll be
making bolo bao,
The sweet buns from hong kong.
Bolo bao, or pineapple buns,
have a firm,
Crumbly crust and a
soft pillowy centre.
And today, you'll be
making 12 of them.
Oh, also did we mention that
you'll have to be making
Your own butter to
go with it as well?
We did not.
Bakers, you have two
and a half hours.
- On your marks.
- Get set.
Bake!
The technical today is bolo bao.
At least I know what it
looks like this time.
That's nice.
Never eaten them, never seen
them before, so, yeah.
Do you know
what we're making today?
We are making bolo bao.
I have eaten aplenty.
- Mhm.
- I have made it zero.
Bruno, I'm so happy that
you've chosen bolo bao.
I am just drawn to the
craquelin on top.
And that's why they are
called pineapple bun.
It's amazing 'cause there's no
pineapple actually in them.
It's just the design
that's created
When they bake in the oven.
Now, what traps are we
going to find in these?
It's a high hydration dough.
Here, the key is a
tangzhong technique.
It's simply just like
making a roux.
You just cook your flour
with a little butter,
And if you master
that technique,
The bun retains that moisture.
Bruno, this is delicious.
It's so light and pillowy.
And I see that you have
six here that have
A very generous slab
of butter inside.
Which makes me so happy.
That's called bolo yao.
If they get this one right,
I think we're in for
A really big treat today.
I don't know what I'm doing.
Right now, I'm making
the tangzhong.
This is a roux starter
and it's just when you
Pre-gel some
of the flour.
This is what's gonna make the
buns really beautifully,
Pillowy soft. I know that
because I have
A cake recipe that does
something similar.
“Whisking until thick,
And whisk leaves lines on
bottom of pan.
Transfer to small bowl
and cool.”
As the tangzhong cools,
the bakers can
Start on the rest
of the dough.
So, three cups of bread flour.
How are you feeling
about the instructions?
Are they clear enough?
Never.
Cooled roux, roux is going in.
Get that going.
How much condensed milk?
Half a cup, sweet buns.
I feel like it is going to be
super, super sticky.
It's combined, and now
I'm gonna try to
Get some butter into it.
It's a pain. It gets like
kind of freakish.
Oof! Oh, this is so messy.
Oh, yuck, I don't like this.
The bakers will need
a gentle hand while
Incorporating the butter
into this delicate dough.
Getting there.
If over kneaded, the buns
will be flat and chewy.
Nice and wet.
It's so liquid.
You know what, I'm gonna
do it in the mixer.
It's not exactly what they say.
Yay, no breaking.
Windowpane!
Okay, I don't know
how good that is,
But I think I'm just gonna
have to go with it.
And we're gonna hope for
the best. Good luck.
I am making the
pineapple topping.
Can't you tell by all the
pineapple-y goodness that
I've got going on here?
The topping's
dry ingredients
Are mixed together...
Okay, vanilla.
Get all the seeds.
...Then the distinct yellow
colouring is added.
Maybe just a touch more.
Maybe it should be very bright.
The pineapple topping doesn't
have any pineapple in it.
Adding just the right amount of
moisture to the dough...
It looks a little dry to me.
...Will give the topping
a crunchy yet
Melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
I hope that's enough hydration.
To hold it together with the
amount of liquid I have, just...
Praying to my ancestors that it
will guide me through.
- Is that rain?
- Crazy rain.
Pillowy and well puffed.
I could sleep on that.
That's pillowy.
Oh, just portioning out
some dough and
Try to get them
reasonably even.
And then we're gonna roll them
into cute little balls.
The recipe calls for
just enough dough
To make 12 bolo bao.
It divided perfectly.
I'm really excited.
That's my ancestors rolling
in their graves because
I'm making them so
horrible right now.
No, no, no.
Okay, what am I doing?
Alright, let's try again.
Math is not my
strong suit, people.
Oh, I just squish 'em
and roll 'em.
I don't know if it's technique,
it's just how I do it.
It's probably wrong.
Don't do this at home.
Okay, "hay mong lay",
a little prayer.
Oops.
I made a baker's dozen.
I meant to do that.
We're gonna get some
small buns, people.
Come on, bakers,
you have one hour left.
Oh! Guys, this
got carried away.
Check on my drawer.
My dough is proofed.
Might be a little bit
passed proof.
Mine are so flat they're more
like pancakes than buns.
Goodness.
“Brush the first six buns
with egg wash and
Cover with
pineapple topping”.
Gently, gently. Don't knock
any of this lovely air out.
Level craquelin.
Huzzah, wow, great.
How are you feeling
about these?
Uh.
I have accepted my children.
You know this is a step up
from earlier today.
When you were saying that your
children don't usually survive.
The recipe does not tell us
how long to bake for.
Who knows?
It's all sunny and nice now.
Oh, alan, it's such a blessing.
They all have buns
in the oven.
Aw! 20 minutes left, bakers.
The judges have also
asked for six bolo yao,
Which means the bakers must
make six slabs of butter to
Accompany the buns.
I'm making butter, I think.
I've never made
butter before but...
If you make whipped cream
and you just keep going,
It'll turn to butter eventually.
Here we go.
I think this might be
ready right now.
It's kind of clumpy.
So what're you looking forward
to most about this bake,
The buns or the butter?
- Having it be over.
- Having—
Oh, gosh, things are happening.
One of them looks sad,
the rest look good.
Make sure to get those
buns firm, bakers.
Ten minutes left!
300... 301.
I think those are
evenly browned.
- Woo!
- These are some sweet buns.
Oh, thank you!
Nobody's ever said that
to me before today.
They've pineappled.
Oh.
Basically pancakes.
Two minutes left.
Look away, cardiologists.
I'm just trying to do a little
bit of aesthetic contouring.
- 5, 4...
- Ha!
3, 2, 1!
Bakers! Take a “bao”, you are
finished your technical!
I love that the signature
was my ancestors...
And the technical
is your ancestors.
Bakers, please bring your bolo
bao's up to the gingham altar
And place them in
front of your photo.
Kyla and bruno
will be looking for
12 uniform bolo bao...
With pillowy soft centres,
and a topping with
Just the perfect
amount of crunch.
Let's try our first baker.
They are fairly consistent,
Maybe one or two on the top
are a bit darker.
When it comes to the rise,
We've got a little more
spread than we have lift.
Craquelin, it's...
It's hard in some part,
very soft in other parts.
The dough has a nice
sponginess to it.
Next baker.
We've got one here that's
got the pineapple effect
We're looking for, but quite a
few that are just very smooth.
Very pillowy.
And you can see it's
very evenly baked,
Right to the bottom.
Very pleasant and very
good texture as well.
Moving to our third baker.
I think we got a lot closer
with the colour with this one.
And there's really just the
one that looks a little bit
Darker than the others.
It's very aromatic
when you open it up.
Great flavours, great texture.
Alright, moving to
our 4th baker.
Craquelin, we have it
nicely here,
But some of them here doesn't
really crack as much as we want.
The combination of the
cold butter and the
Pillowy dough is
very nice together.
5th baker, a lot of
challenge here.
Some are over baked.
Also, you can see the
buns are fairly flat.
The dough is very dry.
It just breaks on its own.
Moving to our 6th baker.
Fairly consistent in the size.
And it does have that
impression of pineapple colour.
The bun has good flavour,
good texture.
Butter is nice and smooth, but
could have used a touch of salt.
Alright, to our final baker.
They do look a bit small.
It's not as pillowy as we want.
It feels dry.
This craquelin is very sweet.
The judges will now order
the bolo bao from bottom to top.
In 7th place...
Alina.
Inconsistent and measure
issue with the dough.
In 6th place, whose are these?
Vincent, they're strangely
small and a little bit dry.
Stephen is in fifth place.
Dougal is fourth.
And aimee is in third.
In second place...
Whose are these?
Amanda!
Good flavour and good texture.
First place, steve.
Very good overall effort.
Hashtag technical king.
I just don't even know.
I mean, this is
three out of four.
But I love bread.
And so, if I was able to
translate that love
Into this bake, so be it.
I need to just do my absolute
best for the showstopper.
'Cause I don't wanna go home.
I'm not ready to go home.
Bread week will not be
the death of me.
Bread week is typically the
week that shakes everything up.
Who, so far, is having a
hard time with bread?
Well, definitely alina.
Last in the technical,
And then her signature
wasn't well executed.
Absolutely.
And dougal,
His babka was both under
proved and under baked.
And vincent is somebody
who is stronger than
What he showed us yesterday.
So, he really needs
to demonstrate
A clearer understanding
of bread.
So there's no
“loafing” about it,
They wanna become
the bread winner.
Hello, bakers, it's the final
bread week challenge,
And one last opportunity
to carb load.
Some people go to restaurants
and focus on the entree,
But why?
Who needs a filet mignon when
you can gorge on some fresh,
Hot and free yummies?
Aka, the breadbasket.
For this week's
showstopper challenge,
You'll be making an elaborate
breadbasket of your own.
It must include two kinds of
bread served in a vessel that's
Made out of entirely solid gold.
Just kidding, it's made
out of bread.
Oh. Now, we use the term
“basket” very loosely.
Your vessel can be anything
that holds your bread.
It can be a cornucopia
or a vase or like a
Mini knapsack you
bring to the park.
- Cute, where'd you get that?
- I don't know.
Mm! Bakers, you have four and
a half hours on the clock.
- On your marks.
- Get set!
Bake!
Another showstopper,
Another wonderful time
to be in the tent.
Get to play with dough.
Fairly confident in the stuff
that I'm doing and,
Hope for the best.
Do everything I can do to
stay in this tent today.
For a showstopper in
the bread week,
It's really about the
“wow” effect.
I'm very excited to see
how much creativity
We're going to have today.
I am making three
kinds of bread.
I have a little timetable.
I've got it all plotted out.
There are many elements that
need to come together
To make this breadbasket
a success.
We need to have something
that's structurally sound that
Will hold the bread, but we
want those beautiful flavours
To come through that just give
us that “aha!” Moment.
Get the yeast going.
The possibilities are
endless for this showstopper.
Salt, salt, salt.
As long as the bakers end up
with a vessel full of bread...
okay.
...They can choose any type of
bread and any kind of vessel.
I'm starting with a rosemary
and garlic dough that's
Gonna be weaved
into a bread boat.
I weave a bread boat every
morning for my children
Before they go to school.
Right, everybody does that.
Amanda hopes her woven
bread boat will be seaworthy
Enough to carry her
pei-inspired breads:
A potato flatbread and milk
bread lobster claws.
So, how are you
making these claws?
I just kinda stuff it and
fold it over and
Pinch it in like a claw.
They have been wildly
popular at home.
Just kneading some bread,
developing some gluten.
You know, the usual.
It is a bit of fun.
Feels good, looks good.
There's a lovely poke test.
When you poke it,
It should spring back.
My bread showstopper
is a mini oven.
The hardest part is just
getting the bread into a
Cube shape because it naturally
just wants to be so blobby.
Aimee's bread oven
will be crafted from
Vietnamese baguette and
will have scallion and
Coconut milk buns
“baking” inside.
Have you always
been so artistic?
No, I think this
show just like
Brought out the
creativity in me.
I guess your particular
art form...
Comes in a form of baked goods.
- Yes, yes.
Right? Instead of painting...
- Or sculpture, it's...
- It's bread ovens.
Bread ovens.
Duh-da-da.
So, these will go in the
proving drawer now.
Should be doubled in size.
Alright, and off it goes.
Inspired by her
childhood garden in romania,
Alina is making sweet
brioche roses and
Cream-cheese
filled daisies
Inside a savoury and
very garlicky bread nest.
It's got about maybe 15 to
18 cloves of garlic in it,
So it's a lot.
- Oh, okay.
So vampires should
beware of this bread.
They should be, exactly.
I'm from transylvania.
- Hi, dougal.
- Oh, hi, ann.
- How's it going here?
- It's going pretty well.
I do like bread quite a bit.
In the past couple of years
bread has gotten such a bad rap.
Such a bad— no, unnecessarily.
- And why?
- Why?
People are too hard on bread.
We said it.
We're making a strong
statement today for bread.
Dougal's taking the
judges for brunch with
Poppyseed bagels and pecan
caramel sticky buns,
Served up on an oatmeal
molasses breakfast tray.
- Little bread mimosas.
- I wish.
- Right?
- Yeah, good idea.
I think it's proven.
So, I'm gonna take these out.
Uh, she's puffy.
Time to start
shaping the dough...
This dough is for
my bread vessel.
It's very dense.
It'll hold its shape,
hopefully.
When constructing
their vessels,
The bakers need to ensure
a sturdy structure...
You always want to build
your canoe out of
Very stretchy,
gluten-y bread.
...While still making sure
they'll be able to
Bake thoroughly.
I'm going to lay it on
top of my shape,
And I have to sort of
bake it to stiffness,
So I'll be ship shape.
Steve's nautical
showstopper is
Dedicated to his
first mate, his wife.
Onboard will be
pumpernickel onion rolls,
Rosemary buns and
italian breadsticks.
We've seen boats capsize before.
And I'm hoping today is
not one of those days.
Today, I'm hoping to
hold the water out.
I'm lining my balls of dough
Around this pan that
I've kind of shaped.
And this is basically going
to make the nest.
Right now, I'm rolling out my
little dough into slabs.
And each square is gonna be
a face of the cube.
It's my weaves.
I have to make it perfect.
Agh! Oh!
Humans should never do this.
This is for entertainment
purposes only.
A garlic breadbasket
will hold stephen's family
Pizza knots and
savoury cinnamon buns.
Everything has been kind of
inspired by my sister.
My sister's a cheese and
dough kind of girl.
- So, everything's—
- I like her.
I thought maybe instead
of a bread vessel,
I could change it to
a shipwreck,
Crashed on the beach.
It's a hot mess.
My bread dough for the basket.
I'm trying to work as fast
as I can and, hopefully,
That's good enough.
I am making a single
pig in a blanket
To act as my
oven door handle.
Oof.
Bake up beautiful for me,
please, please, please.
One hour, bakers, one hour.
I'm working on the buns that
will go in my little oven.
This is dip you eat
with crackers,
But I'm putting it in
the bread today.
I am just shaping my
little dough balls,
So they'll make nice
little round bagels.
Have a nice bath.
This is how you make roses, and
then we just cut just like that.
Kittens...
Kitten time.
Vincent's dinner roll
kittens will be infused with
Orange and joined by
yarn ball cinnamon rolls
In a woven
breadbasket.
I sort of rushed this
a little bit so,
Some of these might go
a little sideways.
Like, they might end up on
their face, but it's okay.
They're kittens after all.
Bakers, 30 minutes left.
Take it out and hope it's done.
Before the
buns can go in,
The vessels have to come out.
Okay, she's golden brown.
We'll just let her be,
I will not disturb her.
Good, it's cooked.
I'm happy with that.
It needs to firm up.
Very important we get it firm,
otherwise, pfft.
I gotta keep on moving things
moving through the oven
And have them all timed.
Did you put those adorable
kittens in the oven?
I wanted to say “hi” to them.
Yeah, well you can say
goodbye to them now.
I can say goodbye.
It's okay.
I'll see you when you're edible.
I'm baking some buns, I'm
waiting for those buns to go in.
I'm making sure that
doesn't fall over.
There's a lot going on
without any motion.
It is time to make the oven.
This is not a seaworthy canoe.
If this is gonna be a
love letter to my wife,
She's gonna know it.
Okay, alright, alright,
it's up to code.
That'll be $2000 dollars.
Wow, she's so cute.
I think it looks like a
little breakfast tray.
It's got some handles,
not gonna pick them up.
Hot, hot, hot.
Roses should be done soon.
We're getting there...
But we're not there yet.
We'll call 'em roses.
They look like kittens.
They all look browned.
I think they look pretty good.
- Best lobster claws.
- Oh, they look so good.
They look real, don't they?
I'm tapping to see if
they sound hollow—
And generally, if they sound
hollow, then they're baked.
They don't meow, but they thump.
Bakers, you have ten minutes.
It was so calm only
40 minutes ago.
How am I gonna fit
everything in here?
It's fine,
everything is fine.
I'm making all the little
embellishments on my oven
Out of chinese
peking duck pancakes.
Stay on, come on.
It's not that difficult.
10, 9...
8, 7...
6, 5...
4, 3...
2, 1!
Great job, bakers!
You're done!
- Let's break some bread!
- Whoo!
She's a little young to
have a bun in the oven,
Don't you think?
I didn't mean for it to be
like a pregnancy.
Time for the bakers to
find out how their
Bread baskets hold up to
the judges' scrutiny.
Aimee, please bring your
showstopper to the front.
Aimee...
Are you kidding?
I am speechless!
The rag is here.
The oven mitts are
hanging on the side.
The handle is a hot dog!
- It's marvelous.
- Thank you.
So, this is vietnamese baguette?
- Yeah.
It's got a little bit of a
crispness, but inside,
You can just see that's
beautiful and even.
Mm.
- Yeah, it's a great job.
- Thank you.
And then in the oven, the buns?
So, it's filled with a
sweetened coconut filling.
That bun has a nice lightness
to it, and it's very floral.
- Great job!
- Thank you!
Right out of the gate, stephen,
this smells delicious.
And I think you did a great
job of weaving.
- So, this is a pizza bun?
- Yes.
Great tasty topping,
But could have used a
bit more baking time.
And this is a take on a
cinnamon bun.
It's caramelized onions
and gruyere cheese.
Stephen, that's gorgeous
and it's baked perfectly.
If you're just learning bread,
you're on the right trajectory.
Thank you.
Steve, I'm not sure if
it's seaworthy.
I'm looking here and I'm seeing
some burnt bread.
And it's started to collapse.
Also, some of the buns
look fairly irregular.
I think you had some issues
with the proofing.
The caraway is very nice.
What else do we have?
In the stern of the ship,
are rosemary-parmesan.
It's very good texture.
I really enjoy the
parmesan and herbs.
Thank you.
Amanda, let's talk
about the boat.
Looks like it's
deflating a little bit.
It's not crispy enough.
It's coming from the
same beach, is it?
The same beach as
steve's boat, yeah.
And we have pei potatoes
and what's underneath?
- Gruyere and onion.
- Tasty.
I would have used
a little cream
Just because I'm
french, you know?
Now let's try the lobster claw.
Look at your dough bounce back.
Lovely baking.
- That filling is fantastic.
- Thank you.
Dougal, looks like a great
breakfast display.
Very inviting.
Let's brunch.
So, these look ooey,
gooey, delicious.
Just look at the way
it pulls away.
Just sticky enough to make you
need to lick your fingers.
Nice consistent shape.
So, I tried to...
And I know I'm not built like
a bodybuilder, but...
I don't what you did
rolling them,
But that dough is very tight.
Alina, I'm drawn to the
beautiful shine that I see,
And I find all of the outside
to be distracting.
It's so clean and consistent,
why hide it?
The garlic smell coming out of
here is just fantastic,
By the way.
It has great flavour,
it's very rich.
So, remind us, what kind of
dough again?
Brioche.
I like the concept of this,
just a little bit dark.
For a brioche dough
it's a bit dry.
It's lacking the
richness of brioche.
Understood.
We keep wanting “wow”.
We keep asking for “wow”.
Wow! It's so cute.
Look, it's just so cute.
This little technique of
snipping the ears,
Such precise and clean work.
And this is something we
keep seeing from you
Over and over again.
Still soft and bounce back.
Meow.
Very floral, very well rounded.
- Amazing job on the bun.
- Thank you.
Okay, so ball of yarn.
It's very clear what it is.
Even if you didn't have
knitting needles in it.
Clean work, clean flavour.
Yeah, and nice cinnamon.
- Great work.
- Thank you.
So, it's the bread week
showstopper.
I have never been more
jealous of you two, ever.
We had a couple of spectacular
showstoppers today.
We had one baker who
needed to really step up
To the top, vincent.
He was determined to show us
something great, and he did.
What about aimee?
The creativity of aimee's oven
was just so impressive.
And, amanda's lobster claws,
I want that for
lunch every day.
That was so tasty, so good.
So, I guess we should talk
- The bakers
That may be in danger of
leaving the tent this week?
When we look at dougal, we had
one element that was just
Outstanding in the pecan role,
but the bagel,
On the other hand, was a miss.
And then alina,
the bread looks good,
But the brioche was very dry.
Do you know which
way you're leaning?
Personally, I know, but I need
to discuss it with kyla.
This week, there is one
baker who... Proved
They are a crust
above the rest.
This week's star baker is...
- Aimee.
- Yay.
Yay, good job.
- Of course.
- Well deserved, honey.
- It is well deserved.
- Very well deserved.
And now, for the part that
we're least looking forward to.
Sadly, one of you will
leave the tent today.
I'm sorry to say that the
person going home is...
Alina.
The amount that I've learned
and the amount that
I've grown and...
The friends that I've made here,
none of it will be forgotten.
This has been
absolutely incredible.
I feel so honoured and
privileged to have gotten the
Chance to do this because
it's something that
Most people can
only dream of.
Thank you to everybody.
With alina leaving today,
I hope that's
Almost a bit of a warning for
the other bakers.
She is very talented, and I
think everyone needs to know
They have to really
bring it every week.
And our star baker
this week is aimee.
Such a young baker,
yet she's so talented.
Every single challenge this
week, aimee nailed it.
I'm star baker for
the second time.
This week it's especially
exciting because I wasn't
Particularly confident
about bread.
So, I'm thrilled, and I wish
could express it better.
Next time...
It's pie week, yay!
...The six remaining bakers
learn how to be
Patient with pastry.
Godspeed, little pie.
Agh! This is killing me.
But who will make their mark?
It's absolutely succulent.
This is so good, I could have
the whole pie by myself.
And who will flake out?
It's kind of soupy.
If you listen really closely,
you can hear my tarts weeping.
Yes, I'm in the real world,
alan. What are you doing?
Well, I'm in the virtual
rendering of the tent,
And it's bread week!
Okay, but like, the real tent
is right over here.
Oh, is that bruno?
Hey, man!
Sourdough, bannock!
All my faves are here.
Oh!
It's so realistic, you can
even smell it.
Yeah, yeah, that virtual
reality stuff is real intense.
Oh, yeah, I am so excited.
I feel like they made us wait
Forever for bread week
this year, am I right, ann?
Ann? Ann?
Oh, sorry, kyla.
Is that dan levy? Ho!
Dan levy? Where?
Last time...
- Agh!
- Agh!
The bakers brought the heat...
...To celebration week.
I just wanna cry.
- It's stunning.
- Thank you.
Vincent overcame a slip
with his choux...
Ugh, not good.
...With a miraculous meringue.
Your star baker is...
Vincent.
But other bakers melted
under the pressure.
Oh, my gosh.
And, in the end, the party
was over for caron.
Now...
Oh, gosh, things are happening.
The bakers dig into bread.
I don't know what I'm doing.
They'll take on a
twisted signature...
I think the babka can
smell my stress.
...Figure out a finicky
technical...
Math is not my strong suit,
people.
I'm just hoping it's cooked.
...And get tangled up...
Agh! Ugh!
...With a grueling showstopper.
More toothpicks and desperation.
I am speechless.
bread week!
Winning star baker,
it's an amazing feeling.
But it's all an even
playing field.
Any of us could be star baker.
Any of us could be on the
bottom every week.
We're at the halfway mark,
which is terrifying.
It's very weird. I did not
expect to make it this far.
I love bread week. This is a
good day no matter how you—
No matter how
you slice it.
Today's gonna be a
good day with dough.
I don't wanna say these things.
Good morning, bakers!
And welcome to bread week!
For your signature challenge,
you will be making
The sweet, braided
bread, babka.
With eastern european
jewish roots,
This yummy treat walks the line
between a bread and a cake,
Making it the perfect nosh
for bressert.
That's uh, breakfast and
dessert combined.
Mhm, I am very well
acquainted with that.
Your babkas can have a sweet or
savoury filling and should be
Braided, folded,
twirled, twerked,
Whatever it takes to get
that filling in there.
You have two and a half hours
on the clock.
- On your marks.
- Get set.
Bake!
It's bread week!
I'm feeling good-ish.
I am not that familiar
with making bread.
I am very familiar
with eating bread.
I do love my carbs.
The beauty about bread,
it's all about passion,
It's patience.
The understanding of basic
chemistry, but yet,
It always come out as a
magical presentation.
Two and a quarter.
I grew up on babka so, the bar
is really high because I've
Learned from multi-generations
of good babka makers.
And I wanna see what these
bakers bring to the tent.
The most important part of
babka is patience and
Rising and, honestly,
every single step.
Babka is a rich yeasted
bread, generally sweet...
180.
...That is easily identified by
the twisted shaping that
Reveals its luscious filling.
Didn't really know what a
babka was before
I started this
whole process.
Oddly enough, the first thing
that came to my mind was like,
The dutch, like sprinkle bread,
like hag— hagelslag.
Homemade chocolate
sprinkles and caramelized
Banana will top stephen's
dutch-inspired
Chocolate hazelnut babka.
Does bread week make you
a bit nervous?
It does. With bread,
Like there is living organism
you're working with.
Taking care of like
a starter is
Like taking care of like a
child or a pet.
Exactly like it.
- You have to feed it.
- Take care of it.
I've killed some
in my past, so...
if the bakers can master
this enriched dough...
Because butter makes it better.
...They'll be rewarded with
a babka that is
Soft and pillowy...
Let's do a little
scrape-y scrape.
...But sturdy enough to
hold the filling.
So, I'm looking for the dough
to be really smooth and elastic.
It's a beautiful big
ball of dough.
We gotta work the glutens,
we gotta get it stretchy.
We gotta get it happy.
Pull your dough apart
and see if you can
See the light
outside the tent.
And without it ripping.
Isn't that lovely?
- It's lovely.
- See, it's got gluten.
Sticky dough.
It smells pretty good.
That's going into the
proving drawer.
It's gonna burst
in size and,
Hopefully be a
beautiful bread dough.
Proof, baby.
Let's get it right today.
Vincent's elegant
star-shaped babka will be
Filled with chocolate and
orange blossom.
And, adorned with
candied orange peel.
I want to have a copy
of all your notes.
“Pace: Quick and fast.”
- I love it.
- Quick and fast.
- It's like a dance.
- That's right, that's right.
I'm chopping up some
fruit for my filling.
It's cranberry,
pineapple, and cherry.
Today is the most
delicious day in the tent.
Cherries? Come on,
you know you do.
I need a lemon.
Is there such a thing as
too much chocolate?
I don't think so.
Oh, don't walk away,
I heard you were giving out
samples, steve!
I am! This is just chocolate
with a little bit of cinnamon
And there's the cherry.
Oh, my god, the cherries
are so good.
Right? That's what
I'm talking about.
You'll be judging this
competition this week.
I appreciate that.
Steve will fuse two
cultures he holds dear by
Filling a christmas tree shaped
babka with his favourite
Dark chocolate,
Cherry, and pistachio.
I grew up eating a lot of babka.
And I also grew up with a
Great love for christmas
from all my friends.
So, a little bit of everything
going on.
Steve isn't the only
baker getting merry in the tent.
It's looking very
festive in here.
This is my christmas babka that
we have on christmas eve.
Amanda's hoping the
judges will love her
Christmas eve babka,
filled with
Spiced
cranberries,
Pineapple,
and cherries.
I've never seen a
babka for sale in pei.
So, the only babka I've ever
had in my life is my own.
I have no idea if this is the
way it's supposed to taste
Or the texture.
I make it and people eat it,
so it must be okay, right?
Look at that.
Wow, it's so soft.
I'm rolling out my dough.
How's it going, amanda?
It's going. It's not as
soft as it is at home.
We could maybe go all pizza?
Start flipping.
So, do you know like, what
measurements you have to do?
Oh, I just roll it out as
big as I can make it.
Mm, that's a good technique.
Raspberry,
pistachio,
And white chocolate
Will flavour dougal's
delicately knotted babka.
What is your shape?
Just a little like,
hashtag pattern.
- A hashtag pattern.
- A grid?
- A grid.
- A grid.
It's a babka grid.
There we go.
So, it's three teaspoons
of chocolate.
The filling needs to be
evenly spread...
You want a generous
amount of filling.
...Nearly to the edge
of the dough.
Pistachios will forgive
all my sins.
Oh, no. That looks very green,
which is artificial.
Bright green pesto and
sun-dried tomato will go inside
A herb-infused dough in
aimee's savoury babka.
I thought that everyone would
do savoury because I thought
Everyone would be sick
of sugar by this point...
- But apparently not.
- But no one followed you.
You're like, "oh,
I'm by myself here?
Okay, that's cool."
Bakers, you have one hour left.
I'm going to start
twisting my star, alright?
Oh, my gosh.
To create the
shape of babka,
The bakers must gently
twist their dough...
I think the babka can
smell my stress.
...Careful not to tear or
lose any filling.
The tricky part is, well,
dough likes to spring back,
So it's not that easy to shape.
Come on.
Trying to round it out
a little bit more.
We will twist this guy together.
Hopefully not over proved.
The proof is in the babka.
How do I get this up?
Here she goes.
In you go.
Bake nicely, little one.
Wee!
I am making some homemade
chocolate sprinkles right now.
I thought I would make some
decoration that match the
Flavours inside, so I've got on
the other side, my orange twist.
And now here, I'm making
some chocolate leaves.
The tempered chocolate
leaves will frame alina's
Decadent chocolate and
walnut babka,
Which she will finish with a
zesty orange syrup.
You have such a
steady hand, alina.
I think it's the dentistry.
Yeah, no you would have to,
so you don't like,
You know, kill someone.
Yeah.
This is ricotta that
I'm forming.
And it just makes
a pretty little...
I don't know what
to call this shape.
That is really nice.
Nobody puts babka in the corner.
20 minutes left, bakers!
I'm not opening the oven.
To ensure the
filling-rich babka is baked
Completely through, the bakers
will need expertise...
I don't really know
what I'm looking for.
I'm just hoping it's cooked.
...And patience.
The waiting is hard.
We should have a dance off.
I don't know what I'm doing.
The robot?
- No.
- Oh, we're not bad.
I'll come out.
What temperature is it
supposed to be?
Um, that's a good question.
I don't really know.
Did you just put a thermometer
in for show, stephen?
Not yet. Not yet at all.
Oh, my god, it's not baked.
Bakers, this is your final
two-minute warning.
I'm a little worried about it
being cooked in the middle.
We'll see when we open her up.
It's just gonna have to be done.
So many moving parts,
so little time.
It won't be baked.
And I know that.
10, 9...
8, 7...
6, 5...
4, 3...
2, 1!
Time's up! Bakers, break
away from your babkas.
Woo!
I do so want to eat all of that.
kyla and bruno will be
looking for perfectly baked,
Eye-catching babkas, layered
with delicious fillings.
Your babka has a
beautiful shine.
Thank you.
This is all beautiful, but this
area here looks pale.
So, we'll see when
we cut into it.
You are seconds away from done.
Seconds.
It's so close, but you can see
it's not bouncing back.
Great orange flavour,
very aromatic.
Thank you.
This is so wintery and festive.
It's fairly evenly baked.
The cranberries are tart,
But there is this
creamy texture to it.
It's interesting,
I'm not tasting
The pineapple on its own.
Yet, it's part of the
cranberry experience.
- So, that was well done.
- Thank you.
Oh, wow. You have so much
complexity in your design,
But it looks as though it
didn't proof long enough.
And you can see what happens
is, it starts to pull away.
It is definitely under proved
and undercooked.
It's just all over stunning.
Cuts so nicely.
Is all of the colour achieved
from the basil, itself?
- No.
- You know, you could have lied.
"The natural basil."
I love pesto, and I think
this is just a
Really great
rendition of babka.
- Amazing job.
- Thank you.
Well, your babka is very
christmas-y for sure.
I'm looking at the
actual height of it.
It looks like it may be
under proofed.
Here, it just looks
thin and tight.
- So, it's a black forest?
- Yes.
It's very tasty.
If only your dough would have
been more pillowy.
That's what's missing.
Oh, okay, good. Phew.
But you can see it's
very compact.
Maybe it's the weight
of the chocolate
That was suppressing it.
Chocolate orange classic.
It's very rich, very luscious.
Thank you.
This to me, looks so delicious.
You are showing us what you're
capable of by giving us
Homemade sprinkles,
giving us a beautiful glaze.
- Well done there.
- Thank you.
This thing is very tasty.
Yeah, it's quite good.
I think you nailed the
challenge overall.
Oh, thank you.
The judges really
enjoyed my bread.
Yeah, I'm just... Agh!
It could've been worse,
let's put it that way.
It could have been better, but
it could have been worse.
It's already shaken off.
There's no point in
dwelling on it.
It's shaken, it's already gone!
I can't shake it anymore.
Hello, bakers, it's time for
the toughest part of life
The technical challenge.
Kyla, bruno, it's time for
you to b-b-bounce!
- Bye!
- Bye!
Bakers, today you'll be
making bolo bao,
The sweet buns from hong kong.
Bolo bao, or pineapple buns,
have a firm,
Crumbly crust and a
soft pillowy centre.
And today, you'll be
making 12 of them.
Oh, also did we mention that
you'll have to be making
Your own butter to
go with it as well?
We did not.
Bakers, you have two
and a half hours.
- On your marks.
- Get set.
Bake!
The technical today is bolo bao.
At least I know what it
looks like this time.
That's nice.
Never eaten them, never seen
them before, so, yeah.
Do you know
what we're making today?
We are making bolo bao.
I have eaten aplenty.
- Mhm.
- I have made it zero.
Bruno, I'm so happy that
you've chosen bolo bao.
I am just drawn to the
craquelin on top.
And that's why they are
called pineapple bun.
It's amazing 'cause there's no
pineapple actually in them.
It's just the design
that's created
When they bake in the oven.
Now, what traps are we
going to find in these?
It's a high hydration dough.
Here, the key is a
tangzhong technique.
It's simply just like
making a roux.
You just cook your flour
with a little butter,
And if you master
that technique,
The bun retains that moisture.
Bruno, this is delicious.
It's so light and pillowy.
And I see that you have
six here that have
A very generous slab
of butter inside.
Which makes me so happy.
That's called bolo yao.
If they get this one right,
I think we're in for
A really big treat today.
I don't know what I'm doing.
Right now, I'm making
the tangzhong.
This is a roux starter
and it's just when you
Pre-gel some
of the flour.
This is what's gonna make the
buns really beautifully,
Pillowy soft. I know that
because I have
A cake recipe that does
something similar.
“Whisking until thick,
And whisk leaves lines on
bottom of pan.
Transfer to small bowl
and cool.”
As the tangzhong cools,
the bakers can
Start on the rest
of the dough.
So, three cups of bread flour.
How are you feeling
about the instructions?
Are they clear enough?
Never.
Cooled roux, roux is going in.
Get that going.
How much condensed milk?
Half a cup, sweet buns.
I feel like it is going to be
super, super sticky.
It's combined, and now
I'm gonna try to
Get some butter into it.
It's a pain. It gets like
kind of freakish.
Oof! Oh, this is so messy.
Oh, yuck, I don't like this.
The bakers will need
a gentle hand while
Incorporating the butter
into this delicate dough.
Getting there.
If over kneaded, the buns
will be flat and chewy.
Nice and wet.
It's so liquid.
You know what, I'm gonna
do it in the mixer.
It's not exactly what they say.
Yay, no breaking.
Windowpane!
Okay, I don't know
how good that is,
But I think I'm just gonna
have to go with it.
And we're gonna hope for
the best. Good luck.
I am making the
pineapple topping.
Can't you tell by all the
pineapple-y goodness that
I've got going on here?
The topping's
dry ingredients
Are mixed together...
Okay, vanilla.
Get all the seeds.
...Then the distinct yellow
colouring is added.
Maybe just a touch more.
Maybe it should be very bright.
The pineapple topping doesn't
have any pineapple in it.
Adding just the right amount of
moisture to the dough...
It looks a little dry to me.
...Will give the topping
a crunchy yet
Melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
I hope that's enough hydration.
To hold it together with the
amount of liquid I have, just...
Praying to my ancestors that it
will guide me through.
- Is that rain?
- Crazy rain.
Pillowy and well puffed.
I could sleep on that.
That's pillowy.
Oh, just portioning out
some dough and
Try to get them
reasonably even.
And then we're gonna roll them
into cute little balls.
The recipe calls for
just enough dough
To make 12 bolo bao.
It divided perfectly.
I'm really excited.
That's my ancestors rolling
in their graves because
I'm making them so
horrible right now.
No, no, no.
Okay, what am I doing?
Alright, let's try again.
Math is not my
strong suit, people.
Oh, I just squish 'em
and roll 'em.
I don't know if it's technique,
it's just how I do it.
It's probably wrong.
Don't do this at home.
Okay, "hay mong lay",
a little prayer.
Oops.
I made a baker's dozen.
I meant to do that.
We're gonna get some
small buns, people.
Come on, bakers,
you have one hour left.
Oh! Guys, this
got carried away.
Check on my drawer.
My dough is proofed.
Might be a little bit
passed proof.
Mine are so flat they're more
like pancakes than buns.
Goodness.
“Brush the first six buns
with egg wash and
Cover with
pineapple topping”.
Gently, gently. Don't knock
any of this lovely air out.
Level craquelin.
Huzzah, wow, great.
How are you feeling
about these?
Uh.
I have accepted my children.
You know this is a step up
from earlier today.
When you were saying that your
children don't usually survive.
The recipe does not tell us
how long to bake for.
Who knows?
It's all sunny and nice now.
Oh, alan, it's such a blessing.
They all have buns
in the oven.
Aw! 20 minutes left, bakers.
The judges have also
asked for six bolo yao,
Which means the bakers must
make six slabs of butter to
Accompany the buns.
I'm making butter, I think.
I've never made
butter before but...
If you make whipped cream
and you just keep going,
It'll turn to butter eventually.
Here we go.
I think this might be
ready right now.
It's kind of clumpy.
So what're you looking forward
to most about this bake,
The buns or the butter?
- Having it be over.
- Having—
Oh, gosh, things are happening.
One of them looks sad,
the rest look good.
Make sure to get those
buns firm, bakers.
Ten minutes left!
300... 301.
I think those are
evenly browned.
- Woo!
- These are some sweet buns.
Oh, thank you!
Nobody's ever said that
to me before today.
They've pineappled.
Oh.
Basically pancakes.
Two minutes left.
Look away, cardiologists.
I'm just trying to do a little
bit of aesthetic contouring.
- 5, 4...
- Ha!
3, 2, 1!
Bakers! Take a “bao”, you are
finished your technical!
I love that the signature
was my ancestors...
And the technical
is your ancestors.
Bakers, please bring your bolo
bao's up to the gingham altar
And place them in
front of your photo.
Kyla and bruno
will be looking for
12 uniform bolo bao...
With pillowy soft centres,
and a topping with
Just the perfect
amount of crunch.
Let's try our first baker.
They are fairly consistent,
Maybe one or two on the top
are a bit darker.
When it comes to the rise,
We've got a little more
spread than we have lift.
Craquelin, it's...
It's hard in some part,
very soft in other parts.
The dough has a nice
sponginess to it.
Next baker.
We've got one here that's
got the pineapple effect
We're looking for, but quite a
few that are just very smooth.
Very pillowy.
And you can see it's
very evenly baked,
Right to the bottom.
Very pleasant and very
good texture as well.
Moving to our third baker.
I think we got a lot closer
with the colour with this one.
And there's really just the
one that looks a little bit
Darker than the others.
It's very aromatic
when you open it up.
Great flavours, great texture.
Alright, moving to
our 4th baker.
Craquelin, we have it
nicely here,
But some of them here doesn't
really crack as much as we want.
The combination of the
cold butter and the
Pillowy dough is
very nice together.
5th baker, a lot of
challenge here.
Some are over baked.
Also, you can see the
buns are fairly flat.
The dough is very dry.
It just breaks on its own.
Moving to our 6th baker.
Fairly consistent in the size.
And it does have that
impression of pineapple colour.
The bun has good flavour,
good texture.
Butter is nice and smooth, but
could have used a touch of salt.
Alright, to our final baker.
They do look a bit small.
It's not as pillowy as we want.
It feels dry.
This craquelin is very sweet.
The judges will now order
the bolo bao from bottom to top.
In 7th place...
Alina.
Inconsistent and measure
issue with the dough.
In 6th place, whose are these?
Vincent, they're strangely
small and a little bit dry.
Stephen is in fifth place.
Dougal is fourth.
And aimee is in third.
In second place...
Whose are these?
Amanda!
Good flavour and good texture.
First place, steve.
Very good overall effort.
Hashtag technical king.
I just don't even know.
I mean, this is
three out of four.
But I love bread.
And so, if I was able to
translate that love
Into this bake, so be it.
I need to just do my absolute
best for the showstopper.
'Cause I don't wanna go home.
I'm not ready to go home.
Bread week will not be
the death of me.
Bread week is typically the
week that shakes everything up.
Who, so far, is having a
hard time with bread?
Well, definitely alina.
Last in the technical,
And then her signature
wasn't well executed.
Absolutely.
And dougal,
His babka was both under
proved and under baked.
And vincent is somebody
who is stronger than
What he showed us yesterday.
So, he really needs
to demonstrate
A clearer understanding
of bread.
So there's no
“loafing” about it,
They wanna become
the bread winner.
Hello, bakers, it's the final
bread week challenge,
And one last opportunity
to carb load.
Some people go to restaurants
and focus on the entree,
But why?
Who needs a filet mignon when
you can gorge on some fresh,
Hot and free yummies?
Aka, the breadbasket.
For this week's
showstopper challenge,
You'll be making an elaborate
breadbasket of your own.
It must include two kinds of
bread served in a vessel that's
Made out of entirely solid gold.
Just kidding, it's made
out of bread.
Oh. Now, we use the term
“basket” very loosely.
Your vessel can be anything
that holds your bread.
It can be a cornucopia
or a vase or like a
Mini knapsack you
bring to the park.
- Cute, where'd you get that?
- I don't know.
Mm! Bakers, you have four and
a half hours on the clock.
- On your marks.
- Get set!
Bake!
Another showstopper,
Another wonderful time
to be in the tent.
Get to play with dough.
Fairly confident in the stuff
that I'm doing and,
Hope for the best.
Do everything I can do to
stay in this tent today.
For a showstopper in
the bread week,
It's really about the
“wow” effect.
I'm very excited to see
how much creativity
We're going to have today.
I am making three
kinds of bread.
I have a little timetable.
I've got it all plotted out.
There are many elements that
need to come together
To make this breadbasket
a success.
We need to have something
that's structurally sound that
Will hold the bread, but we
want those beautiful flavours
To come through that just give
us that “aha!” Moment.
Get the yeast going.
The possibilities are
endless for this showstopper.
Salt, salt, salt.
As long as the bakers end up
with a vessel full of bread...
okay.
...They can choose any type of
bread and any kind of vessel.
I'm starting with a rosemary
and garlic dough that's
Gonna be weaved
into a bread boat.
I weave a bread boat every
morning for my children
Before they go to school.
Right, everybody does that.
Amanda hopes her woven
bread boat will be seaworthy
Enough to carry her
pei-inspired breads:
A potato flatbread and milk
bread lobster claws.
So, how are you
making these claws?
I just kinda stuff it and
fold it over and
Pinch it in like a claw.
They have been wildly
popular at home.
Just kneading some bread,
developing some gluten.
You know, the usual.
It is a bit of fun.
Feels good, looks good.
There's a lovely poke test.
When you poke it,
It should spring back.
My bread showstopper
is a mini oven.
The hardest part is just
getting the bread into a
Cube shape because it naturally
just wants to be so blobby.
Aimee's bread oven
will be crafted from
Vietnamese baguette and
will have scallion and
Coconut milk buns
“baking” inside.
Have you always
been so artistic?
No, I think this
show just like
Brought out the
creativity in me.
I guess your particular
art form...
Comes in a form of baked goods.
- Yes, yes.
Right? Instead of painting...
- Or sculpture, it's...
- It's bread ovens.
Bread ovens.
Duh-da-da.
So, these will go in the
proving drawer now.
Should be doubled in size.
Alright, and off it goes.
Inspired by her
childhood garden in romania,
Alina is making sweet
brioche roses and
Cream-cheese
filled daisies
Inside a savoury and
very garlicky bread nest.
It's got about maybe 15 to
18 cloves of garlic in it,
So it's a lot.
- Oh, okay.
So vampires should
beware of this bread.
They should be, exactly.
I'm from transylvania.
- Hi, dougal.
- Oh, hi, ann.
- How's it going here?
- It's going pretty well.
I do like bread quite a bit.
In the past couple of years
bread has gotten such a bad rap.
Such a bad— no, unnecessarily.
- And why?
- Why?
People are too hard on bread.
We said it.
We're making a strong
statement today for bread.
Dougal's taking the
judges for brunch with
Poppyseed bagels and pecan
caramel sticky buns,
Served up on an oatmeal
molasses breakfast tray.
- Little bread mimosas.
- I wish.
- Right?
- Yeah, good idea.
I think it's proven.
So, I'm gonna take these out.
Uh, she's puffy.
Time to start
shaping the dough...
This dough is for
my bread vessel.
It's very dense.
It'll hold its shape,
hopefully.
When constructing
their vessels,
The bakers need to ensure
a sturdy structure...
You always want to build
your canoe out of
Very stretchy,
gluten-y bread.
...While still making sure
they'll be able to
Bake thoroughly.
I'm going to lay it on
top of my shape,
And I have to sort of
bake it to stiffness,
So I'll be ship shape.
Steve's nautical
showstopper is
Dedicated to his
first mate, his wife.
Onboard will be
pumpernickel onion rolls,
Rosemary buns and
italian breadsticks.
We've seen boats capsize before.
And I'm hoping today is
not one of those days.
Today, I'm hoping to
hold the water out.
I'm lining my balls of dough
Around this pan that
I've kind of shaped.
And this is basically going
to make the nest.
Right now, I'm rolling out my
little dough into slabs.
And each square is gonna be
a face of the cube.
It's my weaves.
I have to make it perfect.
Agh! Oh!
Humans should never do this.
This is for entertainment
purposes only.
A garlic breadbasket
will hold stephen's family
Pizza knots and
savoury cinnamon buns.
Everything has been kind of
inspired by my sister.
My sister's a cheese and
dough kind of girl.
- So, everything's—
- I like her.
I thought maybe instead
of a bread vessel,
I could change it to
a shipwreck,
Crashed on the beach.
It's a hot mess.
My bread dough for the basket.
I'm trying to work as fast
as I can and, hopefully,
That's good enough.
I am making a single
pig in a blanket
To act as my
oven door handle.
Oof.
Bake up beautiful for me,
please, please, please.
One hour, bakers, one hour.
I'm working on the buns that
will go in my little oven.
This is dip you eat
with crackers,
But I'm putting it in
the bread today.
I am just shaping my
little dough balls,
So they'll make nice
little round bagels.
Have a nice bath.
This is how you make roses, and
then we just cut just like that.
Kittens...
Kitten time.
Vincent's dinner roll
kittens will be infused with
Orange and joined by
yarn ball cinnamon rolls
In a woven
breadbasket.
I sort of rushed this
a little bit so,
Some of these might go
a little sideways.
Like, they might end up on
their face, but it's okay.
They're kittens after all.
Bakers, 30 minutes left.
Take it out and hope it's done.
Before the
buns can go in,
The vessels have to come out.
Okay, she's golden brown.
We'll just let her be,
I will not disturb her.
Good, it's cooked.
I'm happy with that.
It needs to firm up.
Very important we get it firm,
otherwise, pfft.
I gotta keep on moving things
moving through the oven
And have them all timed.
Did you put those adorable
kittens in the oven?
I wanted to say “hi” to them.
Yeah, well you can say
goodbye to them now.
I can say goodbye.
It's okay.
I'll see you when you're edible.
I'm baking some buns, I'm
waiting for those buns to go in.
I'm making sure that
doesn't fall over.
There's a lot going on
without any motion.
It is time to make the oven.
This is not a seaworthy canoe.
If this is gonna be a
love letter to my wife,
She's gonna know it.
Okay, alright, alright,
it's up to code.
That'll be $2000 dollars.
Wow, she's so cute.
I think it looks like a
little breakfast tray.
It's got some handles,
not gonna pick them up.
Hot, hot, hot.
Roses should be done soon.
We're getting there...
But we're not there yet.
We'll call 'em roses.
They look like kittens.
They all look browned.
I think they look pretty good.
- Best lobster claws.
- Oh, they look so good.
They look real, don't they?
I'm tapping to see if
they sound hollow—
And generally, if they sound
hollow, then they're baked.
They don't meow, but they thump.
Bakers, you have ten minutes.
It was so calm only
40 minutes ago.
How am I gonna fit
everything in here?
It's fine,
everything is fine.
I'm making all the little
embellishments on my oven
Out of chinese
peking duck pancakes.
Stay on, come on.
It's not that difficult.
10, 9...
8, 7...
6, 5...
4, 3...
2, 1!
Great job, bakers!
You're done!
- Let's break some bread!
- Whoo!
She's a little young to
have a bun in the oven,
Don't you think?
I didn't mean for it to be
like a pregnancy.
Time for the bakers to
find out how their
Bread baskets hold up to
the judges' scrutiny.
Aimee, please bring your
showstopper to the front.
Aimee...
Are you kidding?
I am speechless!
The rag is here.
The oven mitts are
hanging on the side.
The handle is a hot dog!
- It's marvelous.
- Thank you.
So, this is vietnamese baguette?
- Yeah.
It's got a little bit of a
crispness, but inside,
You can just see that's
beautiful and even.
Mm.
- Yeah, it's a great job.
- Thank you.
And then in the oven, the buns?
So, it's filled with a
sweetened coconut filling.
That bun has a nice lightness
to it, and it's very floral.
- Great job!
- Thank you!
Right out of the gate, stephen,
this smells delicious.
And I think you did a great
job of weaving.
- So, this is a pizza bun?
- Yes.
Great tasty topping,
But could have used a
bit more baking time.
And this is a take on a
cinnamon bun.
It's caramelized onions
and gruyere cheese.
Stephen, that's gorgeous
and it's baked perfectly.
If you're just learning bread,
you're on the right trajectory.
Thank you.
Steve, I'm not sure if
it's seaworthy.
I'm looking here and I'm seeing
some burnt bread.
And it's started to collapse.
Also, some of the buns
look fairly irregular.
I think you had some issues
with the proofing.
The caraway is very nice.
What else do we have?
In the stern of the ship,
are rosemary-parmesan.
It's very good texture.
I really enjoy the
parmesan and herbs.
Thank you.
Amanda, let's talk
about the boat.
Looks like it's
deflating a little bit.
It's not crispy enough.
It's coming from the
same beach, is it?
The same beach as
steve's boat, yeah.
And we have pei potatoes
and what's underneath?
- Gruyere and onion.
- Tasty.
I would have used
a little cream
Just because I'm
french, you know?
Now let's try the lobster claw.
Look at your dough bounce back.
Lovely baking.
- That filling is fantastic.
- Thank you.
Dougal, looks like a great
breakfast display.
Very inviting.
Let's brunch.
So, these look ooey,
gooey, delicious.
Just look at the way
it pulls away.
Just sticky enough to make you
need to lick your fingers.
Nice consistent shape.
So, I tried to...
And I know I'm not built like
a bodybuilder, but...
I don't what you did
rolling them,
But that dough is very tight.
Alina, I'm drawn to the
beautiful shine that I see,
And I find all of the outside
to be distracting.
It's so clean and consistent,
why hide it?
The garlic smell coming out of
here is just fantastic,
By the way.
It has great flavour,
it's very rich.
So, remind us, what kind of
dough again?
Brioche.
I like the concept of this,
just a little bit dark.
For a brioche dough
it's a bit dry.
It's lacking the
richness of brioche.
Understood.
We keep wanting “wow”.
We keep asking for “wow”.
Wow! It's so cute.
Look, it's just so cute.
This little technique of
snipping the ears,
Such precise and clean work.
And this is something we
keep seeing from you
Over and over again.
Still soft and bounce back.
Meow.
Very floral, very well rounded.
- Amazing job on the bun.
- Thank you.
Okay, so ball of yarn.
It's very clear what it is.
Even if you didn't have
knitting needles in it.
Clean work, clean flavour.
Yeah, and nice cinnamon.
- Great work.
- Thank you.
So, it's the bread week
showstopper.
I have never been more
jealous of you two, ever.
We had a couple of spectacular
showstoppers today.
We had one baker who
needed to really step up
To the top, vincent.
He was determined to show us
something great, and he did.
What about aimee?
The creativity of aimee's oven
was just so impressive.
And, amanda's lobster claws,
I want that for
lunch every day.
That was so tasty, so good.
So, I guess we should talk
- The bakers
That may be in danger of
leaving the tent this week?
When we look at dougal, we had
one element that was just
Outstanding in the pecan role,
but the bagel,
On the other hand, was a miss.
And then alina,
the bread looks good,
But the brioche was very dry.
Do you know which
way you're leaning?
Personally, I know, but I need
to discuss it with kyla.
This week, there is one
baker who... Proved
They are a crust
above the rest.
This week's star baker is...
- Aimee.
- Yay.
Yay, good job.
- Of course.
- Well deserved, honey.
- It is well deserved.
- Very well deserved.
And now, for the part that
we're least looking forward to.
Sadly, one of you will
leave the tent today.
I'm sorry to say that the
person going home is...
Alina.
The amount that I've learned
and the amount that
I've grown and...
The friends that I've made here,
none of it will be forgotten.
This has been
absolutely incredible.
I feel so honoured and
privileged to have gotten the
Chance to do this because
it's something that
Most people can
only dream of.
Thank you to everybody.
With alina leaving today,
I hope that's
Almost a bit of a warning for
the other bakers.
She is very talented, and I
think everyone needs to know
They have to really
bring it every week.
And our star baker
this week is aimee.
Such a young baker,
yet she's so talented.
Every single challenge this
week, aimee nailed it.
I'm star baker for
the second time.
This week it's especially
exciting because I wasn't
Particularly confident
about bread.
So, I'm thrilled, and I wish
could express it better.
Next time...
It's pie week, yay!
...The six remaining bakers
learn how to be
Patient with pastry.
Godspeed, little pie.
Agh! This is killing me.
But who will make their mark?
It's absolutely succulent.
This is so good, I could have
the whole pie by myself.
And who will flake out?
It's kind of soupy.
If you listen really closely,
you can hear my tarts weeping.