'The Great British Baking Show' Season 4 Episode 3: Bread Week

In this third installment of our The Great British Baking Show Season 4, we follow our ten bold bakers as they attempt to “prove” their mastery of the bread making arts. But first let’s review how eleven became ten in last time’s biscuit-palooza.

Despite messy iced biscuits and coming in at the bottom third in the Viennese whirl technical challenge, PE teacher Candice won last week’s Star Baker title on the strength of her 3-D gingerbread story piece. Her tendency to be overly ambitious paid off this time as her meticulously detailed family pub won Paul and Mary over big time. Meanwhile hairdresser and bride-to-be Louise confessed that biscuits weren’t her forte making the challenges in this round her downfall. The complete collapse of her gingerbread church was the final straw in the judges' decision to send her home.

But this week, bread was the theme, and that means Paul Hollywood was in the driver’s seat. An intimidating dilemma for our ten remaining bakers to be sure. The signature challenge required the contestants to create a chocolate bread to which the bakers responded with couronnes, babkas, and brioches aplenty.

Mr. Hollywood baffled our competitors in the technical round with his request for a dozen German steamed buns called dampfnudel. I for one was so happy for the return of Sue Perkins. I mean I love Mel to pieces, but Sue’s German accent beats Mel’s Austrian one by a mile. Am I right?

As for the show stopper assignment - a savoury plaited centerpiece using three different flours wasn’t a piece of cake either! Wait, I should have used that one in the first week…