Pies The Great British Bake Off

Welcome back to Somerset.

And, crucially, we're at the halfway point

in our mission to find Britain's best amateur baker.

So far, we've had chocolate breeze blocks,

we've had skyscraper meringues, and collapsed caramels.

As Celine Dion would say, "Things are getting serious."

As Mary Berry would say, "Get your oven gloves on."

It's the Great British Bake-Off.

It's round five of the Bake-Off. The standard is higher than ever.

It's not like life or death any more,

it's not about good bakes and bad bakes - that's it.

I do put my heart and soul into everything I bake, and I just want them to see

that everything that I am about is baking.

Last week, desserts were on the menu.

I like the total originality of your presentation.

Brendan was Star Baker.

Slop!

But it proved to be Stuart's last course.

-It looks....

-Messy.

You have good days and bad days, and for me, unfortunately, it's been a bad weekend.

This week, the bakers take on pies.

For me, the onus is purely on the pastry itself.

Oh, my goodness! Look at that!

-But who will pull out all the stops?

-It's out! It's out, it's out!

-Sheer perfection.

-And who will sink under pressure?

I'm completely out of my depth.

If that collapses on me again, I don't know what I'll do.

There's no plan B.

-I don't like that.

-The taste is not very appealing.

Argh!

3.14...

1592...

2837...

64...

-2...

-3.

It's pie week.

Eight remaining bakers, three pie-making challenges,

two days in the marquee -

one baker will be leaving.

Bakers, welcome to pie week.. Very exciting.

Now, for your first challenge,

which is of course your signature challenge,

we would like you to make a centrepiece classic -

a Wellington.

Now, Paul has specified it's at least eight inches long,

it needs to be completely covered with pastry, the rest is up to you.

-You've got three hours, so on your marks...

-Get set...

bake!

'Wellingtons are traditionally made with beef,

'and wrapped in a pastry crust to keep the meat moist.'

The Wellington challenge is all about the pastry itself.

Yes, I am looking for some interesting fillings,

but more importantly,

I just want to see a great pastry.

We will be looking for a lovely even bake,

underneath too - no soggy bottoms.

And it must rise in layers and flakes.

'Manisha and James are both attempting puff pastry,

'the big daddy of the pastry world,

'and infamously tricky to make.

'But the traditional choice for Wellington.'

Puff pastry is notorious...

for its complexity,

although hopefully this will go OK.

'The butter's added in a single slab

'and is rolled, folded and rested six times,

'creating a layer of butter between each layer of dough.

'In a hot oven, the moisture in the dough turns to steam,

'which pushes up as it evaporates,

'creating the "puff" in the pastry.'

I mean, who makes their own puff pastry these days? No-one.

It's quite enjoyable to make your own puff pastry -

when it turns out right.

'Manisha's attempting a lamb Wellington with rosemary and mint.'

I don't make this at home at all.

It's like the second time I'm making this.

If it goes down well today I'll probably make it more often.

I've only made this a couple of times,

but yeah, it's been really good both times.

I'm making a "four little pigs" Wellington.

It's got four cuts of pork.

We've got pork fillet,

gammon, smoked gammon,

prosciutto ham, and black pudding.

'Most of the bakers are making rough puff pastry.

'It won't rise as much as its puff-pastry cousin

'and its texture won't be as fine,

'but it's quicker to make,

'as chunks of butter are simply mixed into the flour.'

The trickiest part is that you've got to make sure not only that the pastry is cooked and not soggy,

but also that the meat's cooked

The pastry's got be laminated, but it won't rise too much cos it's wrapped around something,

but there needs to be that lamination

that Paul and Mary both look for.

Every element is a potential pitfall for me today.

But we all like a challenge.

'Law student John is surrounding his cut of venison

'with a layer of haggis and porcini pate,

'all wrapped in Parma ham.'

It's an interesting blend with the venison and haggis.

-It should go quite well together.

-Yes.

-Pastry, it's a nice one.

-That's its final turn now.

-Are you doing book or single?

-Sorry?

-Book turns or single turns?

-Just like an envelope.

-Single turns.

Book turn...you go one, two, and then you go over.

-I might try that actually.

-It's like a double-turn, really.

-MARY: It's one more layer, isn't it?

-I'll give it a go.

Can't moan about one more layer, can we, eh?

I'm not amazing at pastry.

But I'm OK at pastry.

And this is going to be, I think, the biggest challenge.

Everything is tricky about this bake. Everything.

The meat, the pastry, the bits that you put with it,

everything is really tricky about this.

And they all have to be good.

Danny's the only baker making a vegetarian Wellington.

I'm just making the rough puff pastry at the moment.

And then I'll move on to the actual filling of the Wellington,

which is going to be chickpeas, peppers and spinach.

And then it's going to have some garlic mushrooms around it.

'Last week's Star Baker Brendan

'is breaking from tradition with the fish Wellington.

'Salmon, eggs, rice, mushrooms and spinach,

'all wrapped in a Scandinavian-style pastry made using quark,

'an un-aged cheese similar to fromage frais.'

Tell us a little bit more about this pastry.

It's equal quantities of butter, strong flour and quark.

Half a teaspoon of baking powder,

normally they put in one to one-and-a-half, but I'm reducing it,

because the more baking powder you put in, it loses it's flakiness.

And a little salt, and that's it.

The binding agent is the quark cheese.

So it's not very strong in flavour, the cheese,

but it will complement, I think, the salmon.

'The filling in a Wellington can make the pastry soggy,

'so using pate, pancakes,

'or a thin ham to create a protective seal stops the juices seeping out.'

My mum works at a butcher's on a Saturday,

and all are a little bit obsessed with the sausages.

We all love big breakfasts and stuff,

so it is kind of what the family like.

Basically, it's a glorified sausage roll.

Cathryn's wrapping Parma ham

around the contents of a full English breakfast.

Eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, and black pudding.

No baked beans, Cathryn?

-No baked beans.

-That's sad.

-Baked beans on the side.

-Good.

-What pastry are you going to be using?

-Flaky pastry.

Flaky pastry. It sounds good.

I think that sounds lovely, and I like the idea of the Parma ham.

Because it has such a good, strong flavour.

And also, it's not porous,

because you don't want any of that wet mixture to go into the pastry.

'Photographer Ryan is taking a chance with an unconventional recipe.

'A sea bass en croute, with Malaysian curry powder and puy lentils.'

The thing that's dangerous for this recipe is

I'm using a lot of things that are quite wet.

I'm making puy lentils, I'm boiling that,

so that's a lot of liquid intake on there.

I'm using onions, there'll be a lot of liquid there,

obviously liquid from the fish.

And so if that steams up it might make the pastry soft.

OK, bakers, that's half-time.

Give your pastry some welly,

because you got an hour and a half left.

I need to hurry the hell up!

The key to a successful Wellington is to partly cook the filling

and allow it to cool before it's wrapped in the pastry.

If the filling is hot when the pastry is put together,

the fat in the pastry will melt and the shape collapse.

-My goodness, that's massive!

-It's huge.

-Isn't it massive?

-That is beef, yeah?

-I hope so!

Scary, isn't it?

It's like the best cut of beef. It's expensive.

If I mess it up and make it disgusting, that would be awful.

Sarah-Jane is opting for a traditional beef Wellington

with a twist of Gorgonzola cheese.

Why have you got your beef in foil?

I seared it in the pan and then I roasted it in the oven,

just for 15 minutes.

I put it in the foil so that all the steam would stay in

and try and keep it as most as possible.

So that's the plan.

And then you're going to chill it before you put the pastry round?

I'm not going to chill it, I'm going to leave it resting on the side,

because I don't want it really, really cold

when it goes in the oven.

Because then I won't know how long it takes to cook in the middle

if it's really, really cold.

That's the plan, anyway.

Oh! That's a little bit unstable.

The Wellingtons should be tightly wrapped,

or trapped air will become steam

and cause the pastry to blister and burst in the oven.

Groovy. That's what we say up north.

It's going to look a bit like a big Cornish pasty.

Because it's got the cheese in it,

when I topped it underneath, the cheese came out of the bottom.

So I'm going to seal it on the top, to try to keep the cheese in.

You could do someone a real mischief with that. I mean, that is...

Yeah, you could.

I thought we said eight inches?

I know, and when I've been at home

it has been kind of... more around that size,

but I just got carried away today, I think.

You just thought, "OK, big is best?"

I can't decide whether to decorate or to score?

-I'd decorate it.

-You reckon? I might decorate it.

You know how Mary loves to see what's on the inside

replicated on the outside?

-Oh, no, don't.

-I think you should do a full farmyard scene.

OK, you need to go in.

Bakers, that's one hour left,

so, Cathryn, if you haven't put that one metre-long meat mallet in the oven, it needs to go in now!

Massive.

It's just frightening.

'Timing the bake of a Wellington is key.

'The filling should be cooked to perfection

'and the pastry case flaky and golden.'

Oh, my God almighty...

Sarah-Jane, keep it in the oven.

I can't keep it in the oven, John. It's melting.

I think that the butter has melted in the pastry

and the whole thing has just collapsed.

There's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Absolutely nothing.

Can you not get it out and wrap it in more pastry or something?

I haven't got any more pastry, that's the only pastry I've got.

Oh, no...

This is the worst thing I've ever made in my whole entire life.

And I've got to serve it to Paul and Mary.

OK, bakers, 10 minutes. It's just 10 minutes left.

I've actually... Oh, hello.

I'm going to leave it one more minute.

The pastry looks good.

That's one of the main things, isn't it?

It helps.

OK, one minute left, bakers, to get the en croute on a bit of board

and into my chops.

I haven't got time. I have to come out. Haven't got time.

More than slight spillage - massive spillage.

Bakers, pie time is over.

Step away from your pies.

Oh, God...

Each Wellington will now be tasted and judged by Paul and Mary.

The pastry itself is a little under-baked.

It looks as though you've got the lamb just right.

The flavours of the meat, the texture of the meat, is good.

Unfortunately, the key element that lets it down is the pastry,

which is what Wellington is all about.

There's no flake, it has stayed quite raw.

You've got some moisture coming from the bottom,

which is actually where the juices have soaked back in.

But, you've also got moisture at the top,

which is an indication that the pastry wasn't as good as we expected it to be.

You know what I'm going to say, don't you? No soggy bottom.

It needs more substance running through it.

-There's not much about it.

-OK.

-I think it's missing something.

Underneath, you just look there, look...

It's quite wet and soggy at the bottom as well.

The interior is delicious.

I've never had a quark pastry,

and so this is really exciting.

I think you've got a decent bake round the outside,

you got a little bit of a crisp there.

Looks very nice on the plate, when you serve it.

And what lovely contrasting colours.

Pastry is very interesting, and is a lovely flavour. Quite different.

When we walked up to it, it was sort of Monarch of the Glen.

-Lovely antlers.

-The top - there's not many layers in there.

It's trying to be flaky.

-Would you mind if I eat an antler?

-Be my guest.

-Great flavour.

-Is it?

-It's delicious. But the pastry is just a bit...

-Too thin.

You can see how thin it is, and therefore it can't flake.

It's trying to, but it can't.

Although, there's some great lamination on the antler.

-Thanks, John.

-Thank you.

Delicious.

I think it looks great. The design of it looks great, the cuts...

-Love the little fishy eyes, Ryan.

-Thank you.

-Very sweet.

Mm... It's a bit soggy right down the middle of that.

You needed a little bit longer just to catch that bit there.

It's got a great texture. It looks amazing inside.

It does. Flavour is really good.

You've used these very subtle spices.

I think you've got a beautiful flavour of fish, well baked fish,

the blend of the flavours is so subtle,

-and I think you've got great layers in that pastry as well. Well done.

-Thank you.

I think it's quite coquettish. You know, it's saying,

"Look at me, look what's inside. Come on in."

I think it looks like the Alien film.

SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

I think it's happened because you told us earlier on

-you weren't going to chill your meat.

-Uh-huh, yeah.

But because the whole thing would've been a bit warm, not stone cold,

that's why it's had a little trickle down the side.

-Yeah, that's completely...

-I'm looking down the other side.

-The pastry melted before it cooked.

The flavours inside I've no problem with but I do have a problem with the bottom.

It's... Well, it's raw.

-OK...

-Ooh, hello! Look at that!

That flake is lovely.

-It's quite impressive, that, Cathryn.

-Thank you.

What, essentially, you've done, is you've made a massive sausage roll.

-Yeah, OK. I know.

-I think it's nice.

But it is, it's a massive sausage roll.

It's a lovely family Wellington.

You have a young family and I can imagine this appealing to everybody.

It's different from all the others

-but for me, it's absolutely delicious.

-Mmm.

I'm actually really shocked that they liked it as much as they did.

'Pastry's not my big forte'

but the lamb was perfect. Mary did love the lamb.

SHEEP BLEATS

I would say I don't think it could've gone much worse

but I think it could've gone worse.

Well...no. At the moment it couldn't have gone worse.

Of the many pleasures of pie-eating,

surely the most satisfying

is that moment where you cut in through the crust

and reveal the beautiful, succulent filling that lies within.

But imagine if said filling was a slimy, elongated fish

that had been hauled out of a polluted river.

'London's East End market workers have long enjoyed cooking with eels.

'Throughout the 19th century, freshwater eels were part of the staple diet of the working classes.

'At the time of the Industrial Revolution,

'when the East End of London was overcrowded, polluted

'and desperately poor, eel pie became ideal Cockney grub.'

Now, clearly, we've got one very large eel pond

in the form of the Thames.

Presumably, the Thames played a huge part in the whole eel industry?

There was a huge tradition of eel-fishing in the Thames

going back centuries, and by the early 19th century,

when the river was beginning to get very polluted,

eels are one of the few things that could survive.

Ollie, why were eels so popular as a pie filling?

In those days eels were very cheap. In the mid-19th century,

you could buy five pieces for a ha'penny.

They're also very nutritious, very high in fat,

and added to the piecrust, that would be a rich, filling dish which would keep you going

if you were a Victorian man or woman of work.

So they were the kind of perfect East End food.

Originally, they were sold by travelling street vendors.

By the middle of the 19th century, there were 500 of those in London.

They also sold live eels, if you can believe it,

so they would have buckets of thrashing eels

which people would grab their hands in and take home to cook for tea.

'Pie and mash shops became a more sociable and hygienic environment

'in which to consume pies.

'They were often family-run

'and became an integral part of the working-class community.

'By the First World War there were hundreds of pie and mash shops

'scattered around the East End of London.'

One well-known family running pie and mash shops here in the East of London

is the Goddard family,

and their shops are still going strong to this day,

proving that Cockney fare is still as popular as ever.

I'm going to go inside and get myself some eel pie.

Cor, my blimeys, Guv, strike a light, stone the crows!

So, Clive, what were the old pie and mash shops like?

Very similar to the one we've got now but with marble table.

And probably tiled walls.

-Sawdust on the floor.

-Oh, really?

-Why the sawdust? Cos of...

-Eel bone.

-Now, you say eel bones...

-Yes.

-How would those have made their way onto the floor?

-From there...

HE SPITS

-So, hence spit and sawdust?

-Yes.

'With eels no longer thriving in the Thames and their prices soaring,

'eels fell off the menus in the pie and mash shops

'to be replaced by beef.

'But Clive's resurrected a traditional eel pie recipe

'with a rough puff-pastry top and short-crust base,

'to give me a taste of this long-lost Cockney bake.'

-Amazing. Thank you so much for making this.

-I hope you enjoy it.

-I'm going in.

-Mind, there might be an odd bone here and there.

-OK.

Aw...

Mm..

I got quite a lot of eel in that one! It's quite rivery!

-I thought it'd be more chewy.

-It's a very delicate fish.

Yes, it's a nice, soft fish. People don't realise that it is

as delicate as it is.

-Is that nice?

-Do you know, it is.

-Oh, good!

-It is.

I'm quite getting into this, actually.

I might be an eel convert.

Two challenges remaining.

The bakers have no idea what kind of pie is about to hit them.

Of course, now it's time for the Technical Challenge, and, as ever, this is judged blind.

So, Paul, Mary,

if you'd care to go into the puff-pastry-lined pagoda of passion,

we shall see you later.

For today's Technical Challenge,

we would like you to make

a hand-raised pie.

And we'd like it chicken, bacon and apricot.

This is made with a hot-water crust,

which is the kind of pastry that basically defies

ALL the rules of pastry-making.

You've got two and a quarter hours to go, bakers.

-All the very best of luck.

-On your marks...

-Get set...

-Bake!

'Hand-raising pies is a bit of a lost art.

'The method all the bakers have been given will probably be unfamiliar.

'As will the equipment.'

This is particularly hard because they have to use a doilie

rather than a mould to raise the hot-water crust pastry around the outside.

The hardest thing they're going to encounter

is actually getting the thickness of the sides of the doilie correct.

If it's too thin, when they try to put the filling in, it'll crack.

If it's too thick then it'll be difficult to eat.

So you've got to get it just right.

And one of the key thing is where they will go wrong

is the releasing of the doilie.

If they haven't oiled their doilie correctly it will get stuck.

-Look at those layers, Mary.

-Absolutely perfect,

and the chicken is just done to perfection.

And you've got a good pastry on the side, not too thick, not too thin.

Good bit of jelly inside there which fills all the gaps,

and you can see distinct layers of the bacon, chicken, apricot,

bacon, chicken, apricot,

with the lid that sits below the level of the sides.

And that is the perfect hand-raised pie.

I have never made...or...

probably eaten a hand-raised pie but I've seen one.

'Hot-water crust pastry lives up to its name,

'made from hot water instead of cold.

'It needs to be worked while warm.'

I like making hot-water crust pastry because I'm quite hot-handed.

'Two fats have to be melted together.

'Butter for flavour and lard to give it its crisp texture.'

Oh, lard! I hate the smell of lard. It stinks.

'Once melted,

'the fat is added to flour and salt to create smooth, shiny dough.'

Interesting.

Never done hot-water crust pastry, never done anything like this before.

Never seen even some of the equipment.

I don't know. I've never had dollies, believe it or not!

Grease two medium-size pie dollies with some oil.

Didn't know what a pie doilie was till right now.

Guess this is it.

'The doilie is an ancient method of shaping a pie case

'without using a tin.

'The doilie is then removed and the pie baked in the oven

'so the sides of the pastry are directly exposed to the heat,

'becoming crisp and water-tight. Perfect for holding jelly or gravy.'

One pastry I'd never made and was worried about before applying for this whole competition

was a hot-water crust, and so for my auditions

I actually made an effort to make a hot-water crust pheasant pie.

So... But I never used dollies. I had a tin.

But the good thing is, one thing I learnt about hot-water crust

is that it falls apart and then you just paste it back together.

So it gives you confidence cos you've dealt with it once before.

'The recipe contains no instructions for raising the dough.'

Oh, dear. This is going to go really wrong.

'To prevent the dough from sticking to the doilie,

'they should rotate it while squeezing the pastry into shape.'

I've never seen one of these before in my whole life.

I don't know if this is right...

..or not.

I'm going to start again.

Manisha, presumably this is your first time working with this?

-Yeah. I'm not really aware...

-Is it freaking you?

-Yeah, because...

-Yeah?

-..this could have chances of me going out.

Don't know how to make puff pastry, don't know how to make this pastry.

-Oh, come on!

-It's all about the pastry these days.

Well...these days it is all about the pastry.

OK, right...

'The warm pastry must be chilled,

'giving the bakers time to make the filling.'

I'll be more comfortable when this goes in the oven.

At the moment I'm not sure how that pastry will come out of the dollies,

so a bit worried about that.

'The chilled pastry must be handled delicately.'

I don't know how to get these off.

If I roll it down then I could perhaps roll it back up, but...

This is not going to work.

'The slightest tear will allow the filling to seep out,

'ruining the pie's appearance.'

Must be a technique.

This can't be right.

So far, we are all in exactly the same predicament.

Nobody is able to get their pastry off of the dollies.

Oh, look at that! It's just a disgrace from start to finish!

Is knocking going to help? Knocking the doilie?

Why use a stupid thing like this when you can use tins?

We're not in the 1600s now, are we? Let's face it.

SHE GASPS

-It's out! It's out, it's out, it's out!

-SHE LAUGHS

(Yay! Still standing up!)

Right. How did I do that just then?

One hour to go, bakers!

Just going to make one free hand.

'Mary and Paul want to see clearly defined layers

'of bacon, apricot and chicken.'

This looks like something dreadful!

Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!

'Crimping the pie lids prevents the filling from spilling out.

'The small hole allows steam to escape in the oven and stops the crust becoming soggy.'

I'm in a flap.

Oh, yeah, I didn't eggwash.

And I think that might be important, particularly for the colour,

so I'm just literally going like this, really quick,

pretending they've never been in the oven.

OK, and they're going back in and no-one's any the wiser.

Except I've got a bit of scrambled egg on my baking tray.

Done.

And nobody knew!

OK, bakers, ten minutes. It's just ten minutes left.

Look at them, they're hideous. Absolutely hideous.

Isn't this just the most horrible challenge you've ever done in your life?

Yeah. They look awful. They look absolutely awful.

'Paul's recipe demands that the pies are filled with a mixture of gelatine and stock.

'If this jelly doesn't completely surround the meat inside

'it will become dry as the pie cools.'

Please do not leak!

Stop dripping.

This one's leaking like any person's business.

It's going down and then out the bottom!

SHE LAUGHS

Ooh...

Right, they'll never know.

I'm completely out of my depth. I know that they look awful.

Bakers, your time's up now. That was a very, very tough pie-riddled day for you all.

We're actually going to ask you to leave them over night

so that the jelly can set,

and so Paul and Mary will judge them and taste them tomorrow morning.

That technical challenge was a bit of a nightmare for me from start to finish,

so it's not great that I've got to wait over night to find out my fate, really.

It was a disaster, yeah.

The pie was cooked. It looked a bit of a dog's dinner.

But at least it's a pie to hand in.

Tonight will be... I'm just going to have to forget about it tonight

cos there's absolutely nothing I can do now.

So I'll just have to try and keep that in the front of my mind

and not obsess over it at two o'clock in the morning.

After a restless night for the bakers, it's judgment time.

Mary and Paul haven't seen the baking

so have no idea which pie belongs to which baker.

When you glance your eye down these pies, the doilie you'd not

believe was the same size.

This one is dropped. The pastry is soft and has ballooned out.

There is no layers. It's just been thrown in.

It's not a hand raised pie.

-It's more like a pasty.

-Flavour is good though.

There has been some effort been made in this one

but there's been no crimping at all.

You needed to fold it in to give it that strength.

-The filling is absolutely delicious.

-It tastes good.

It just looks a mess.

I can't see any sign of jelly in that. See here?

There's nothing. Very little in there.

As long as the walls and the structure of your pie is strong

and it just doesn't pour straight out the bottom which

looking down here, it probably did on a few of them

especially this one.

-This has got a nice crimp on the outside.

-This is better.

This is better. Good colour. Crimping isn't bad.

-Got the layers right.

-The walls are pretty good as well.

-Again where's the jelly?

-This one has gone a bit lopsided.

-The layers are good.

-Flavour's nice. Pastry a bit thick.

Layers are good. Can't see the gelatine in there again.

We haven't got any at all. Look. It's a crisp pastry though.

The structure's not bad, but it's too fat.

Look at the size of the doilie. It's got no resemblance

to the size of the doilie.

OK, last one.

This is an improvement.

Although the pastry wall very, very thick.

And slightly underdone here.

But whose hand-raised pie has risen above the rest?

We're going to start from the last one which is here.

It's a pasty.

It's been packed and just splayed out.

Seventh place was this one.

The holes and everything that runs round that you obviously had

serious problems with the pastry trying to build it up

round the doilie and probably taking it off as well.

-Number six is this one.

-The lid, there's no crimping.

It's just been dropped on from a height. In fifth place is this one.

It's not bad. You got the layers in there

and again it goes down to the colour and the structure of it.

It's all collapsed and concertinaed in.

With Sarah Jane fourth and Brendan third, the battle for top place

is between Cathryn and John.

Number two is this one. It does look like a raised pie.

It's got lovely layers in it, pastry just a little too thick.

Obviously first place is this one.

Well done, Cathryn.

APPLAUSE

The layers are good, the colour is good, the crimping excellent.

It looks the closest to mine.

I'm really shocked, really happy and I can't wait to ring my family

later and tell them. They won't believe it because I phoned them

last night and said that was really horrible, horrible,

technical challenge so they'll be really surprised.

I could quite easily go out today. So could a few other people I think.

If my next bake wasn't up to standard or wasn't that good,

then definitely, you know, this girl's got to go out.

It's come to a point where you can't be average any more.

You've got to get your basics right and the pastry is a basic.

It means a lot to me. I've worked so hard to get to this point.

It's almost beyond baking now. It's not like life or death any more.

It's about good bakes and bad bakes. That's it.

Just one pie challenge remains for the bakers to prove they're

worthy of staying in the bakeoff.

If you take Cathryn and Brendan because I think they've done well

and put them to one side,

everybody else is in the danger zone.

It's the technical challenge that really sorted them out.

Ryan who I thought did really well, came last in the technical,

therefore it automatically puts you up for leaving the show.

We've now got the showstopper. It'll all rest on the showstopper.

So, bakers, it's your showstopper challenge of course.

And today we'd love you to make a sweet American pie.

So we're looking for a family sized American pie.

It's got no lid so you don't have to worry about that.

Just the side and bottom and crust. You've got three and a half hours

to bake it in. Best of luck, this is a big one. So, on your marks...

-Get set...

-bake.

The vast range of American pies were invented by European immigrants

who brought pastry making techniques with them to America

and took advantage of the local ingredients.

What I'm hoping for is that some baker picks up the idea of a

pumpkin pie, pecan pie, key lime pie and says you know what

that's far too sweet. I'm going to lessen that sweetness and let

the subtlety of flavours come through and give you that sense

of wow, I'm going to have another piece of that, because to be honest,

most of the American pies we've had before, I'd not go back

for another one.

Most of the bakers are making a sweet crust base which is

a shortcrust pastry enriched with sugar.

It's strong enough to hold fillings but delicate

and has a rich buttery taste.

I'm kind of in the danger zone at the moment

and the really technical part of this dish is in the pastry

and if I have problems with pastry, you know, that's it.

I might be history.

Ryan is pinning his hopes for survival on an American classic -

key lime pie and adding an unusual twist.

Ryan, what's different about your key lime pie?

I've actually brought in the flavour of ginger which isn't

traditional to a normal key lime pie. I put ginger with the lime.

-It goes really well.

-Your flavour combinations

generally have been very good, however in the technical you got

-a kick in the teeth but I'm looking forward to this.

-I think it's great.

My brother lives in America so I got a few tips from him

and he did say peanut butter was a goer so that's what I went with.

Cathryn's hoping to continue her run of success with her peanut butter

and squash pie filling packed into a chocolate short crust pastry.

I'd love to be star baker.

I'm reluctant to say it really

but I really want it before I leave to have got star baker once.

This could be terrible and then I've blown my chances, so.

Half of my family are American

and my childhood memory of pumpkin pie was it's disgusting.

So I've actually decided to try and make a pumpkin pie that was going

to be acceptable and palatable to my adult self.

Danny is making a trick or treat pie with a chocolate short

crust base lined with salted caramel and filled with roasted

butternut squash, maple syrup and a generous splash of rum.

One thing - Paul is notoriously abstemious

-when it comes to alcohol in desserts.

-Yes.

Puddings, pies etc. So you're in a difficult position now.

Do you basically make it all booze to satisfy Mary's palate

or do you ease off it for Paul?

I'm using a spiced rum and I actually think this is

quite rich and I think the rum just lifts it a bit.

Because otherwise it's just cloyingly sweet.

It's got all-American desserts to my taste

and I say this as a child being fed them.

For me, to make a good American pie you almost have to make it British

but then technically it's got to come through right.

I'll try, Paul, and we'll see what you have to say.

The kids like this. My husband loves this, it's one of his favourites -

banana, chocolate, rum and stuff.

It's good.

Sarah Jane's future in the bakeoff could rest on her chocolate

and banana cream pie with salted rum caramel.

The English don't do things like this do they? A bit embarrassed.

You love this kind of stuff, but we'd be like,

oh no, I'd rather just have an apple. I don't want a pie.

I'm making a sweet potato pie

and it's basically just sweet pastry and then a sweet potato filling

made with two potatoes, eggs and condensed milk - all nice things.

I really came up with the idea when I found some really old-fashioned

videos online of this being made by these kind of grassroots

southern American chefs and I'll was like, I need to try this.

I'm rushing the pastry. I'm so short on time.

And it's not chilling enough and it's falling apart. I mean.

To prevent the pastry getting soggy the case is baked before adding

the filling.

The ceramic beans conduct the heat evenly ensuring a crisp

and perfectly baked bottom.

Damn it!

In my rush I didn't put baking beans on.

The sites of the tart collapsed. I don't know why.

So I've to do a second batch obviously. Of course I'm panicking.

I'm sorry, Brendan.

Bakers, you've got one hour

until bye bye, American pie.

If that collapses on me again, I don't know what I'll do.

There's no plan B.

The bakers are using a variety of traditional American ingredients.

None have opted to make the most famous of all American pies

the humble apple pie.

This ironically blossomed from the fussy eating

habits of the first British settlers in the early 1600s.

When the English colonists arrived in the New World they find

a variety of fruit and vegetables with which they were very unfamiliar.

Of course they didn't trust the local population either.

This distrust led many of them not to use the local ingredients

and in fact in some colonies they even starved to death.

One solution the colonists found was to bring over fruit

and vegetables with which they were familiar, particularly apple.

So they brought apple seeds all the way from the old world to

America and planted orchards.

These orchards became vital to the colonists survival and in

the 1640s they were written into law with the state of Virginia

insisting that all landholdings above a certain size

-include an apple orchard.

-Soon apple orchards were spreading

right across the United States and were helped by early pioneers

such as Johnny Appleseed. From 1775 onwards he crisscrossed

the United States taking apple seed from cider presses

and scattering them all over the country.

It took ten years before the first orchards bore fruit

but when they did one of the first ways in which the colonists

celebrated their bountiful harvest was by baking apple pies.

You have the first apple harvest after ten years and it's wonderful

because it's a sign that they've established themselves,

the nation is growing the same way the fruit trees are growing,

they do the harvest, it's a fantastic triumph

and the ultimate thing they can do to celebrate is to make apple pies

because it was the only thing you could really make in these

really primitive ovens and kettles they had. Not cakes, pies.

The apple pie was fast becoming the iconic American dish and it

didn't remain the preserve of the British settlers for long, but was

adapted to suit the vast array of culinary tastes that formed America.

Each wave of people that came added their own influences.

So in the area where you've a lot of German or Pennsylvania Dutch

people coming in they had a very Germanic sour cream pie.

And as the apple moves into the Midwest,

you've the Scandinavian version which is an apple pie

but it's open and has a crunchy crust with chopped walnuts

and lots of cinnamon, but it's still an apple pie.

These pies from that moment became the image of America the nation,

self-sufficiency, colonial beginnings and most of all,

mom, because it was a sign of motherhood to be able to make

a good pie and that's why in World War II

they asked the American troops what are you fighting for?

They said we're fighting for mom and apple pie in the same way

that the English would say they're fighting for God and country.

The apple pie might have begun its American journey as a result

of the British settlers unwillingness to try new things

but it's gone on to symbolise the optimistic resourceful

and pioneering spirit that has built America.

It looks OK.

With the pastry cases out of the oven, the bakers

concentrate on their fillings.

Manisha's pureeing bananas with butterscotch sauce, whipped cream

and egg whites for her banana scotch pie, topped off with meringue.

What is going to set it? Have you got egg in it?

-Yeah, egg white.

-Egg white.

I'm going to whisk the egg white until it's firm-peaked,

fold it, put the banana in the double cream that's whipped,

and then fold that creamed banana within the egg whites.

And are you going to bake that?

No, then it's going to go onto the baked pastry

and it's going to set in the fridge.

Right.

I don't know how she's going to set her pie.

When we have the pies presented in front of us,

we've got to get a beautiful cut piece out of it

and that is the skill, not only getting all the flavours right,

the crispy pastry and everything else,

it's getting, when you cut into it,

-every single slice looks beautiful on the plate.

-Sits up and begs.

All the pies should have a firm consistency

to create the perfect slice.

It will be big, it will be special occasion, Thanksgiving-like,

and it captures the colours of America.

Brendan's using layers of blueberries, raspberries

and Chantilly cream in his pie

to represent the red, white and blue

of the American flag.

His pie won't be baked again, so he's using pectin in the blueberries

and gelatine in the raspberry chiffon,

a layer of strained raspberries mixed with cream,

to set the filling.

It's just enough that it slices and holds its shape.

Ryan's using a natural reaction between condensed milk

and acidic lime juice to thicken his pie filling,

which is then baked in the oven.

OK, which way round is it?

Dish, dish, dish, yep.

Um... Idiot.

Probably use that one. Don't worry.

Now watch it, it might splash.

John is pulling out all the stops

with his star-spangled pecan pie

with sour cherries and chocolate ganache

in a sweet crust pastry.

I don't know, I do always feel under pressure in this tent, you know,

because no matter how good you do in one round,

the next round could go bottoms up, so...

I feel under immense pressure.

OK, bakers, you've got 30 minutes left on your pie clocks.

30 minutes, please.

Ryan's making an Italian meringue for his topping,

adding cooked sugar syrup into whipped egg whites.

Right, so I'm taking a risk because I was such rushed for time,

I whipped the egg white before I left it in the fridge.

Hopefully, it won't slow me up.

I'm re-whipping it again, this time in a sugar syrup

and I'm just hoping it'll hold.

The beaten egg whites trap hundreds of bubbles, creating volume,

but if overbeaten or left too long,

the bubbles burst and the egg white turns to liquid.

Oh, my goodness! Look at that!

Definitely out this week, people.

-What am I supposed to do?

-Caramel.

-Oh!

-Caramel, Manisha?

Sugar. I'm going to try and patch it on with sugar.

If the pastry tastes good, then I stand a chance of surviving.

If not, then I'm in danger.

Can you believe this? I don't think I can handle the pressure, you know.

Yee-ha! You be gettin' them pies ready in five minutes!

I don't know why I'm speaking Norwegian.

Shaking like a...

leaf.

How's it going, Manisha?

As you can see, not good.

It is dripping.

I should actually just leave it. That does not look right.

There's a bit of a gap here, isn't there?

Is there something you can shore it up with?

Shall I do it with lots of meringue?

Is the meringue going to stop that from oozing out,

-do you think?

-Hopefully.

-Yeah.

OK, bakers, that's the end of the bake. Move your pies

to the end of the benches. Thank you and God bless America.

HE GASPS, SIGHS

For one of these bakers,

this will be the last time they'll face the judges.

Brendan, please bring your pie up.

It's quite an elegant-looking pie.

Pastry's nice and thin around the side. It looks crispy.

It's held quite well.

-It's well baked.

-Really well baked.

-Oh, good.

Sharp. Sweet. Flavour's coming through.

Well thought out.

Great base.

John. Please bring us your pie.

Oh, lovely!

SUE SMACKS HER LIPS

-There's a lot going on in there, isn't there?

-Yeah,

there is, but that's America for you.

I think it's very, very interesting.

I'm not mad on these cherries.

I think it's a nice idea. It's well executed.

I think you had a bit of a problem with the sleeve itself

but I don't think it's a bad thing, you've done quite well.

Good piping work.

A little bit of weeping with the caramel

coming just over the top. You've been too generous with it.

I think the pastry looks quite thin.

I like that cos it's not overpowering.

Everything goes with it and it's not too sweet.

-Overall, it's a nice pie.

-I'm pleased.

-Well done.

-Thank you!

This way.

Wheel of Fortune.

It doesn't look very appetising, if I'm going to be honest.

-Mmm.

-I really rather like it.

It's unusual. The spice is coming through.

The pecan's sitting well underneath. Good, crispy base.

It's very interesting.

Is that a showstopper?

Has it quite got the wow factor when you look at it?

Manisha.

I mean, obviously, you've had issues with it.

-Yes.

-OK, let's have a look inside the texture.

(That's a big mess.)

-Yeah, but it is.

-Right.

Your pastry is good.

Your pastry's crisp. After that...

-It's all downhill.

-Yeah.

You know what's wrong with it? What started at the beginning,

you have no setting agent in the whole thing.

There's nothing in there to set that off,

to build your layers up

and you had banana mousse, meringue, the caramel.

It's never going to set in a million years.

Danny, please bring your pie up for inspection.

-It's held up well.

-Mmm.

-It's baked well underneath.

-MEL: Smells good.

-Um, the alcohol...

-Yeah.

-Really strong.

-Right.

-Um...

The pastry's good. The texture of the filling is good.

The flavour's all right as well,

it's the alcohol, it's the only thing that's lingering in my mouth.

-It is. It's very strong.

-OK, thank you very much.

- I take your point. - Very tasty, though.

Cathryn, if you'd like to bring your American pie up.

-Mmm!

-Wow!

-I like the simplicity of the whole thing.

-That cuts beautifully.

-The slice comes out well.

-Thank you.

-I don't like that.

-Don't you?

-At all.

It's like eating a pot full of crunchy peanut butter.

-But with none of the flavour.

-Oh.

I think you've made something

that looks wonderful, terribly tempting to eat, but...

-But then tastes disgusting?

-The taste is not very appealing.

Ryan, you're up next.

-I think it looks absolutely lovely. So fresh.

-Thank you.

To have it, instantly you know

that is key lime pie

because you've got the little pieces of lime.

-You nailed that one, Ryan.

-Thank you.

-You've absolutely nailed that.

The flavour of that lime coming through

and you get that crystallised ginger as well. That is very special.

-Thank you.

-That's a very nice pie.

-Sheer perfection.

-Oh, thank you.

That's fantastic, mate.

I really want to stay, so having a good bake for a showstopper,

you know, gets me to next weekend, so it's always good.

MANISHA: That pie did look horrendous.

There was nothing else I was expecting for them to say.

"Oh, it looks beautiful." "Does it?" "No."

You know, it didn't hold up, so...yeah.

The main quote that's sticking with me is, "It tastes awful."

Hero to zero. That's me.

Having sampled a slice of every pie,

it's up to Mary and Paul to decide who has truly excelled

and whose journey has come to an end.

-When you look at Cathryn's here at the moment...

-Who was a contender.

Before she came into today, she was that far from getting Star Baker.

I'm sorry. It wasn't good.

I think Brendan's had a great weekend again.

I mean, that tartness coming from the blueberries,

then the sweetness coming from the chiffon was delicious.

-He was the only person to use gelatine.

-Yeah.

His attention to detail, his knowledge,

as Bake Off goes on, he is getting stronger.

I'm getting a smell of lime from this lovely piece of pie here

which is of course Ryan's.

I thought it was absolutely outstanding

and it tasted way above all the others.

This, I mean...

-Technically, technical challenge...

-He was last.

-Last place.

Now, this breaks most of the rules that we'd set, but actually,

that is good enough on its own to put him through to Star Baker.

So we started off today pre-showstopper

with six people being in trouble

and potentially up for consideration to leave the show.

Where do you think we stand after the big pie challenge?

For the ones that need to go -

Sarah-Jane could be in the ones to go

because I didn't think... I mean, it tasted OK

but having said that, I'd have to throw Manisha in there

because that was a disaster.

-Can I throw somebody else in as well?

-Yes.

Danny. The alcohol in that was far too much.

It wrecked what was actually, technically not a bad pie.

-Yes.

-To recap, we've got three in the danger zone -

Sarah-Jane, Danny and Manisha

-and two for consideration for Star Baker.

-Ryan and Brendan.

-Yes.

There's been much deliberation about this week's Star Baker

and I have to say, it's a first.

It began with something fishy.

In the middle was a pasty-like substance

but it ended on a high.

In fact, this pie was so good that Paul and Mary

wanted Ryan to know it was one of the best things they have tasted

in all three series of The Bake Off.

-Congratulations, Ryan.

-Well done, Ryan!

-You're our Star Baker.

Oh, my goodness!

-Thank you.

-Well done.

But sadly, one of you,

this is where your Bake Off experience ends, I'm afraid to say.

And the person that we're going to say goodbye to this week is...

..Manisha.

-We're going to miss you.

-We are going to miss you.

Come and have a Mel/Sue sandwich. Whether you like it or not!

'Manisha struggled. We're halfway through now.'

Things are only going to get harder from now.

I think she'd find it quite painful as we go on.

The technical challenges are going to get even harder

and I think she'd really struggle.

My family, if I tell them that I'm out,

they'll be all right with it because obviously...

I don't know, they'll be all right with it, I think.

They'll be a bit dis... I don't know if they'll be disappointed or not

but I hope they're not, you know.

That's the only thing I don't want to do, is disappoint people.

'But yeah, it's been good.'

This whole Bake Off has definitely given me good confidence, you know,

that I can do things. Even if they mess up, I can still do them.

I feel a bit battered by this one, actually.

I think I've scraped through.

I live to bake another week! Yay!

'I think what means to me more than anything else'

is when they said this was one of the best bakes they'd had in a Bake Off.

and didn't realise it was that good

so yes, it took me by surprise.

Very lifted because the standard's been so high

and I think I might go home and make that key lime pie.

Next week...

I feel a bit panicky already, which is not a good way to start.

Rrgh! Stress!

-Why am I stressed? It's just baking.

-'It's time for pudding.'

Ooh, look at those!

'With a double signature sponge bake...'

The judges are making the challenges harder and harder.

Oh! Oh, no!

A royal technical challenge from the queen of baking...

-"Make the jam." That's detailed, Mary(!)

-I hate it when this happens.

Every single week in technical challenge, it's a guessing game.

A strudel challenge that will stretch them to the limit.

So far that you can...

But whose showstopper will stop everything?

Then that spike...

There was a lot of blood. It was grim.

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