RadioTimes.com columnist Jürgen talks all things Pastry Week.
Viewers watched two contestants leave The Great British Bake Off this week, as Pastry Week got under way.
From puff pastries to savoury pies, the pressure was certainly on in the tent, and eventually Rowan and Nicky were sent packing.
For Cristy, however, it was as easy as pie as she received her first Star Baker accolade for season 14, which came as a big surprise following a few wobbles during Chocolate Week.
Here, RadioTimes.com columnist and season 2021 semi-finalist Jürgen Krauss talks all things Pastry Week, particularly the “unpredictable” Great British 2023 line-up, the double elimination and his top tip for achieving the perfect pastry.
As well as this, he shared his thoughts on next week’s new Bake Off theme, Botanical Week.
You can watch Jürgen give his verdict below. Keep watching at the end of each video for more from the expert baker.
Jürgen on Pastry Week
This lot are always surprising. It was again a week where all predictions would have gone completely wrong. So, I’m very excited about them. It’s a bit sad that Nicky and Rowan went out at this stage. Everyone who goes out takes quite a lot with them. And if you are in the tent by Week 5, you notice the space between the benches is getting bigger. So yeah, it was a very exciting week.
Favourite bake
My favourite was probably Josh’s sunflower pies. There was a touching theme behind that. A lot of thought and a lot of emotion as well. And it was extremely well executed. Simple, elegant, meaningful, and also flavourful and tasty.
Put Josh's Showstopper in the Louvre. ❤️🌻 #GBBO pic.twitter.com/bMJqE5aGQp
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) October 24, 2023
Least favourite bake
That would probably be Nicky’s little picnic pies. When I heard that she’s putting in five different cheeses to contain the meat. Well, it then showed up in the judging that it wasn’t too pleasant to eat. I think that was a little bit of an unfortunate judgement by her to do this recipe. Too many cheeses, maybe too much cheese in relation to the other fillings, too. Yeah.
Welcome back Tasha
Tasha certainly is a lovely element in the tent with great ideas. I love the signing symbols on her pies. Really an interesting idea.
Thoughts on Botanical Week
I don’t think there was ever a Botanical Week, it’s an interesting concept. I think they had to replace those national weeks with something that’s more generic. And so with Botanical Week, they’ll probably be giving the guidelines to what substances to use to flavour the bakes or also what to use to bring colour to the bakes. I haven’t seen the brief for that week, so I can’t really say. I would think natural dyes, natural flavourings, so not relying on industrial products, artificial flavourings, etc, and plant-based products as well. Using herbs if there are savoury products involved. There was this little glimpse we got of Dan having something in a file that apparently smells of cat wee…
Tip of the week: Perfect pastry
For the perfect pastry with water crust, follow your recipe. There are so many good recipes out there. And in terms of the pie, look no further than Cristy! She had a very good choice of ingredients of what goes into the pie. If it’s your first time also, stay with ingredients that are safe, that make it creamy, that keep your pie moist enough. Don’t risk anything if you’ve just started off making pies.
Jurgen answers…
What did you think of the double elimination?
I think it was the right choice. I think with both Star Baker and the eliminations, Paul and Prue did the right thing at this point. Nicky had a bad day. We know she can do absolutely well, but tent magic can be on the plus side and can be on the minus side… and Nicky unfortunately in all three bakes, and Rowan similarly. I believe him that he got those pies perfectly at home, but tent magic, the food might be different, it might be a bit more watery – things you just can’t gauge when you prepare the things at home and can get you into trouble very quickly. The judgement is done on the current week, so yeah, it was the right decision.
You agreed with Cristy being this week’s Star Baker…
Both Cristy and Dan had a huge wobble in terms of their self-esteem, so Cristy thought her picnic pies were awful and then she got the handshake for them and Dan had a wobble with not having his oven on and he thought he completely messed up. The pastry messed up with him getting injured, etc. And both ended up really well. So it is a very interesting bunch of people there in the tent.
Who do you think is at risk going forward?
With this experience after episode 5, it’s really hard to make predictions. They can all wobble and they can all excel, so the remaining seven – I think they have all the possibilities and all the problems, Tent magic again will do its thing. I said that before physics in the tent is different from physics outside. Physicists like to say that the physics throughout the universe is constant. It is not in that white tent, it’s very different! It does its own thing.
A week in the life of Jürgen
Last weekend was very, very busy. We were in London three days in a row. Family as well – my son had some some trombone-related things, a taster session at the Royal College. And we met relatives, went to an exhibition, and in the evening we had a big band gig, and then on Monday I went to the event at Waterstones with Giuseppe and many other bakers – check out Instagram! Next weekend is calm and I’m very much looking forward to that.
German Baking: Cakes, tarts, traybakes and breads from the Black Forest and beyond by Jürgen Krauss is available to buy now.
The Great British Bake Off airs at 8pm on Tuesdays on Channel 4.
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