Masterclass The Great British Bake Off

The Great British Bake Off this year saw the best amateur bakers in the country battle it out

to be crowned Bake Off Champion.

Along the way we saw them tackle pastries, cakes, pies,

biscuits, patisserie and bread.

It's not proved enough and it's not baked enough.

But now it's our turn.

This time expert judges Mary Berry and I take over the Bake Off tent

to do some baking ourselves.

Coming up,

Mary Berry takes on a traditional British cake, the Battenberg,

a complicated layered-sponge construction held together

with buttercream and wrapped in perfectly smooth marzipan.

Mary's recipe for tarte au citron, the classic French tart,

perfect sweet, thin, crisp pastry

with a deliciously sharp lemon filling.

My take on the traditional Italian flatbread, focaccia,

with its tricky wet dough and aerated crumb structure.

And finally, Mary's brandy snaps, the seemingly simple treat

that requires precision and perfect timing

to achieve its signature shape and snap.

We will show you some tips and tricks that will help you to create something magical.

From the mixing, to the baking, to the finishing, to the presentation.

At home, you will get the same results.

Each week the bakers in the great British Bake Off

face three challenges set by Mary and I.

And the one that always spread fear through the tent

was the technical challenge.

It was specifically designed to test the bakers' knowledge, intuition and skill

in the context of a classic recipe.

It's delicious, absolutely delicious.

The first round of the competition this year kicked off

with a weekend devoted to cakes.

The technical bake is a controlled test

of both your intuition and your ability.

What you are going to be creating is the bete noire of bakers.

It's a Battenberg cake. Not just any old Battenberg cake

but a coffee and walnut Battenberg cake.

So, Mary, you chose Battenberg as the first technical challenge

in the Bake Off this year. Why?

It's a classic. It's a cake that everybody knows

and it has many tricky stages.

They had to be able to make basic sponge,

but they'd got to do it in two varieties,

they had to cut it, shape it,

and you've got to get that chequerboard effect,

and that's difficult.

Usually it's pink and vanilla.

-That's right.

-I thought we could make it a little more sophisticated and have it with walnuts and coffee.

-There's lots of pitfalls in this particular recipe.

-Oh, there are!

I think none more so in the fact of

making sure that the squares are absolutely equal.

Cos for me, a Battenberg is all about the size of those squares,

the way they're shaped out, and essentially, a Battenberg is square.

That's why I chose it.

So, where do we start when we're making a Battenberg?

Well, we start off by lining the tin.

I'm going to use a tin that a lot of people will have at home,

and that is a square tin, about 7½ or 8 inches.

Or for sheer luxury, and you really like to make them often,

-you can have a tin like this one.

-Oh, that's not fair is it!

No, but if everybody likes them and wants to make them often

-these have...

-They're brilliant! These come out?

-Yes.

-And you'll have a neat rectangle of sponge.

These all come out and then of course you could use it for flapjacks.

-I'm going to show you how you can divide the tin in half.

-OK.

Because I want to put my vanilla this side,

-and the other side I'm going to put the walnut and coffee.

-Yeah.

I need a division and I don't want the two mixtures

to run into each other.

'Before lining your tin, grease it well with some softened butter.'

Don't do it with oil because if you do it with oil it would slip.

'Take a piece of foil-lined baking parchment,

'which is a little bigger than the tin,

'fold it in the middle to create a divide.

'Then place it in the tin

'making sure the divide is at least the height of the tin

'and in the centre.'

Press it right down into those corners

-and then over the top like that.

-Yes.

-So that's ready. Now I need to make the Battenberg.

-OK.

-Now the sponge method you're using for this.

-Mm-hm.

All-in-one or creaming the butter and the sugar, adding the eggs?

I'm, because I'm very busy,

and I want a really good result, I'm going to use the all-in-one method.

So you reckon that all-in-one method as a sponge is better than

the creaming method with the butter and the sugar?

I do, I get a better result from it, and it is far easier.

I'll just put a little dusting in there.

You could weigh the 100 grams of self-raising flour in there.

-Mm-hm.

-Then put the baking spread on the top.

Add the marg on the top. OK.

Right. I mean, to make cakes, and this programme's all about baking,

it is weighing accurately,

so we'll start off by putting 100 grams of self-raising flour in there.

That's four ounces, that's right.

There you go.

And then 100 grams baking spread. So that is exactly 200 in there.

That's exactly 100 of each.

-And because you've floured the bowl...

-Yes.

-It slips off easily.

-Yes.

-Then we want 50 grams of ground almonds.

-50 grams of ground almonds.

Putting ground almonds in this helps with the keeping quality.

-Yeah.

-I don't think it'll keep very long because it's going to be eaten.

-Right, so we've got almonds, we need sugar.

-Sugar.

-Castor sugar and 100 grams.

-100 grams of castor sugar.

-That's right.

-OK.

-And we need baking powder now.

You may think using self-raising flour and baking powder...

-And baking powder. We've spoken about this before.

-I know.

The old-fashioned creaming method you used to beat until it was light and fluffy.

Because we're just beating it, not a lot,

I want a little bit extra rise in this

-and I'm going to add half a teaspoon just like that.

-Yes.

-So just a little.

-OK.

-To make that extra rise.

-OK.

-Eggs, two, please.

-Eggs, two, whole?

-Whole, yes.

-Whole, straight in.

-No need to separate them this time.

I think that's... If I do that, it drips all down the side.

I bet you can do 100 an hour or...

-Two, two, two.

-Two?

-Many of my mixes take 50 eggs.

-Do they?

-So we just stand there, cracking eggs.

-I won't compete.

Right, so at that stage, just beat it together.

And you only need to mix this until it is smooth,

and you don't go on and on and on beating it

when it's the all-in-one method, just when it's all together.

I feel like a five-year-old,

standing next to my mum when she's making a cake.

That's all right. I'll let you lick the bowl, then.

I'm going to divide that in half because I want one vanilla half.

Yes.

-And one...

-Walnut and coffee.

-Exactly, that's it.

-OK.

'To finish this sophisticated Battenberg mix,

'add one-and-a-half teaspoonfuls of milk

'and a few drops of vanilla extract to one bowl.'

'In the other, put 25 grams of chopped walnuts

'and 1½ teaspoons of instant coffee granules

'mixed with one-and-a-half teaspoons of milk.

'This is what gives it a lovely colour and flavour.'

-Now we have to fill the tins.

-OK.

It smells lovely, the coffee flavour, doesn't it?

-Coffee and walnut is a marriage made in heaven as far as I'm concerned.

-It's lovely.

I'm going to level it right to the corners,

it won't take its own shape by itself.

And I'm straightening up the middle,

-and this is what some of our bakers forgot to do, keep this level.

-Yes.

Once the mixtures are level,

sponges should be baked for about 25 minutes

at 160 degrees centigrade or 140 fan.

Keeping their mixtures level was the least of the bakers' problems.

All were relying on their own experience of cake making

to decide how to execute the baking,

cutting and building of this unique cake.

I've never, ever made a Battenberg before,

so I'm quite a bit anxious, really, but hopefully it'll be all OK.

The first stumbling block was lining the tin,

and Janet was already beginning to flap.

It's a sort of new challenge, it's not something I've done before.

Holly was relying on her origami skills to see her through.

I don't really know what I'm doing,

I've done a bit of a Blue Peter job on the tin

and it's going to be a big element of crossing my fingers.

So I put all the coffee in the cake instead of half in the cake

and half for the icing.

I don't know, probably have a stronger flavour.

The judges wanted strong flavour, so hey, I'm sure they'll like it.

I think having a military background helps to some extent,

following specific things to do,

it makes up for the fact I'm a man, and multi tasking is a nightmare.

Ben's method of checking whether the sponge was baked was spot on.

It's as done as I can make it, we'll wait and see what happens with it.

I'm a bit worried that the foil is...

Oh, so did you use the rigid foil?

Well, the rigid foil is fine, it's the edges that have started to...

-flick in a bit.

-So you're... OK.

I'm a little bit disappointed, actually.

My foil's curled over so it's split away from the side,

but hopefully I can rescue that with some marzipan.

I'll have to trim it up nicely.

One side's wider than the other side.

So this has been brought out of the oven now and has been cooled.

They look fantastic, so equal. What are you looking for?

Well, I'm looking for them both to be of equal size.

-It's shrinking away from the sides there.

-Yeah.

That'll tell me it's done, and also the plain side,

the vanilla side, is that lovely pale golden colour.

-And then we cut it into two strips.

-OK.

'In order to start building the Battenberg,

'pull the ends of the baking parchment away from each other.

'Neaten up the edges of each sponge,

'and then divide both evenly into two strips.'

-Ideally, one should leave it half a day at least.

-Yeah.

Because then it cuts evenly. Then we come to the buttercream.

'Take 100 grams of icing sugar and 40 grams of butter at room temperature.'

We've got coffee granules over there, half a teaspoon, if we put those...

-In there?

-..in there with 1½ teaspoonfuls of milk.

There we are.

But I think the coffee icing really complements it

-and brings the whole thing together.

-Yeah.

Now if you'd like to tip your icing sugar and butter on top of that.

-Into there?

-Yeah.

Just going to break up that butter.

Then I'm going to get my hands in there.

-Hands?

-Yeah.

A true baker.

Just imagine it's dough and it'll be perfect.

I think there's something about using your hands in a bakery.

It's going to go into hyper speed in a minute, all right?

Looks lovely and smooth.

I think you get the feel for it,

and if you're permanently using a mixer you haven't got that link.

If you get your hands in there,

you remember what it should be like.

-If the phone rings, you use your other hand?

-Sometimes not.

'Assembling the Battenberg is the next stage.

'Use the buttercream to join one coffee strip

'and one vanilla strip together.

'Spread some icing across the top

'and create the square with the remaining two pieces of cake.'

Obviously, there's a slight drop on each side where it sits,

cos you get a natural rise in the middle of the oven.

Could you trim off the very ends?

You certainly could at this stage if you wanted to, but I like to do it at the very end.

Now we need 225 grams of marzipan, just making quite sure I haven't got any crumbs on my fingers

cos that would mark the... make it non-perfect.

Yes, the marzipan, yes. It's imperative at this stage to make sure the marzipan is clean,

so you don't get all those indentations and possible breaks in it.

So top tip is icing sugar on your rolling pin

-rather than on the marzipan at this stage.

-Exactly.

Just an even roll all the time, just like doing pastry.

I know a few of them had a problem with the marzipan on the Battenberg,

it did split, it did break,

and it looked a bit of a mess on a few of them, to be honest.

No, that didn't work.

It's rubbish.

I'm going to start again. Stupid thing.

Sorry.

I'm using cling wrap here

because I didn't want the marzipan to stick to the roller.

With some judicious encouragement, it can be persuaded to wrap round.

Is it going to match?

That'll be at the bottom so they won't see that bit!

'Once the marzipan is carefully rolled, place the assembled cake

'into the middle, spread the remaining buttercream over the top.

'Next, wrap the marzipan carefully around the sides of the cake

'and massage it gently to bind it to the sponge.

'Finally, trim off the edges to neaten both ends,

'creating the perfect chequerboard effect.'

-Do I ask a favour, can I crimp it on the top?

-You do the final finish.

Well, if I do a little crimp, I think it sets it off, doesn't it,

and it makes it look a little bit special.

So we need just a few walnuts on that.

I always think it's a good idea to have whatever's inside

showing on top so people know.

-How about doing five?

-OK.

So that's our Battenberg, quite a challenge for our 12 bakers.

When it came to judging, we were looking for the Battenberg that demonstrated the baking techniques,

flavours and precision demanded by this recipe.

This person has followed the recipe exactly.

-It's been really well pressed into shape.

-It looks very pretty.

-And businesslike.

Marzipan's very neat, that's nice.

-This has been well-trimmed, it looks perfection.

-It's good flavour, good bake.

-A very good execution.

And who has this one here?

This is a masterpiece.

Well done, Holly.

I've been dying to get a piece of this.

It looks very good.

As a technical challenge,

I thought the choice of the Battenberg, Mary, was superb.

Well, it was pushing them, and remember this was their first one,

perhaps we were a little bit cruel to put it in so early.

It was interesting when you talked to them,

they all knew Battenberg, but very few of them had made them.

It was tricky as the first technical challenge.

I think getting all the sponges exactly the same,

getting the good bake on the sponge itself in the first place,

the blending of the buttercream and the smoothing of the buttercream between the sponges,

ultimately, if they'd done that properly

they would have ended up with a Battenberg like this.

In the second round of the competition, we introduced pastry.

Over two days and three challenges, we tested the bakers to the limit.

The most difficult challenge of all was the second.

The moment the technical bake was revealed, a ripple of fear swept through the tent.

Deep breath, what we're going to be asking you to do

is a tarte au citron.

You know, Paul, tarte au citron, lemon tart,

is quite my most favourite dessert or pastry tart.

-Is that why you picked it for the technical challenge?

-Oh...

You wanted to make it cos you liked it?

Not really, because technically it's quite tricky to make,

and there's an awful lot that can go wrong with it.

But it is so good to eat, so popular,

yet I think people are nervous of making it at home.

So you're going to show us now the definitive lemon tart.

-Exactly.

-OK.

And so for that I'm going to make the pastry,

-I'm going to do it in the processor. So, 175 grams of flour.

-Yeah.

On the scales.

-Is that absolutely right?

-Nearly, getting there.

-That's 175 grams. OK.

-I'll put that into the processor.

-You can do this by hand, can't you?

-Oh, you can, yes, just put it straight into the bowl.

-Then we're going to add the icing sugar, 25 grams.

-25 grams.

-I'm keeping a strong eye and you're up to 22 at the moment.

-I'm up to 24.

Oh, all right, and...

Don't start taking your position...

And these chefs, you know, they always use their hands.

There you go.

OK. So that is my 25 grams.

And 100 grams of cold butter. Now we put that in the fridge, didn't we?

Yes.

In there, there we are.

So at this stage you're just going to bind the ingredients to a breadcrumb consistency.

Exactly. Press the button to go.

-Can you see how it's changing now and becoming pale yellow?

-Yeah.

-And it's just rubbed in as if you'd done it by hand.

-Yeah.

But a lot quicker.

Do you know what's happening in a molecular level? Can I bore you with science?

The flour particles themselves are being coated with the fat from the butter or whatever fat you use,

and that actually prevents the liquid coming out

and too much gluten being formed.

So when you add the water, you then work it,

the more you work it, the more gluten is released through the fat

but it limits the amount of gluten allowed out

to stop it being too rubbery.

Very clever.

And add one egg yolk to that.

-There you go, one egg yolk straight in?

-That's it, and some water. A tablespoon.

Now, measuring spoons are an essential part of my life.

Everybody can make pastry if they weigh accurately,

so I'm going to keep an eye on that.

And when I see it coming together...

So that's your basic sweet pastry mix.

That is basic sweet pastry, and I use it for all sorts of things.

So it's interesting that you use icing sugar rather than castor sugar.

It makes a better dough. I think.

-Smoother dough, smooth.

-A smoother dough.

-Now you just knead that a little bit for me.

-Yeah.

Just knead it.

I only knead it a little bit. Now that is a skill I haven't got yet.

-Right, I've just got some non-stick parchment.

-Yeah.

And the size I'm going to make is 23 centimetres,

about an inch high,

and this is the way that I do it,

because I was taught to roll out the pastry into a big sheet

then put it round the rolling pin.

-The way I normally do it, yes.

-Well, so often, if you haven't made it perfectly, it cracks.

And so, this way, it doesn't.

So if you put that as your base, and you know you've got to make it sort of an inch bigger all round.

That's a nice tip.

Then you put that in the middle, and you roll it out.

And try to keep it round... round again here.

-It's just all about being gentle, isn't it? Just easing it out to the side.

-It's gentle, gentle.

But light hands - you notice I'm not pressing it and it's got to be fairly even.

-There, now you can actually see the circle...

-Yes.

-..underneath.

-Clearly.

-That looks just about right to me.

Right, now how am I going to get it into there?

Very simply. What you do is you take the pastry

and you just turn it in like that... and you see,

if I tried to put that over the rolling pin...

it would more than likely crack.

Then you just take that and you put that in there, there it is,

and then very simply lift this over the side.

You notice that I've got lots of spare.

I'm going to leave that exactly there.

Usually, I don't chill it before I roll it out,

but if it's warm like today, you can chill it for five minutes.

It's a good idea, again, just to solidify the butter that's in there.

It makes it a little bit easier to work.

Firmly press the pastry into the grooves of the tin.

'Once it's lined, prick the base so it doesn't balloon up while baking,

line it with foil and some baking beans to weigh it down.

Bake the case for around ten minutes at 200 degrees centigrade,

180 fan, while you make the filling.

You will need the zest of four unwaxed lemons

and 150ml of lemon juice.

For the filling break five eggs into a bowl

and whisk together with 225 grams of caster sugar.

If you used granulated sugar, you would get speckles

on top of the tart.

Whisk until it becomes smooth, then add the zest and lemon juice

and mix again until they're well combined.

Finally, add 125ml of double cream.

It's time to check on the pastry case.

-There you go.

-That's it.

-Right, now, can you see that's got a gentle brown on the outside?

-Yes.

And then just lift it out... and you notice how it doesn't stick.

And you can see now that most of the pricking has filled up the holes.

-Yes.

-It looks underdone in the middle.

-Mmm.

And therefore, that has to go back in the oven

for 10 to 12 minutes until it dries out.

-So you're going to take that to its full bake before it goes back in with the filling?

-Exactly,

because remember when we were judging -

and we've got a thing about a soggy bottom -

you've got to get that bottom of the pastry really, really dry.

'The pastry needs another ten to 15 minutes

'until it is completely dried out.

'When the pastry case is fully baked, allow it to cool.

'To finish off the tart, transfer the filling to a jug

'and give it a quick stir to check the lemon zest is well mixed in.'

Now, most people, I expect, would pour that into there,

walk to the oven, and, with a not very steady hand,

it might go over the side and get between the pastry and the tin.

-Mmm.

-So, if you put that on the oven shelf...

-In the oven now?

-Yes.

..and then you just gently pour that in...

And as a matter of interest, that was exactly a pint.

-So, that's ready to bake?

-Yes, it's in the oven and the oven is set.

Overcook it,

and it might have bubbles in it,

-which would toughen it.

-Mmm.

And if you overcook it, a crack will form.

To know when it's done - and we'll have a look at it - it should have a wobble in the middle.

'Bake the tart at 160 centigrade, or 140 fan, for about 35 minutes.'

'I've always considered that the level of skill of a good pastry chef

'can be measured by their ability to make a perfect lemon tart.'

I'm scared that I'll mess it up big time if I still do that.

A lot of fear coming through.

It's making Mary's lemon tart for Mary.

'With only 1½ hours on the clock,

'the bakers were up against it.

'There are no short cuts when making a perfect lemon tart.

'Janet's pastry looks slightly overworked.'

-Yes, it's looking a little bit gunky.

-What, the pastry?

Yes, but maybe it'll be OK.

I have done a tarte au citron in the past,

not with quite such a sticky pastry.

But we'll do with what we've got.

'It wasn't just making the pastry that was tricky.

'Blind baking was also causing problems.'

There's a little crack in the bottom of my case, you know.

Hopefully, it will do the job.

It's all in the pastry, the crunch, and it looks all right,

but God, who knows?

-Oh, no...

-Jo, are we facing the collapse of the pastry wall?

-Yes, hah, we are.

-OK.

I've never had it collapse on me or anything before,

but I'm making silly mistakes and I don't really know why.

I think wishy-washy lemon's not worth having, you know,

I think if you have something lemony, it's got to be really sharp.

So it sort of gets all your jaws going, you know.

'The technique of filling the cases whilst in the oven eluded some of the bakers.'

-Oh, no, this is terrible.

-Please, please!

'The bakers all had their own views when to take the tart out of the oven.'

Out you come...

You're supposed to take it out

when there's just a little wobble in the middle,

so I've applied that principle and, fingers crossed, it'll work.

I don't think it's a disaster,

it doesn't look like a disaster cos at least it's not runny.

When you're cooking something like this lemon tart, overcook it,

and it might have bubbles in it, which would toughen it,

and a crack will form.

That looks beautiful.

Then you want to leave it in the tin so that the pastry will shrink back from the outside.

If you try and turn it out now, it could well stick.

'Leave the tart in its tin for about ten to 15 minutes to cool.

'Carefully remove the tart from the tin, slide it off its base

'onto the serving plate, then dust liberally with icing sugar to serve.'

It really makes the most beautiful dessert, or even little wedges of it for tea.

I'm looking forward to that one, Mary.

'When it came to judging, while some looked impressive,

'others fell short with thick, burned crusts and cracked tops.'

Good gracious, 11 really lovely tarte au citrons.

'And when we cut and tasted them,

'I couldn't believe how different they were,

'considering they were all from the same recipe.'

It's a bit thick on the pastry.

-Tastes good, but you expect that, it's a Mary Berry recipe.

-THEY LAUGH

There's a crack in the top of this one, it is slightly over baked.

A thinner pastry on this one.

I think that the blind bake wasn't long enough.

-Mmm. And that's been boiled.

-Nice to have thin pastry, though.

This one looks like a patchwork quilt.

-You see the different colours.

-That's the join in the pastry.

This one looks good.

Thin crust, it is not shrinking away from the side,

the filling is beautifully creamy.

-Lemon tart, or as the French call it, tarte au citron.

-Cut a slice.

-Mmm.

-Was that going through like butter?

-It cuts extremely well.

Looking down the side of that, there isn't a bubble in the filling.

But most important of all is underneath,

the pastry should be very thin

and a lovely golden brown.

Mmm.

It's so delicate. Yet the beautiful lemon coming through.

It is a tricky thing to get a perfect lemon tart

and if it's baked properly,

that's exactly how it should be.

'Week three, and we decided it was time to test the bakers

'on their bread-making skills, my personal passion.'

Got too much salt in it.

Your technical recipe for this challenge is focaccia.

And to add a little bit of pressure,

you will be working with master baker Paul Hollywood's own recipe.

So Paul, out of all the breads you could have chosen,

why did you chose focaccia for a technical challenge for the bakers?

I chose the focaccia because it's extremely difficult to make. Cos this dough is extremely wet,

and the flour to water the ratio is nearly one to one,

so you can imagine, it's almost like a wet jelly

and very difficult to handle.

These are the best amateur bakers this country has to offer

and if I can't push THEM, what's the point?

But I'm going to show you how you can incorporate

that much water into a mix, so what we're going to do is

to start with some flour, some strong, white flour.

-Right.

-Now I'm going to weigh up 500 grams, all right?

-Right.

I'll keep an eye on you that it's absolutely accurate.

-You're on your way, two more grams.

-OK, 500.

Exactly right. And strong flour.

Strong, white bread flour.

This has a higher protein level, therefore a higher gluten level.

Gluten - glue,

the glue that binds the structure,

the holes in the loaf together, keeps it strong.

-Now, yeast.

-Yes.

Three different types of yeast here,

-you have what's called fast-action yeast.

-Usually in little packets.

Yes, or the powdered yeast, which you get in little sachets.

The middle one is a dried yeast.

This one you have to reconstitute with water, sugar,

mix it and then leave it for 15 minutes to froth and bubble.

-Load of nonsense, don't use it.

-Right.

-This particular yeast

-is the fresh stuff.

-Mmm.

-Fast-action yeast is the dried version of that. Therefore,

if you base that as a concentrate,

you use a third less in the powdered.

So it's fast-action dried yeast that we're to use.

Fast-action yeast, so I'm putting that straight in, two sachets of seven grams.

-Right.

-The next thing I'm going to do is add a glug of olive oil,

30ml, I need - one, two, three.

That might have been a bit too much, may it?

No, it's fine. Salt.

I'm using normal cooking salt. And I'm actually going to use ten grams.

If you're using measuring spoons, that would be a dessert spoon.

I'm not into all that stuff, that is bizarre.

I know, but WE like to be accurate and we have a little set of spoons.

-OK.

-You can do it...

-Is that the royal "we"?

-Us home bakers.

OK, so, in there, we have the core ingredients

to make the most magical food known to man. Or woman.

In this jug, I've got cool water,

-not warm water.

-Cool water?

-Just tap water, straight from the tap.

-Right.

-400ml.

Straight into the bowl, start off about half way.

Because it takes so much water, this dough,

you never add the full amount straight away.

-More water in again.

-But you are going to include all that 400ml?

Oh, yes.

At this stage, I'm just turning it, to see how much liquid it's going to pick up.

And again it's still more.

But you gave them definite instructions that they had to

use all that 400ml of water, and they didn't believe your recipe.

They actually started to change the recipe

because they thought it was wrong.

'Making focaccia is a test of raw baking skill,

'where technique is important.

'But respecting the fluid to flour ratio in my wet dough recipe

'is absolutely vital.

'Making focaccia is a real test,

'most people have never worked with a dough so wet,

'and a lot of our bakers found it difficult to believe that the recipe was actually correct.'

I think this has been the scariest technical challenge so far,

because I've got no idea if I'm getting it right.

'Rob thought he understood the recipe, as he's very familiar with 'bread-making techniques.'

Have you made focaccia before?

-I've not, but I think I kind of know the theory of it.

-Which is?

Well, just that cos it's meant to have those cool little holes with the layers,

and the holes come from the wet of the dough.

'But the extra wet dough in my focaccia recipe caused plenty of confusion.'

This is baffling me, I've never made such a wet dough before.

I don't know how this is going to come together, but I'll give it a good go.

And now add the remaining water.

It doesn't say how to add it, but I'm just going to sort of, you know...

-Just whack it in there, mate.

-Strange.

-It is weird, isn't it?

It is weird... Oh, gosh.

'Ben was fighting the urge to deviate from the method.'

And the temptation is just to

put more flour into it to get to a dough that you're used to using,

and so you have to kind of go, "No, no flour, no flour."

-Have you got any more water to add?

-I've got about...

-just under 100 left.

-It's, I mean, it's up to you.

I'm kind of liking the way it's behaving at the moment.

'Jo seemed confident that my recipe was right.'

Obviously Paul knows what he's doing,

so hopefully this will turn out OK.

-It's actually coming together quite well.

-Yes, there you are...

-Looks very stretchy now.

-It's getting that way now.

What I'm going to try and do, is try and stretch it on some olive oil.

-So, plenty of olive oil on there.

-Right.

Now, the idea of the olive oil on the table is not to...

You don't want any more flour added to that mixture?

No, so I'm just stretching it... and placing it in the middle.

Kneading this is actually very difficult because it's so wet.

So what you're doing is stretching it

to try and build up the gluten in it, that's all I'm doing.

You can see it's starting to get quite smooth already, you know?

It's so good to see you doing this, because if I was at home doing that

without your demonstration, I would think that that was just a bit wet.

Well, look at the...

-it's not moving, it's not flowing out, it's quite a stable dough.

-Yes.

You see how smooth it's getting now.

No need to go to the gym when you do Paul Hollywood's bread, is there?

HE CHUCKLES

OK, at that stage, I'm going to put it in that glass bowl there -

can you pass me that glass bowl?

-Right.

-This is a two-litre glass container, OK?

-Right.

Olive oil just to stop the dough from sticking,

rub it all the way round the sides...

-and then place your dough in there. Flatten it down slightly.

-Mmm.

Then are you going to cover that or leave it open?

I'm actually going to cover it.

-The only reason why I'm covering it is to stop a skin.

-Yes.

The gluten that has been built up, it will activate the yeast,

the yeast will start to produce carbon dioxide,

and it will start to grow.

And you leave that to rise in kitchen temperature?

Kitchen temperature, living room temperature, bedroom temperature.

But not in... Putting it in a linen cupboard or above a radiator,

it just speeds up.

Absolutely not, do not speed up the rising process,

let nature do the work.

And it'll take about an hour for the focaccia to double in size.

Mary, can you pass me my bubbling mass of dough, please?

Looks like a volcanic eruption.

-There you are.

-If I just take this off carefully...

-Yes.

-Peel that off round there.

And it's right up like that because your dough was very wet to start with?

Very wet, it's got no resistance because the dough is not tight, so it will just...

it will just blow.

And when you put it in a container, there is only one place that dough can go - straight up.

Now, if you look at the structure of the dough down here and all down the side...

-Right.

-..you see the structure.

-Masses of little holes.

There is masses of holes.

And that structure down there

is an indication of what your final bread will be like.

Now, if I lift this up gently,

see how stringy it is?

-It's all stretchy and stringy.

-That, there, is the gluten. Nature -

I've taken it to a level of kneading -

nature has done the rest.

Right, I will need two baking trays, please, Mary.

-Right, we've got some under here.

-Yes, down there.

Does that mean, this amount, the 500 grams, is going to make two?

-One big one, or two little ones.

-Right.

-OK?

Now, at the moment, that's just got blind baking parchment on there.

-Yes.

-Little bit of olive oil on the bottom, rub that in.

-Mmm.

-What I'm going to do first is tip this dough out onto an oiled surface.

-Right.

OK, there's your piece of dough.

OK, we'll stretch this out a bit.

-Can I have a feel of that?

-Yeah, course you can.

It's really, very, very, wet and stretchy,

every time you pull it out it comes back.

Just cutting the dough in half...

OK, what I'm going to do is lift this up as a blob, stretch it,

place it onto the tray.

OK? Now, you're going to do this one. Easy tiger,

wait, I'm going to put the rest of it in, OK?

What we need to do, just gently press down,

that down motion will naturally take it to the side, anyway.

-Shall I write my name on this one so I know it's mine?

-If you want to.

-I missed a bit there.

-Fantastic.

This is the skill of the bread maker - you've got it, Mary.

'Once in a tin, the dough needs to be left to rise again,

'uncovered, at room temperature, for about an hour.'

At this stage, would you add some rosemary or some olives or anything like that?

This is a stage where you'd add tomatoes on the top, cherry tomatoes.

Potatoes, sliced up on the top, absolutely delicious on there,

and again, you can add any herb you want to.

'To add moistness and flavour, drizzle a little more oil

'over the top and push your fingers in to create dimples.'

'It was entirely up to the bakers how long to prove for.'

Let me see yours.

If it hasn't risen, then I've just wasted an hour.

I'll be honest, I don't think it's number one, but you never know.

'As the bakers added the final touches to their focaccia,

'confidence in the bread was rising.

'Although Mary-Anne's dough was an odd shape, she seemed happy with it.'

It's a bit lopsided, but it'll do, it'll do...

..fingers crossed.

Now, what quality olive oil would you use to go on the loaf here?

Before bake, non virgin, after bake virgin olive oil.

So it's not so much the flavour, but you want that flavour afterwards,

cos afterwards, when it comes out of the oven, we put more olive oil on.

'Lightly dust your focaccia with a little sea salt

'and then bake in the oven for about 20 minutes at 220 degrees centigrade

'or 200 degrees in a fan oven.'

-Ooh, gosh, that looks good.

-You can smell it, can't you?

-I can see my fingerprints.

-Two. And I've got some olive oil here.

-Right.

-Some good olive oil.

-Right.

-Again, drizzle a little bit on top.

-And it needs nothing else.

-And that's how you make a focaccia -

it's simple, a bit stagy,

a bit fiddly, but this will be packed full of flavour.

I really can't wait to taste them, they look wonderful. This one's mine.

'When judging our bakers' focaccias,

'I had a very specific idea of exactly what I wanted to see.'

What I'm looking for is thin, not fat.

If you think a focaccia should be this big, you're mistaken.

That's the British version of the focaccia, not the Italian version.

This has got a crisper top and the aeration is uneven, as you like it to be.

Mmm, try this one, Mary.

Someone's not been following my recipe... There's too much flour in there.

Someone's thought, "Paul's made a mistake here.

"I don't think I'll add all the water."

I mean, you look at that strata, it's not irregular enough,

and it's quite dry, it shouldn't be like that.

-This one's a bit bready again.

-Has a nice crust though.

-Mmm.

-This one looks a bit better, see the strata on that one?

-It's...

These massive air holes, these huge things you hit every now and again are great.

That's one of the best ones I've seen for quite a while as well.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

So, this is focaccia,

and it WILL be good because it's Paul Hollywood.

Mary, can I offer you some?

I'll do the traditional break, there you go, there's some for you. Some for me.

Now, when you look at the actual structure,

it's quite an irregular crumb, big holes, little holes.

It's not regular. That's the crucial thing with a focaccia

and that is brought about by the sheer amount,

volume of water in that dough.

I think it was really difficult for the bakers

because when you go and buy focaccia, very often it is thick.

And I think that it was difficult for them to get the thin one like you're saying,

weren't quite sure what they were going to end up with.

-It's the texture, it's the look.

-Right.

And obviously olive oil, lots and lots of olive oil,

that's what gives you the flavour.

We've got very exciting things suggested that we have with it.

Parma ham and things, but I like it just as it is.

-It's absolutely beautiful.

-So you like it then, Mary?

-I don't like it, I absolutely love it.

-Mmm.

-And I think this would be my perfect lunch.

-Delicious.

-And, of course, a glass of wine.

-Oh, of course... Cheers, Mary.

'With only eight remaining in the competition,

'week four of the Great British Bake Off

'was all about creating the perfect biscuit.

'The technical bake was Mary's brandy snaps recipe.

'Tasty and brittle, the success of a brandy snap lies in its name, the snap.'

What we'd like you to do

is to make 24...brandy snaps.

We need them to be of equal colour, size,

and we'd like them filled with whipped cream.

So, Mary, brandy snaps, chosen for a technical challenge. Tricky?

It's quite tricky, as our bakers found.

And you've got to make it to the right consistency,

you've got to get the sugar dissolved

and you've got to space them properly on the tray.

Quite tricky, but fun to do.

The recipe itself is immensely simple and easy to remember.

-So if you take 50 grams of butter.

-Yes.

Next is sugar, Demerara sugar

and if you can spread that over the top evenly

when we put the golden syrup on top,

it won't stick to the pan.

-That's it.

-OK.

And then the golden syrup on the top, again 50 grams.

50 grams of golden syrup.

In ounces, it's two ounces of all three things.

Almost there...exactly.

So we then put that onto the hot plate like that

and it's very important to dissolve this very slowly

because if you don't, it will crystallise

and then it crystallises and it holds in one piece.

But you've got to get rid of the grittiness

and that's just melting the sugar so it really is on a low heat

and keep an eye on it.

And when you no longer have any grittiness at the bottom,

then you know that it's done.

'It will take about ten to 15 minutes to get the right consistency,

'which should be smooth and glossy.

'Take it off the heat and allow it to cool

'for a few minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.'

So that's 50 grams of flour, if you can weigh that up.

50 grams of plain flour.

That's exactly right, then we're going to add

half a teaspoonful of ginger, so that goes in like that.

And just sieve in the ginger and the flour,

so there it is going in.

Now if you add the flour to that

when it's really, really hot, it doesn't go in smoothly.

And you beat that in and at the end we will add the lemon juice.

-Just half a teaspoon.

-Is that purely for flavour?

It's purely for flavour and it's traditional to add it.

-Got a lovely consistency, a lovely shine to it.

-Perfect.

It's a good thing for, sort of,

teenagers to make at home, cos it's quite fun.

Teenagers just throw it round the house, Mary.

No, they wouldn't.

Now I need an ordinary teaspoon to put them out on here.

-So you want some non-stick parchment.

-Yes.

You don't need to grease it and you put four on here.

And it's no good trying to put too many on a tray at once,

-because if you do, they all run into each other.

-Yes.

And you just, sort of, spoon them around like that.

Can anything go wrong to get to that stage?

If you haven't dissolved the sugar properly, you don't get a good result.

And also you need to let it get cool enough before you add the flour.

How big will these grow? You've left four on there.

Could you have left more of a gap or is that adequate?

They will run almost together, that's about right.

Just leaving an equal space between them.

'Bake the brandy snaps at 180 degrees centigrade or 160 fan.'

And then really it's a matter of watching them

and they want to spread, so that they have little holes in them.

Rather like lace.

Everything that can and will go wrong with baking

is encapsulated in the simple snap of a single biscuit.

All of the bakers may have tasted them before,

but few have attempted making them.

For many, including Yasmin, the measurements

and timings proved difficult to grasp.

How much is a portion?

It's getting too complicated and I've only got an hour and a half.

I'm concerned about timings, it's a lot, 24.

when you can only get four on each.

Then I'm going to oil the spoon handles.

Now you can do them on bigger handles than this,

small rolling pins, depends what size you want them.

I've done tuiles and we put them on broom handles

hanging all over the pastry department.

Yes, that's a good idea

-or it could be small rolling pins, couldn't it?

-Yes.

That's it.

You're going for quite a cigarillo, cigar shape on this one?

So you do have to put a fair bit of oil on them?

You do, it should be a flavourless oil,

not, obviously, a virgin olive oil or something.

Or you can do it with butter, it's so they don't stick.

-Yes.

-How are they doing in the oven?

-Let's have a look.

They do look like lace so I think it's time to come out.

Well, that's what they should look like, good.

They look absolutely right to me.

I wouldn't be able to roll them at this stage as they're too soft.

-Yes.

-Can you see there, look?

-Yes.

When doing more than four at one go,

if some of them go hard on the tray,

you can always just put them back in the oven to soften up again.

-So there is a bit of leeway both sides?

-There is.

You've got to let them get cool enough to roll.

As you can see, at the moment they're not.

Coming from a hot oven to a cool environment,

they start to solidify quite rapidly don't they?

Cos essentially it's the sugars in there beginning to set.

That looks about right, let's put it on here

and you notice how I'm putting the frilly side towards the outside.

-Yes.

-So you do that and roll it round.

-And you can sort of squeeze it with the hand and leave it on.

-Yes.

And then if you want to make little baskets,

you can either put it on top of an orange like this...

There we are.

Don't forget to oil the oranges if you're doing them,

or an apple or anything that's that sort of shape.

SHE SIGHS

If the brandy snaps are not baked enough,

they won't roll properly as Jo discovered.

Mine have just not gone right today. Just can't get them right.

Rob had his own odd ideas to create a consistent batch.

Rob, what went wrong here, love?

No, no, no, it's not what's gone wrong,

-I'm cutting them out using the cutter.

-Oh.

Janet was struggling with the hot mix.

Phew, need asbestos fingers.

It's just very painful, it's almost like torture.

And, finally, Jo realised her mistake was really rather basic.

Oh, what it might have been is my oven is on the wrong temperature.

-My oven was on defrost.

-SHE SIGHS

Once they're cooled, it's time to fill them with whipped cream.

The consistency of the cream needs to be thick and light,

but not too stiff.

That looks about right to me.

-It's so easy to over whip cream.

-Yes.

And I'd rather have it as it was a little bit slack,

drop that down to the bottom...

Bit more in there, that's about right.

So, just shake it down like that.

Then when you're icing a cake, you very often just put two folds

like that and then fold it down, but I find it much easier

to grasp it in one hand, put the other one there

and then twist the top.

And then see when it gets to that stage that it's just coming out.

-Yes.

-Magic.

Right, we're ready. We've slipped these off.

Now, now they are quite hard. You can hear.

Yeah, they are.

And then put it round your thumb like that at the top.

And then push it gently down,

holding it steady till it comes out of the end.

Turn it round, and put it in the other end.

Obviously, you wouldn't fill these until about an hour

-before you need them, ideally.

-Yes.

But these will keep well in an airtight tin.

Now, if by any chance the tin isn't airtight or you're keeping them for over a week,

-they become a bit soft.

-Yes.

So what you do is gently warm them in a low oven.

Spread them out flat on the baking sheet and then

put them in a low oven just until they're in the stage of before

-you roll them and you can roll them up again and they'll be crisp.

-Do the same thing again.

-Exactly.

-Very versatile recipe.

-The world is your oyster.

-Let's see what we can do with this one.

What I've got here is just melted down a little bit of white chocolate,

that's just brushed inside all over.

Oh, how delicious.

It adds a little bit of flavour to it as well which is

essentially what you're doing, you're adding another element to it, which can then be filled with cream.

Now, white chocolate is quite temperamental and it's essential

to melt it slowly, isn't it?

-Yes, yes, definitely.

-If you overheat it it'll get exceedingly runny.

-Yes.

-And it in fact won't set up again.

Exactly, all I'm trying to do, cos you have got holes in this,

and what this is doing, is just covering those holes

-and you can put that in a fridge to set the white chocolate.

-Mmm-hmm.

-Then you can just get some cream...

..fill it all the way to the top.

One more element I think is missing.

Get a strawberry, just cut it not quite to the green.

You're going to have a nice fan.

Yes, slice it six or seven times,

push it down...

..place that on the top.

I think that looks very pretty as well.

Doesn't that look lovely?

At the end of the challenge a variety of snaps were delivered to our judging table.

They come in all shapes and sizes, don't they?

When it came to tasting we were very particular in what we were looking for,

a beautiful golden structure, a good snap,

and consistency across the batch.

They don't snap. A brandy snap should snap.

-These are sort of cocktail size.

-Yes.

-Too small for the amount of mixture.

-Mmm.

Very inconsistent. There's no consistency in colour, is there? Flavour's OK.

Flavour's OK and it's lovely and crisp.

This is a mess.

They're too pale.

Like rubber.

I turned my oven onto defrost by accident.

Ah, that doesn't help.

These are consistent in size, they're thin, they're crispy.

Nice colour.

Just a little bit underwhipped cream.

They're all pretty much the same length.

-These look rather nice.

-These look all right, actually.

-Mmm-hmm.

They're all consistent in their shape, aren't they?

-It's got a good crunch.

-A beautiful crunch, can you hear them?

-Size of them.

-Mmm.

-Are you going to tuck in, Mary?

-I am, can't resist that.

Delicious.

Oh, you can hear how crunchy they are.

Really nice.

Mmm.

I think this was a great technical challenge to see

how they cope with oven work.

It all boils down to oven work.

But in all these challenges what we are seeking is every item

to be uniform and we had all different sizes of brandy snaps

and they should be exactly the same size.

Do you know what makes that a great brandy snap?

Tell me.

The texture, the snap, the taste of the ginger,

and that beautiful caramel flavour it leaves in your mouth,

and all washed down with a load of cream. You can't go wrong.

It is something for a special occasion, isn't it?

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

-and possibly Sunday.

-As well.

-But yes.

Next time on the Great British Bake Off: Masterclass...

Mary and I will give you foolproof recipes for four more bake off challenges.

We'll be showing you my ultimate miniature pork pie -

a combination of crisp hot water crust pastry

and a succulent meat and quail's egg filling.

Take a spoonful of the mixture, drop it into the bottom,

push down the bottom, build up a bit of the mix round the side,

that is where the quail's egg is going to sit.

Mary Berry's decadent extravaganza,

the moist, light and perfectly rolled chocolate roulade.

I'm going to beat in a little bit of the egg white.

I'm not going to fold the whole lot in at once,

because if you do that it'll be streaky.

My soft, buttery iced fingers filled with the lightest whipped cream

and strawberry jam.

You can see you've still got some residue flour that needs picking up.

THAT'S when you put the rest of the water in.

And finally, Mary 'queen of desserts' ultimate cake,

sophisticated, bittersweet, dense and rich,

it's the Sachertorte.

It will naturally melt, it won't curdle, it won't separate,

it's quite easy to do, but you must do it off the heat.

I hope the people that watch the programme are inspired to actually start baking at home.

If you follow these masterclasses to the letter without deviation,

you will end up with fantastic bakes.

I'm hoping that when people have seen these masterclasses,

they will be inspired to have a go at home and produce really good results

cos I've tried to go into every detail so they should get success every time.

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